Oxford Seminar 2011

– The Power to Act – Innovation Capability, Service Logic, and Human Learning

Illustration inspired by traditional punting in Oxford—the distinctive flat-bottomed boats that glide peacefully along the rivers and canals around the university city. The scene symbolizes reflection, academic tradition, and the unique student culture that has shaped Oxford for centuries. Punting also represents a journey through knowledge, the exchange of ideas, and academic exploration in peaceful and historic surroundings.

Introduction and Reflection

Oxford 2011 was in many ways the culmination of the entire academic and practical journey that had been underway since Oxford 2003. Over almost ten years, participants had developed an increasingly deeper understanding of digitalization, value creation, and innovation — but 2011 represented a real paradigm shift: the focus shifted from what we do to how we do it.

The theme of the seminar, “The Power to Act,” stood as a symbol of this shift.
Innovation was no longer just a question of ideas, technology or business models — it was about the ability to translate knowledge into action. Oxford 2011 sought to find the answer to why so many organizations have great resources and good strategies, but still lack the drive to act.

Over three intensive days at Saïd Business School and Templeton College, the concept of Innovation Ability was explored from multiple angles — theoretical, practical and cultural. The academic platform was the Service Innovation Triangle, developed at the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), which spotlighted how value creation occurs at the intersection of people, systems and management.

Furseth and Cuthbertson began by reminding participants that service innovation is not just a business process, but a societal task. Service innovation is about improving lives, creating meaning, and enabling organizations to deliver value in new ways.

Program Overview

Organizer: Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Theme: Value Driven Service Innovation – The Power to Act

The seminar was a continuation of the VDSI program launched in 2010. While the 2010 focus was on Innovation Capability, the 2011 seminar explored Innovation Ability—the practical and human ability to turn change into reality.

Among the main speakers were:

Peder Inge Furseth (BI/OXIRM) – introduced the concept of Power to Act and the human dimension of innovation.
Richard Cuthbertson (OXIRM) – presented The Innovation Triangle and the logic of value-driven innovation.
Jonathan Reynolds (OXIRM) – analyzed The Dynamic Digital Landscape and its implications for modern business models.
Stéphane Girod (Accenture/OXIRM) – described how innovation requires new operating models and forms of leadership.
Malobi Kar – focused on Customer Experience Management and the emotional dimensions of value.
Cicero Consulting – contributed insights from the financial sector on trust, data, and personalization.
NSB (now Vy) – shared practical experience with customer segmentation and digital customer insight in Norway’s transportation sector.

The participants included leaders and professionals from both the private and public sectors across the Nordic countries. The discussions reflected an interdisciplinary approach and a desire to understand innovation as a societal phenomenon—not merely as a business strategy.

Key Academic Themes

From Technology to Action

Peder Inge Furseth set the tone in his opening presentation: “The Power to Act” is not about the potential of technology, but about human capacity.

He pointed out that innovation often stalls because organizations lack alignment between intention and capability.

They know what they should do, but they lack the ability to act in a coordinated and purposeful way.

“Strategies are static; the ability to act is dynamic.” – P.I. Furseth

Furseth drew parallels between both the public sector and business. In healthcare, public transportation, and retail, we see the same patterns: technology is introduced to improve efficiency, but without corresponding changes in work processes and culture. The ability to act—the power to act—therefore becomes a measure of an organization’s maturity.

He also introduced a model in which innovation is understood as an interaction between resources, processes, and culture. Innovation capability emerges where these three overlap—not within any one of them alone.

A traditional punter stands balanced in a narrow wooden boat, gently propelling it forward with a long pole through the calm waters of Oxford. The river is surrounded by green parks, mature trees, and weeping willows bathed in soft summer light.

The scene is inspired by the classic punting tradition at the University of Oxford, where students and visitors glide quietly through the riverscape between historic colleges and centuries-old academic surroundings. The image conveys tranquility, reflection, and academic exploration, symbolizing the gradual journey through knowledge, culture, and learning that characterizes the Oxford seminars.

The Innovation Triangle

Richard Cuthbertson’s presentation became the heart of the seminar. Through 37 pages of transcribed dialogue, he demonstrated how The Innovation Triangle provides a holistic view of how value creation takes place.

Each corner of the triangle represents a fundamental element:

Value Proposition – What need are we addressing, and why is it valuable?
Business Model – How do we create, deliver, and capture value?
Service Operations – How do we organize the processes and people that make it possible?

Cuthbertson used examples from Apple, Walmart, Colgate India, and Mendeley to demonstrate how balancing value creation, structure, and delivery creates sustainable innovation.

Too much focus on any one corner, he warned, creates imbalance: technology without a foundation in human value is short-lived, while culture without systems leads to chaos.

“Innovation does not emerge…

The Digital Landscape and New Business Models

Jonathan Reynolds continued along the same lines, but expanded the perspective to the global and digital landscape.

In his presentation Dynamic Digital Landscape, he described how network effects and digitalization challenge established business models. He used the humorous example BlackBerry & Apple Crumble to illustrate how entire societies can be disrupted when a single technology platform fails.

Reynolds emphasized that technology’s role must be understood as an enabler, not an end in itself. In an increasingly connected world, vulnerability also increases. The more data we share, the greater the need for trust and governance.

“The more connected we are, the more vulnerable we become.” – J. Reynolds

He concluded with a reminder that the winners of the future will not necessarily be those with the best technology, but those who create trust through technology

Innovation-Driven Operating Models

Dr. Stéphane Girod of Accenture/OXIRM presented findings from his research on organizations that successfully integrate innovation into their organizational structure. He identified four characteristics of innovation-driven organizations:

Responsibility for innovation is embedded in line management, rather than assigned to a separate department.
Decentralized decision-making authority enables organizations to act quickly.
Systematic experimentation and learning.
Collaboration across disciplines and organizational levels.

“Innovation is an operating model – not a project.” – S. Girod

He pointed out that traditional management models often inhibit an organization’s ability to learn.

The organizations of the future must cultivate agility and a culture of experimentation rather than micromanagement.

Customer Experience and Emotional Innovation

Dr. Malobi Kar led an engaging workshop on Customer Experience Management. She challenged participants to view the customer as a co-creator of value, rather than simply a recipient of services.

Using examples from telecommunications and banking, she demonstrated how small adjustments to the service experience can have a significant impact on loyalty. Kar emphasized that loyalty is an emotional bond, not a rational calculation. Innovation is therefore also about empathy and human connection.

A solitary punter stands in a narrow wooden boat, gently propelling it forward with a long pole across the mirror-like waters of Oxford at sunset. The silhouettes of the boat and the figure stand out against the warm evening glow, while the sun reflects softly on the river and the surroundings fade into hazy golden tones.

The scene is inspired by the traditional punting culture at the University of Oxford, where the rivers Cherwell and Isis have been part of student life and the academic atmosphere for generations. The image symbolizes reflection, gradual learning, contemplation, and the journey through knowledge. The peaceful atmosphere and warm light evoke the quiet moments between lectures, discussions, and academic exploration that characterize the Oxford seminars.

Case Studies

NSB – Customer Segmentation in Practice

NSB presented a case that became a highlight for many participants. The company had analyzed its entire customer base according to travel frequency and motivation, rather than traditional demographics.

This resulted in four segments:

Have to – commuters with low price sensitivity but high expectations for punctuality.
Able to – flexible travelers who were open to digital solutions.
Going to – long-distance travelers focused on comfort and price.
Want to – loyalty-driven customers seeking a positive travel experience and a strong environmental profile.

Using this segmentation, NSB was able to better target its communication, product development, and customer dialogue.

This was an early example of how data-driven segmentation can be used to strengthen both the customer experience and the business model.

Cicero Consulting – Financial Services in Transition

Cicero Consulting described how digitalization, regulation, and customer trust are reshaping the financial sector. They emphasized that the banks of the future must build long-term relationships, rather than simply sell products. Innovation in financial services is therefore about transparency, simplification, and demonstrating genuine customer value.

“Value creation in financial services depends on trust—not transactions.”

Reflections and Discussion

The discussions throughout the seminar and in the plenary sessions reflected a new realization:

Digitalization is not a separate discipline, but a dimension of all work.

Several participants pointed out that the gap between strategy and execution is often not about expertise, but about culture and leadership.

The group discussions focused on how organizations can create a culture of learning, share knowledge across organizational boundaries, and make innovation a natural part of everyday work. It was also emphasized that digital innovation in the public sector faces many of the same challenges as in business: a lack of collaboration and short-term incentives.

A traditional punter glides peacefully along a quiet river in Oxford in the warm afternoon light. The man stands balanced in a narrow wooden boat, propelling it forward with a long pole, surrounded by green parks, mature trees, and weeping willows reflected in the water.

The golden light and tranquil atmosphere give the scene a classic English character inspired by the rivers Cherwell and Isis at the University of Oxford. The image symbolizes reflection, academic exploration, and the gradual journey through knowledge and experience.

For generations, the tradition of punting has been part of student life in Oxford, representing the culture, history, and distinctive sense of tranquility that characterize the university’s surroundings.

International Perspectives

Oxford 2011 confirmed that innovation follows different paths around the world:

In Asia, innovation is driven by technology adoption and payment solutions.
In North America, experimentation and scaling dominate.
In Europe, the focus is on sustainability, ethics, and trust.

The seminar highlighted that Norway and the Nordic countries have a unique strength in their trust-based model of society—a competitive advantage in the global knowledge economy.

The interior of the historic Randolph Hotel in Oxford, bathed in warm evening light after a long seminar day. The image shows a classic English hotel lounge with high vaulted ceilings, dark wood paneling, bookshelves, and comfortable armchairs, creating a calm and academic atmosphere. On the table, a pint of beer sits beside an open laptop, notebook, and pen—a quiet moment for reflection, reviewing the day, and taking professional notes after the lectures and discussions. The scene symbolizes the combination of learning, reflection, and social connection that characterized the Oxford seminars, where evenings often continued with conversations about innovation, leadership, and digitalization in traditional, historic surroundings.

What Do We Take Home With Us?

Innovation is human – it happens through interaction, not within systems.
The Service Innovation Triangle provides a practical framework for learning and development.
Culture, learning, and collaboration matter more than structure and process.
Organizations must build capabilities, not just strategies.
Trust is both the starting point and the goal of modern innovation.

A solitary punter moves quietly along the river in Oxford at dusk, surrounded by dark trees and mirror-like water bathed in warm evening tones. The sun sits low on the horizon, reflecting a golden path across the surface, while the person in the narrow wooden boat gently propels it forward with a long pole. Inspired by the traditional punting culture of Oxford University, the scene conveys a sense of reflection, tranquility, and academic contemplation. The image symbolizes the gradual journey through knowledge and experience, where learning is not about rushing, but about gaining perspective, exploring ideas in depth, and taking time to think. The darker evening setting also evokes the end of a long day of study, when conversations, ideas, and impressions are given time to settle in the quiet along the river.

Relevance Today

In 2025, many organizations face the same challenges that were identified in 2011. Artificial intelligence, data-driven insights, and automation have created enormous opportunities—but they have also increased the distance between people and machines.

That is why Oxford’s message has never been more relevant: Technology enables, but humans act.

Service-dominant logic has also gained ground in the public sector—in healthcare, education, and local government services—and the principle of “the user as a co-creator” has now become widely established.

The Experts Behind the Oxford Seminars

The Oxford seminars were more than a series of lectures. They were meeting places where research, business, and practice came together, with leading international experts sharing insights into innovation, commerce, technology, leadership, and value creation. Over the years, participants had the opportunity to meet some of the foremost researchers and thinkers in their respective fields.

Peder Inge Furseth

Peder Inge Furseth was a key academic driving force behind the Oxford seminars and helped make international research relevant to Norwegian and European organizations. As a professor at BI Norwegian Business School and academic director of the program, he helped participants place the lectures within a broader context in which technology, innovation, business development, and people had to be understood as interconnected.

Throughout the seminars, he served as a bridge between research, business, and practice. For many participants, he therefore became more than an academic leader—he was also a mentor who inspired them to think differently about innovation, digitalization, and commercialization.

Jonathan Reynolds

Jonathan Reynolds is a professor at the University of Oxford and has been a prominent academic contributor to the Oxford seminars for many years. He is internationally recognized for his research on retail, customer experience, innovation, and business development.

Through the seminars, Reynolds provided research-based insights into how organizations can build competitive advantage through a deeper understanding of customers, markets, and value chains. His ability to combine academic rigor with practical examples made him one of the most highly valued speakers in the seminar series.

Richard Cuthbertson

Richard Cuthbertson was an important academic contributor to the Oxford seminars for many years. As a researcher at the University of Oxford, his work has focused on areas such as retail, distribution, supply chains, innovation, and technological development.

Through his lectures, he helped connect research with practice, demonstrating how organizations can respond to emerging challenges through innovation, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of the markets in which they operate.

From Studies and Seminars to Today’s Knowledge Hub

The studies, seminars, and study trips documented on this page form part of the knowledge foundation behind The Invisible Capital. Topics such as customers, technology, innovation, digitalization, and value creation have shaped this journey over several decades—while these fields have continued to evolve.

At The Invisible Capital, we continue to explore these questions through dedicated knowledge series. Here, earlier theories, research, and experience are connected with more recent knowledge, emerging technologies, and the challenges facing people and organizations today.

Innovation

Innovation is not just about new ideas. Value is created when knowledge, technology, and ideas are developed into products, services, processes, organizational models, and business models that are actually put into use. The Innovation series explores the field from Schumpeter to modern innovation research, including incremental, radical, disruptive, open, and user-driven innovation.

→ Explore the Innovation series

The Customer

The customer is not simply the recipient of what an organization produces. In a competitive market, the customer plays a decisive role in determining whether an organization actually succeeds in creating value. The Customer series explores customer orientation, customer insight, customer experience, satisfaction, loyalty, trust, and human interactions in greater depth.

→Explore the Customer series

Explore the Customer series

What does it really mean to create value—and who creates it? The Value Creation series explores everything from economic theory and influential researchers to a broader understanding of how people, skills and expertise, institutions, organizations, and the public sector contribute to value creation.

→ Explore the Value Creation series

Digitalization

Digitalization has evolved from individual technologies into a fundamental part of how organizations operate and create value. The Digitalization from A to Z series traces this development through the internet, the web, e-commerce, search, UX, social media, mobile, omnichannel, cloud, data, platforms, and digital transformation—leading to today’s AI First era.

→ Explore the Digitalization from A to Z series

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence represents the next chapter in the digital evolution. In our dedicated AI knowledge hub, we explore how artificial intelligence works, how AI finds and uses information, how it evaluates sources and websites, and what these developments may mean for people, organizations, and value creation.

→ Explore the articles on Artificial Intelligence

The New Edge in Knowledge: How Knowledge Management Is Changing the Way We Do Business

This book explores how modern organizations build competitive advantage through knowledge sharing, insight, customer experience, and innovation across organizational boundaries. The authors show how technology, analytics, and human expertise must be combined to create value in a digital economy. These themes closely reflect the Oxford Seminar in 2011, where the lectures focused on innovation, customer insight, personalization, and the human dimension of digital transformation.