Crossing the Borders of Knowledge Silos in Service Science and Business Network

In large research organizations there is a tendency for new research projects to originate in knowledge silos. Applied research faces growing challenges of how to consider the needs of the customers, scientific knowledge and societally relevant questions in research projects. Service science is an emerging research interface, in which participation from different disciplines, such as design, business needed. In front of these challenges collaboration across the silos, hierarchical levels, disciplines and different actors is indispensable. We claim that multifaceted collaboration does not emerge without specific efforts. Cross-disciplinary research requires network processes for initiating learning, synergy and collaboration. We analyse a method aiming at co-creation in a multidisciplinary research network. We focus especially on how this interactive and cocreative process promotes the crossing of borders of knowledge silos. 1 Corresponding author Minna Halonen, address VTT Technical Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 106, 20521 Turku, Finland; tel. +358 40 591 8367; fax. + 358 20 722 2840;