Josephs(R): The Service Manufactory

The case on JOSEPHS intends to highlight the various network effects in the architecture and operations of a Service Manufactory. Uniquely positioned as an open innovation laboratory in the Nuremberg city center, JOSEPHS attracted a wide range of walk-in customers, who could be prosumers, adding significant value to the tenant/firms, the university partner (FAU Wi1), Fraunhofer IIS, as well as the consumers themselves as they engage in the open innovation process. The case is positioned around the time when JOSEPHS has completed one year of operations. This case articulates the architecture and design of JOSEPHS as a platform, elucidates the network effects and complementarities, and pushes the students to analyze the various parameters of performance in a multi-sided platform such as JOSEPHS .