Technology Epiphany and an Integrated Product and Service

Abstract

This study aims at exploring how an integrated product and service contributes to achieving Innovation of Meaning (IoM) or technology epiphany. Existing IoM studies have focused on intended meaning (as defined in new product development) and ignored the received meaning that users reconstruct. The process by which a user assigns meaning to things can not only be static but also dynamic. This study focuses on integrated products and contexts offered by services and analyses the case of Japan’s largest manufacturer of ankle-foot orthoses. The results show that the service guides the users to reconstruct the meaning in dynamic cognitive processes and use the metaphors that contribute to the consistency between products and services.