Original Article

Action Research
2022, Vol. 0(0) 1–20
Consolidating strategies for © The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/14767503221145335
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Shuhui Huang  and Chun-Liang Chen

National Taiwan University of Arts, New Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract
To help face an unknown future, including ecological and social crisis, the public requires
similar opportunities as government in problem solving. Deliberative democracy can
facilitate quick responses to complex problems in society, so too, in small and medium-
sized enterprises with limited resources. Of the latter’s engagement with deliberative
democracy, we know too little. Service design and innovation lays a foundation for
transformative service research. This action research brings the theoretical framework of
service design into action using the practice of World Café first outlined by Juanita Brown.
As a method, participants and organizations can explore various innovation business
model topics whilst developing competencies in communication within their own
context. The aims of this paper are to identify what can be accomplished through
collective consciousness. It offers an example of action research as an integrative ex-
amination of how multiple perspectives contribute to the whole. In this study, the authors
based in a Non-Governmental Organization for professional development, encourages
organizations to reflect on practices and develop critical thinking to suggest action steps
for industry innovative services. In the following the reader will: (a) Explore Taiwan SMEs’
efforts to form collective consciousness and to achieve consensus on the innovation
industry strategy formulation; (b) Learn how groups’ and organizations’ learning was
facilitated with recommendations for the feasibility of future actions; (c) Note how
effective group discussion and emotional interaction between SMEs’ members were
achieved such that the participants unanimously committed to subsequent actions. In
sum, the action research orientation to business development contributed to achieving
through collective consciousness by which consensus and action was developed on
strategy, opportunities, and resources.

Corresponding author:
Shuhui Huang, National Taiwan University of Arts, 59, Sec. 1, Daguan Rd., Banqiao Dist, New Taipei 22058,
Taiwan.
Email: shhuang@textiles.org.tw
2 Action Research 0(0)

Keywords
Service design, World Café, innovative business model, action research, action-oriented
research, collective consciousness

Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world, impacted the global economy and in-
dustrial supply chains. The small and medium-sized enterprises or organizations with
limited resources, are called to pay close attention to the rapid industry innovation
development now needed. In business innovation, transformation is a crucial topic to
make as immediate adjustments are called for on the way to adapting to the unpredictable
future.
Taiwan’s industries comprise mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with
limited innovation resources. To promote industrial innovation and transformation, the
Taiwanese government wishes to fully understand the SMEs actual needs. From the
perspective of policy-related problems and civic engagement, Weeks (2000) maintained
that the public should be given the same opportunities as government officials in problem
solving to realize deliberative democracy and facilitate quick responses to complex
problems. Keizer, Jong, Naiemi & Gemert-Pijnen (2020) aver that during the period of
organizational transformation and adjustment, high environmental uncertainty makes it
impossible for leaders to make accurate decisions by merely relying on information they
grasp. A participative bottom-up and cognitive top-down approach, seems to be a better
solution. However, Taiwan SMEs’ service innovation policy still lacks a system for
supporting better outcomes. There is a space for SMEs to engage in practical innovation
mode – supported by action research – so they may include stakeholders bottom-up
aspirations and together reach creative solutions and innovative ideas.
Identifying opportunities for service innovation and exploiting them requires novel
capability building in the rapidly changing business environments (Ojasalo et al., 2015).
As a result, integrating the methods and tools of foresight and service design to the service
innovation process provides a promising new avenue to future success. This approach
allows a balance between stakeholder perspective, technology, management, and solving
problems innovatively.
Participatory design is an approach that actively includes all stakeholders, involved in
the service design process, in order to understand the differences stakeholders that exist
between the groups and elicit more useful and appropriate solutions (Kensing &
Blomberg, 1998; Lee et al., 2020). Kimbell (2011) articulate the idea of service de-
sign is that corporations and stakeholders convene to seek methods for value co-creation.
According to Patrı́cio et al. (2018), service design and innovation lay the foundation for
transformative service research, and the association between service design and inno-
vation enables each participant in the design process to provide insight into the design
using their specialist knowledge in a specific domain co-creation. Therefore, in an or-
ganization, service design supports service innovation establishing strategies, developing
service concepts and solutions.
Huang and Chen 3

Within scientific research, an ongoing paradigm shift is moving from top-down ap-
proaches and knowledge produced mainly for the scientific community to bottom-up
participatory research approaches. With the objective of providing industrial service
policy, The World Café method, originated by Juanita Brown, is a tool widely used as a
participatory method for citizen participation and organizational change processes, to
“listen together for patterns, insights and deeper questions” (Brown, 2010). Chang and
Chen (2015) compared the effects of a strategy workshop on the business plan devel-
opment process and how plan simulation is implemented. The results revealed that the
World Café exerted a greater positive effect on participants’ planning capacity than did the
conventional strategy workshop. Similarly, Schiele et al. (2022) proposed a data col-
lection World Café method with the potential to reduce speed challenge and to close the
knowledge production and transfer gap. In particular, World Café is a method designed to
elicit grounded knowledge, were organized to seek insights from a diverse range of
stakeholders (Decker-Lange et al., 2021). Further, World Café is a process that helps
organizations or groups engage in constructive dialogue, allowing a different perception
of knowledge generation and moving participants beyond information transfer to in-
formation exchange. The focus on collective discoveries enables the harnessing of re-
sourcefulness and a sense of hope, while the drive toward collaborative learning allows
for equitable and collective participation (Löhr et al., 2020). Bradbury et al., (2019) aver
that action research for transformations can, indeed should, help us effectively address our
unsustainability crisis, by bringing intelligent collaboration directly into knowledge
creation processes. It does this by helping those with stake in an issue to see their own
problems more clearly and to take intelligent action with others in response.
We expect the research we report on in the following pages to contribute to the existing
body of literature in at least four ways. First, we describe action research as World Café as
a way to support the collective wisdom of participants. Second, we describe the process of
SMEs group conversation and decision making. Third, We offer an actionable four stages
(discovery, definition, development, and delivery) approach to industry innovation
strategy formulation practices, using critical thinking and reflective practice to apply
design characteristics, collecting data, and at the same time providing timely feedback to
practitioners. Fourth, we demonstate how Government’s public resources need can be
better used to plan revitalization actions that help SMEs through difficulty and economic
recovery plan. Next we proceed with a literature review on service design and World Café
model.

Literature review
Business model innovation and service design
The value chain in traditional industries has been transformed into value creation that
centers on service provision. Innovative business models of the current garment industry
tend to be consumption oriented; that is, demand influences supply. In the era of rapid
social changes and technological explosion, only through innovative models can more
business opportunities be created. Kimbell (2011) contended that design can be regarded
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as a problem-solving method or an exploratory innovative process. The purpose of service

design is to promote innovation (reform) and improve existing services so that customers
feel the services are more useful and easier to use and therefore have higher intention to
use the services. Service design is a key to service innovation, deeper understanding is
needed as to how service design and service innovation processes complement each other
to create successful new services, expanding the applications of service design and
innovation provides solutions to more complex problems (Patrı́cio et al., 2018). Through
the service design providers together with stakeholders efficiently and effectively deliver
value propositions to service receivers, thereby achieving long-term strategic goals (Tung
Jung Sung, 2014). Yu, Eun, Sangiorgi & Daniela (2018) contribute to transforming the
new service development process and practice to better implement the value co-creation
perspective by using the service design approach. Prud’homme van Reine (2017) also
pointed out that service design thinking begins with understanding an overall conception
of the problem by observing and extracting the stakeholders’ points of view. The double-
diamond design thinking process which the British Design Council developed in 2005, it
uses critical thinking and reflective practice to apply design characteristics to reach
creative solutions and innovative ideas (Council, 2016). Wang and Liou (2018) argue that
the double-diamond design model, empathy should be practiced in every step of the
creative design thinking process. Bove (2019) suggests to advance managerial practice on
the use of empathy to improve service outcomes for interacting actors.
Therefore, the double-diamond model framing as action research we present here bring
action and reflection together in service of stakeholders and in service of knowledge
creation. The double-diamond model guided the empathy and transformative thinking
process, service design which has four phases, with participants reflecting on experiences,
and design process stages including discovery, definition, development, and delivery.
These are also the service design goals. The principle of service design here is that the
initial divergent process leads to an in-depth understanding of the problems in the design
context. Convergent thinking is what emerges when thoughts narrow down to select
innovative solutions. In this study, the research participants’ (the participants from in-
dustry, academic, and research industry) contact point during the experience was used as
the target. Defining SMEs’ opportunities in business model innovations by conducting
research on and identifying the problems in such innovations, this study aimed to explore
service design the underlying problem (pain) points, how professionals think in action,
and develop feasible business service innovations.

World café
The World Café method is a brainstorming and discussion process proposed by Juanita
Brown and David Isaacs in 1995. In this method, group members engage and listen to
each other, discuss topics, and summarize the results; through such experiential learning,
the wisdom of the group can be extracted. The design principles of the World Café are as
follows: (a) set a topic, (b) create a comfortable discussion space, (c) explore crucial
questions, (d) encourage participants to make contributions, (e) exchange and connect
different viewpoints, (f) listen to different viewpoints and ask deeper questions, and (g)
Huang and Chen 5

grow and share collective experiences. Brown (2010) maintained that the core objective
of a World Café is to promote mutual development in participants and that all members’
engagement is required; how team members participate in conversation, share their
thoughts, and respect others’ ideas is key to generating collective wisdom. Therefore,
participants reflect constantly on the discussion through the ongoing sharing and pro-
cessing of ideas. This process is known as deep listening, which requires the ability to
observe and converse precisely. In other words, collective wisdom is produced through
group discussion, in which the participants take turns expressing their opinions and
brainstorm various perspectives together. Action research is a research methodology
rooted in engagement. It is a participatory democratic process concerned with developing
practical knowledge in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes (Reason and Bradbury,
2001; Bradbury, 2015).
World Cafés strive to create networks of conversation in settings that invite a ‘café’
environment, in the sense of Oldenberg’s (1999) ‘third place’ – a home away from home
that provides comfort and engagement. According to Weeks (2000): Participatory group
decision making involves a group of people making balanced judgements on the pros and
cons of a matter collectively with inputs by each individual according to their own
experiences and knowledge. Specifically, the optimal method to integrate strategies for
industrial innovation business models is to enable firms to perceive that they have the
power to decide the direction of industry development as well as the ability to adopt
suggestions and take action. According to Aldred (2009) stated that the fast exchange and
interaction of diverse ideas in a World Café elicits participants’ active responses to
problems and challenges. Also, listening to others’ thoughts and their insights into
problems enables participants to rethink their own viewpoints, and the range of thought to
which participants are exposed whilst changing tables frequently diversifies their per-
spectives. In the work by Bulsara et al. (2016) participants assessed their participation in
the World Café as a highly positive experience, perceiving that they learned through
interaction and opinion sharing. Because the participatory discussion in the World Café is
relatively flexible and relaxed, participants are willing to speak and listen to each other.
The discussion is peaceful and orderly, facilitating consensus and changes of participants’
attitudes. Additionally, learning during the discussion process is not oriented toward
problem solving; it cannot be achieved through only a single discussion but requires
repeated practice. Accordingly, individuals’ transformative learning can be examined and
enhanced through group interactions to adapt to organizational contexts.
In the context of this research, through open innovation is another method through
which small and medium-sized enterprises or organizations may acquire innovative ideas
from external parties. The service design process in this study, empathy is necessary
during innovative service models prototyping. The SMEs feedback generating process, as
empathy affects communication quality between the two parties. Meanwhile, service
design is a comprehensive and collaborative design approach for creating value for all
stakeholders, emphasizes integral action research strategies for service innovation and
design processes, can boosts interaction between industrial communities and organiza-
tions. Participatory decision making not only involves problem-solving or developmental
process planning but also serves as an opportunity for individuals to implement deep
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listening and learning. The World Café discussion method overturns the unilateral re-
lationship seen in conventional workshops, during which each participant provides
feedback on and assessment of others’ ideas. In group discussion, participants can
gradually explore the patterns in and underlying problems behind various viewpoints,
which help clarify research background and objectives and enable problems to be ad-
dressed collectively. The phases of the research process are detailed in the following sub-
sections.

Methodology
This study analyzed the opportunities and challenges regarding the application of in-
novative business models in the Taiwan small and medium-sized enterprises or orga-
nizations. A qualitative case study was conducted. The Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF),
which is an NGO, was used as the research case. TTF as research institutes were analyzed
and evaluated innovative business models, examined Taiwanese garment firms’ opinions
on innovative business models. Then, the central research question came up how to
understand the feasibility of promoting business innovation among SMEs or organiza-
tions with limited resources in Taiwan and the innovation capability gap.
In this study, the research methods were the World Café and focus group interviews.
The authors are academic experts in textile and garments and helped select table hosts,
who were asked to regard all participating team members as their guests and to encourage
conversation, networking, and knowledge-sharing; supplementing or challenging
members’ ideas; and organizing diverse inputs provided by all members for further
discussion and conclusions. In doing so, the role of the authors was in part to participate
and to observe, compile opinions and ensure their recording. This set of activities may
affect the objectiveness of the results to some point. Precautions, however, were taken to
ensure objectivity to the best degree, e.g., the researcher-authors did not facilitate or lead
the business innovation sessions and World Café workshops during the actual case study.
The table discussions were not even accidentally directed to a desired direction but
proceeded in accordance to the stakeholders interests.
This research case (i.e., the TTF) launched a World Café program for Taiwanese SMEs
in the garment industry. Under the technical guidance of business model innovation
experts, various ideas to create novel business services in Taiwan converged. A total of 18
experts and professionals from tripartite fields of industry, academia, and research in-
stitutes participated in the World Café. To integrated social and environmental pathways
broadly engaging and empowering people. In these stakeholders could share experience,
understand one another and coordinate action in a project that cumulatively allowed for
continuous improvement. The SME participants were invited according to their pro-
fessional status relevance, professions, and job roles. When an industrial policy guideline
suggests changes at a high level, the changes in the relationship between business’ rights
and obligations become complex, and therefore people with relevant professional
knowledge must be recruited to provide professional insights in the discussion. This study
divided participants into three groups, with each group comprising six participants: one
from a research institute for the international dynamics of garment industries, four with
Huang and Chen 7

experience in operating garment stores, and one table host from the academia. The role of
these participants from various fields in discussion may yield the same effect as expert
interviews.
Professors in departments related to textile and garments were selected as the table
hosts and received training, during which they learned to guide other participants in the
discussion correctly, enhanced their knowledge of the World Café, and rehearsed the
discussion process, all of which ensured the conversation was productive and efficient.
The focus of the training for table hosts is detailed as follows. (1) Tips for hosting and
guiding discussion, the agenda, and demonstrations for guiding discussions on various
topics were provided. In particular, when the topics involved industry support systems,
table hosts steered the conversation toward the participants sharing their opinions. When
the topics are associated with corporate structure, table hosts encouraged the participants
to reach an agreement on business innovations and resource allocation. (2) Rehearsals
enabled table hosts to understand how World Cafés operated. They also learned to
encourage group members to speak out and to converge members’ ideas into agreed
conclusions. (3) Table hosts’ knowledge in relation to business model innovations was
enhanced. (4) Table hosts shared their training results and exchanged their thoughts.
The process of developing an innovative business model was divided into the fol-
lowing stages: (a) exploration, which involved researching innovative business models
and setting research questions; (b) definition, which: involved discovering SMEs’ contact
points for experiencing innovative business models, and these contact points could be
used to determine which innovative business model exhibited sufficient attractiveness for
enterprises to adopt; (c) development, which involved conducting a focus group that
utilized the World Café method for brainstorming and thought generation of innovative
business model strategies; and (d) delivery, which involved establishing feasible inno-
vative business models (Figure 1). Subsequently, innovative strategies applicable to
Taiwan’s textile and garment industry were discussed and summarized to formulate a

Figure 1. Service design process for developing innovative business models.

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feasible program for the implementation of innovative business models. Including lo-
calized and differentiated innovation services suitable for the development of SMEs.

Process reflections
In the first stage of research, we analyzed service design content in terms of the op-
portunities and challenges regarding the application of innovative business models in the
Taiwanese garment industry. We employed research tools including the World Café
conversation method and focus group interviews, followed by an in-depth examination of
these contributions. Together these gave shape to an innovative business model that
included both expert-based insights plus those of the focus group participants. Considered
a pilot project for future Government support, we sought to demonstrate and explore the
benefits, challenges and critical factors in applying Service Design within the participative
ethos of action research. The structure of the Service Design was mainly formed based on
the double-diamond model, the process of developing an innovative business model was
divided into the following stages: (a) exploration, which involved researching innovative
business models and setting research questions; (b) definition, which: involved dis-
covering SMEs’ contact points for experiencing innovative business models, and these
contact points could be used to determine which innovative business model exhibited
sufficient attractiveness for enterprises to adopt; (c) development, which involved
conducting a focus group that utilized the World Café method for brainstorming and
thought generation of innovative business model strategies; and (d) delivery, which
involved establishing feasible innovative business models (Figure 1). Through partici-
patory decision making and opinion sharing, the stakeholders, professionals, and people
working in related fields shared their thoughts, according to which the group made
decisions collectively. Subsequently, innovative strategies applicable to Taiwan’s textile
and garment industry were discussed and summarized to formulate a feasible program for
the implementation of innovative business models. Including localized and differentiated
innovation services suitable for the development of SMEs (Figure 2).

Exploration stage: Researching innovative business models and setting

research questions
The author of this study participated in and observed the process that the TTF investigated
and compiled innovative business models under the topic of industrial development. Five
major focus points were found through analysis of consumer trends in the international
textile industry: 1. Smart Fashion Trends, 2. Consumer Macro Trends, 3. Future Retail
Business Strategies, 4. Application of Prospective Technologies, 5. Marketing and Social
Media. This study summarizes the results of TTF’s analysis regarding international
consumption trends in the textile and garment industry, to serve as a reference for research
on innovative business strategies in the second stage of research.
Huang and Chen 9

Figure 2. International textile industry trends.

Smart Fashion Trends:

· Smart manufacturing: automatic garment production systems have been developed to

promote smart manufacturing and the development of exclusive goods.
· Wearable technology integrated with fashion: this includes cross-sector collaboration
between the textile and electronic sensor industry, smart jackets, environmentally-
friendly smart jackets, and solar-energy wind coats.
· A new future for the health industry: warmth and care are delivered to older adults
through smart medical wear, recovery exercises to reduce stress, sleep wearables
enable interaction and follow-up. Smart sports underwear has also been
developed.

Consumer Macro Trends

· Chinese next-generation consumer groups: new consumer groups drive new

market trends. These consumer groups include freelancers, people who favor
leisure activities, spiritualists, people with healthy lifestyles, sexual minorities,
animal lovers, culture researchers, and developmentalists.
10 Action Research 0(0)

· Future anxiety: a trend of anxiety has swept the world. The health industry uses
pleasant experiences to alleviate anxiety and alleviate fear through stress reduction
spaces, positive energy, self-care, art, design, and stress relief technology.

Future Retail Business Strategies

· Omnichannel shopping development in China: electronic commerce has affected tradi-

tional retail markets. Therefore, shopping malls and department stores have actively
transformed and adopted omnichannel strategies so that purchases can be made through
both online and offline channels. The industrial structure has also undergone new changes.
· Technological insight into the new focus on retail experience: this includes artificial
intelligence, stores serving as factories, and the application of innovative technologies
(e.g., augmented reality) in retail.

Application of Prospective Technologies

· Future artificial intelligence: the global market value of virtual technology lies in a
virtual character acting as a friendly shopping assistant.
· Future Asia characterized by virtual reality: virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and
augmented reality are the key innovation factors in the retail industry. The retail market
in Asia will become the next leader of the digital world.

Marketing and Social Media

· Operating model of multi-brand stores in China: the sales model of multibrand stores
has been accepted by China’s consumer market; these stores have expanded their
influence to Tier II and III cities.
· Marketing of luxury goods for children: children’s consumption has been af-
fected by social media and become a new symbol of social status. Expensive
ready-made garments, luxury products, and high-end services populate the
children’s market.

Definition stage: Discovering SMEs’ contact points for experiencing innovative

business models
This study collected cases related to the international textile industry or those applicable to
the textile industry from the TTF. Information regarding the contact points of innovative
business models and elements of profit models was compiled. After analysis and
comparison of the contact points of the cases, this study determined the characteristics of
the innovative cases and their common principles. The findings were then provided to the
TTF to be used as a resource for studying industry development trends and the current
status of SMEs in Taiwan’s garment industry, and the findings served as the basis for the
focus group discussion in the third stage of the study. In total, 12 cases of innovative
business models were analyzed and evaluated (Table 1).
Huang and Chen 11

Table 1. Analysis of international consumption trends in the textile and garment industry.

Trend focus International industrial trend

Smart fashion 1. Smart manufacturing:

trends Automatic garment production systems have been developed to promote
smart manufacturing and the development of exclusive goods. Garment
stores customize exclusive ready-made garments.
2. Wearable technology integrated with fashion:
This includes textile and electronic sensor industry cross-sector field
collaboration, smart jackets, environmental-friendly smart jackets, and solar-
energy wind coats.
3. A new future for the health industry:
Warmth and care are delivered to older adults through smart medical wear,
recovery exercises utilize stress reduction, wearables for sleep enable
interaction and follow-up, and smart sports underwear has been developed
Consumer 1. Chinese new-generation consumer groups:
macro New consumer groups drive new market trends. These consumer groups
trends include freelancers, people who favor leisure activities, spiritualists, people
with healthy lifestyles, sexual minorities, animal lovers, culture researchers,
and developmentalists.
2. Future anxious generations:
An anxiety trend has swept the world. The health industry promotes using
pleasant experiences to alleviate anxiety and alleviate fear using stress
reduction spaces, positive energy, self-care, art, design, and stress relief
technology
Future retail 1. Omnichannel shopping development in China:
business Electronic commerce has affected traditional retail markets. Therefore,
strategies shopping malls and department stores have actively transformed and adopted
omnichannel strategies so that purchases can be made through both online
and offline channels. The industrial structure has also undergone new changes.
2. Technological insight into the new focus on retail experience: This includes
artificial intelligence, stores serving as factories, and the application of
innovative technologies (e.g., augmented reality) in retail
Application of 1. Future artificial intelligence:
prospective The global market value of virtual technology lies in a virtual character as a
technologies friendly shopping assistant.
2. Future Asia characterized by virtual reality:
Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality are the key
innovation factors in the retail industry. The retail market in Asia will become
the next leader of the digital world
Marketing 1. Operating model of multibrand stores in China:
and social The sales model of multibrand stores has been accepted by China’s consumer
media market; these stores have expanded their influence to Tier II and III cities.
2. Market of luxury goods for children:
Children’s consumption has been affected by social media and become a new
symbol of social status. Expensive ready-made garments, luxury products, and
high-end services populate the children’s market.
4
Source: Taiwan Textile Federation (Table made by this study).
12 Action Research 0(0)

Development stage: Conducting a focus group that utilizes the world café
method for brainstorming and thought generation
Business innovations usually involve overturning corporate ideas and structures, and thus
key decisions should be made by executives. They analyzed the capabilities and resources
required for Taiwanese firms to engage in business innovation and the gap between the
ideal and actual situations. They also discussed the difficulties faced by the textile industry
when implementing innovative business models and summarized the circumstances and
directions suitable for innovation. This study investigated Taiwanese SMEs’ integration
of marketing and information management in response to the era of digitalization. In
particular, it examined the gaps between Taiwanese SME in terms of their marketing
capacity, resources, and information management practice required for business model
innovations. These observations would provide a reference for policy making in the
future. With a core emphasis on conversation, the World Café enabled groups and or-
ganizations (e.g., TTF) to respond actively to problems and challenges in specific
scenarios and encouraged them to generate the knowledge required for success. Focus
group interviews were conducted with experts in the textile industry, who were asked to
propose innovative operational strategies or directions suitable for development, and
these ideas provided insights into future strategy formation (Table 2).
The third stage involved the development of innovative business strategies. The
innovative business models developed in this stage were compared with those currently
used by Taiwanese firms. A workshop under the topic of innovative business models for
Taiwan’s SMEs was held. Textile industry experts cooperatively formulated innovation
directions and programs. In our design, the table moderators were familiar with the topic

Table 2. Reaching consensus on innovative business strategies.

Reaching a consensus on innovative business strategies (including gaps and review)

TTF evaluation and workshop for design firms Focus group of experts from Taiwan’s textile
industry

1. Types of design firms suitable for conducting 1. This study made arrangements with textile
innovation were identified according to the firms to conduct the workshop
various innovative business models compiled
in the previous stage. The capabilities and
resources required for the firms to engage in
innovation and the gap between the ideal and
actual situations were analyzed
2. The TTF discussed with high-level managers 2. The viewpoints and opinions of firms in the
and experts in the textile industry the textile industry at different stages and in
difficulties of implementing innovative different departments were gathered. After
business models. The circumstances and discussion, the workshop identified the
directions suitable for innovation difficulties of industry transformation and
development were determined determined the priorities of business
innovation
Huang and Chen 13

and were briefed on the procedures to be used at their tables. Their opinions on how to
create new services in Taiwan were gathered to reach a consensus. The process en-
compassed three rounds of discussion. Finally, each group representative shared the
thoughts of their group and their poster to present their innovative business service ideas
and the essence of their discussion record.
Before the discussion began, the event coordinator explained the purpose of the event
and the topics to be discussed, introduced the rules and process of a World Café, and
obtained the consent of all participants. The conversation and the graphic and descriptive
text results of each table were all photographed and filmed. The content of groups’ posters
and photos for the discussion process and results were organized and shared with relevant
research institutes for assessment and reference upon receiving the participants’ informed
consent. All the SMEs’ groups started discussion on topics closely related to work,
service, and business innovation. After the first round of discussion, others brought their
thoughts, themes, or questions to other tables to initiate further discussion. The table hosts
introduced the main thoughts, themes, and questions generated in the previous discussion.
All participants were reminded to listen to each other carefully, think deeply, and
contribute their thoughts to the discussion. After the second-round discussion, the new
discussion results were combined with previous discussion results. The participants
started three rounds of progressive discussion (the participants changed tables three
times). After several rounds of progressive conversation, various thoughts, themes, and
questions were connected (Figure 3).
The question for the first round of discussion was as follows: In your opinion, which of
the aforementioned innovative business models (12 cases with various innovative op-
erational models) is most beneficial to small and medium-sized garment manufacturers
over the next 5 years in Taiwan? The question for the second-round discussion was as
follows: Based on your company’s current operating status, if you want your company to
adopt the ideal innovative business model (i.e., one of the aforementioned two models),
what difficulties will your company face? Focusing on two business models, please
discuss potential barriers and problems in business operations under such models. Finally,
according to the comprehensive discussion in the second round, a feasible direction for
business model innovations is providing services that improve user design, customer
experience, and customer loyalty, as well as achieving a transparent, on-demand industry
value chain, all of which are conducive to business localization and differentiation. After
three rounds of discussion, all the participants shared their findings and viewpoints

Figure 3. Group discussion in the second round. (Photo taken by the researcher of this study).
14 Action Research 0(0)

together. The participants identified similar problems, and collective wisdom continued to
grow; the discussion is conducive to revealing the common goals of industry experts,
identifying innovative business model strategies suitable for Taiwanese SMEs, and
eliciting recommendations for the action plan of revenue models action became possible.
This type of discussion enabled the participants to integrate various thoughts and opinions
in interesting ways (Figure 4).

Execution stage: Establishing prototype programs for feasible innovative

business models
Through case observation, this study investigated the opportunities and challenges of
implementing innovative business models in Taiwan’s garment industry to understand
Taiwanese garment firms’ viewpoints on innovative business models. Through the
workshop, industry experts in the case organization collectively asked and discussed
meaningful questions, determining relevant difficulties and innovations and possible
actions. Moreover, the garment firms’ self-evaluations helped the case organization to
explore the feasibility of implementing innovative business models in Taiwan’s SMEs and
understand the possible gap between their current capabilities and the capabilities required
for implementing the models. Furthermore, discussing the survey’s findings with 18
Taiwan SME representatives also reinforces their role as co-researchers, helps the
practitioners better understand the research process and make them advocates of change in
their own organizations, because they have developed the content themselves. The
optimal approach was determined to be providing opportunities for firms to make
suggestions and take action so that the suggestions regarding innovative business models
reflect the actual needs of the industry and can be references for future action (Figure 5).
On the basis of these cases, a bottom-up participatory development approach can
improve the persuasive design of technologies and simultaneously increase engagement
of end-users to foster sustainable implementation. The SME participants recommended
modifications for the models with a focus on localization and differentiation for the
Taiwanese market. Therefore, the participants’ descriptions of the innovative business
models in Taiwan’s garment industry, the operational meaning and value of the models,
and the feedback regarding the research aspects were as follows:

Figure 4. Group presentation of their consensus about innovative business models. (Photo taken
by the researcher of this study).
Huang and Chen 15

Figure 5. Prototype programs for feasible innovative business models.

The participants unanimously praised the case sharing and workshop on innovative
business models. Therefore, this study suggests continuing to hold this type of workshop
in the future and establishing industrial alliances to thoroughly explore business models
with a focus on SME characteristics. The business models can be converted into localized
service models suitable for Taiwan’s context.

1. Small and medium-sized garment firms should implement innovative business

models by conducting data analysis and providing customized services with rapid
response and direct delivery from factories. The current gaps that firms should try to
fill were recognized as (a) data analysis and customized services and (b) rapid re-
sponse and direct delivery from factories. Regarding data analysis and customized
services, firms typically lack data collection and analysis abilities and should invest in
publicity and e-commerce. In terms of rapid response and delivery, factories lack
marketing channels, original equipment manufacturers are not transparent, quality
and style of clothes cannot be immediately ensured, localized supply chains of raw
materials are insufficient, and production capacity is inadequate to meet deadlines.
2. Smart technologies, including cloud computing, smart phones, the Internet of things,
and mobile applications, have developed rapidly in various fields and induced a
change in consumption patterns. Therefore, the garment industry requires technical
resources from information and electronics industries, but cross-sector collaboration
still faces technical challenges, such as information collection and analysis regarding
service models, the affordability of information network systems, resource integration
for supply chains, and the establishment of exchange platforms.
16 Action Research 0(0)

3. Formation of collective consciousness and action consensus among SMEs or or-

ganizations with limited resources. During this crisis, immediate communication
and action are critical. Open and ongoing communication will ensure that stake-
holders are fully aware of the situation, to achieve goals by formation of collective
consciousness and action consensus to achieve consensus on the strategy formu-
lation, while innovative responses are taken to identify risks, opportunities, and
resource demands.

Conclusion and recommendations

We present here a real life research project to identify the antecedents of small and
medium-sized enterprises or organizations with limited resources, and the need to pay
close attention to the rapid development during the pandemic. Immediate communication
and action are critical: open and ongoing communication will ensure that stakeholders are
fully aware of the situation, and can make immediate adjustments to adapt to an un-
predictable future. In the World Café workshop, experts collectively brainstormed to
identify the innovation solutions suitable for Taiwanese firms and those firms’ defi-
ciencies in innovation capability. Finally, this study determined the innovative business
strategies applicable for SMEs in the garment industry, and the experts recommended
implementation programs. The research conclusions are as follows:

1. The World Café method was adopted to obtain consensus on Taiwanese SMEs’
development of innovative business models. Firms and scholars both participated in
the World Café workshop, which not only enabled the collection of diverse opinions
and achievement of consensus but also facilitated the breakdown of the prejudices and
parochialism of individual firms. This method effectively expedited cross-sector
communication and understanding as well as the generation of thoughts and concepts
related to certain topics. Thus, the preset goals were achieved. Collective wisdom was
elicited, and suggestions of actions for innovative services were proposed that ex-
ceeded our original expectation.
2. World Café workshops can facilitate SMEs’ collective and organizational learning
from various perspectives. The SMEs were stimulated to share their experiences of
success and failure in developing innovative services and propose other experience
design themes for the development of innovative services. The discussion focused on
the priorities and feasibility of the proposed innovative business models. The pro-
posed recommendations were further modified to be applicable in Taiwan’s industry.
3. The World Café method creates a conversation environment for participants to in-
teract with each other and exchange their opinions. For most participants in this study,
this was their first time engaging in group brainstorming. The fact that they could
discuss innovative business models and obtain results within a short time stimulated
their passion and drive for consensus. The World Café workshop facilitated emotional
interaction among practitioners in the industry who unanimously promised to commit
to action in subsequent studies. The discussion results and conclusions can be ref-
erences for action research on industry innovation development at the next stage and
Huang and Chen 17

are conducive to the implementation of industrial strategies and making adjustments

between different sectors. The case in this study can serve as an empirical example of
cross-sector collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutes.
4. Taiwan’s SMEs have the advantage of high flexibility and are capable of rapid change.
They are able to revise business strategies depending on the environment or in re-
sponse to resource shortages, while the key to resource integration and digital
transformation lies in the final decision-making process of the enterprise or orga-
nization. The decline in general economic activity, decreasing incomes, and a series of
anti-epidemic measures are resulting in increasing costs for enterprises. The Gov-
ernment’s public resources need to put out integrated resources, plan revitalization
actions to help SMEs through difficulty, reduce the impact of the pandemic, and also
analyze the post-pandemic economic recovery plan.

Regarding the experiential service design for innovative business models, consensus
can be reached and conflicts between different professions can be solved through group
discussion based on cross-sector integration, which provides opportunities for partici-
pants to understand and respect others’ opinions. The efficiency of problem solving and
whether relevant personnel are willing to continue the discussion long term should be
considered. In this study, the participants in the service design workshop were repre-
sentatives recommended by the industry consultant team, the members of which were
selected by the TTF. They made large contributions to the formation of a collective
consciousness and an action consensus. Therefore, the composition of participants in this
study constitutes a research limitation. Finally, recommendations for the service design of
the World Café were proposed. First, representative participants must be carefully se-
lected (SMEs in the garment industry and academic and research institutes related to
textiles and garments), to increase the feasibility of decisions, and they should be in-
formed of the importance and objectives of participation. Additionally, the roles of the
participant firms and academic and research institutes should be defined and clearly
distinguished. Second, the World Café led discussion such that the participants focused on
the topics, conversation was equal and open, the thought processes and the deeper
problems underlying various viewpoints were explored, and integrated knowledge re-
quired for action plans was generated based on collective knowledge and experience, all
of which made the discussions more efficient and productive. Third, table hosts (i.e.,
industry representatives) should be trained before the World Café. Their ability to guide
conversations should be enhanced to facilitate the discussion at each table.
This study aimed to improve situations in practice. The action research for service
design involved exploring industrial trends, identifying problem areas, developing
problem-solving action plans, and implementing the action plans. Convergent thinking
and reflection stages were incorporated during the service design process. The in-
corporation of the World Café method was conducive to the implementation and
improvement of action research, which were the present study’s contribution to the
industry and facilitated the promotion of action research theories. To provide each
participant with equal rights and opportunities to speak in the World Café, this study
meticulously planned the process and how the participants should be guided throughout,
18 Action Research 0(0)

making participants less reluctant to interact with different ideas and preventing one-
sided conversation. The equal engagement of participants in the discussion increased
the possibility of business model innovation. However, one research limitation was
hidden sources of inequality and disempowerment. For example, information in-
equalities as a result of background differences among SMEs (e.g., different under-
standing and expectation of innovative business models). This study explored the actual
needs of SMEs for developing innovative business models. The research results serve as
a reference for future research in this domain and as potential material for other research
fields, and eventually may help to close the academic-practitioner divide by conducing
faster, yet still rigorous research.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Taiwan Textile Federation offer was used as the research case, and
those who contributed to the research.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/
or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.

ORCID iD
Shuhui Huang  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5768-4261

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Author biographies
SHU-HUI HUANG Specialty: Fashion design and development, trend analysis, service
innovation, industrial innovation strategy, Innovation of cultural industry and forecasting,
has a guest at fashion personnel training. Currently is contribute for fashion marketing,
organization of trade shows and promotion, to provide Taiwan’s textile businesses the best
services. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5768-4261
CHUN-LIANG CHEN Dr. Chen is a full professor in Graduate School of Creative
Industry Design, National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan, R.O.C. He received his
Ph.D. degree from the Graduate Institute of International Business, National Taiwan
University, Taiwan. His areas of interest include industry innovation strategies, e-
business, service innovation, cultural and creative industries management, and inter-
national business management. Dr. Chen has published papers in respected journals, such
as Review of Managerial Science, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management,
International Journal of Technology Management, Journal of Engineering and Tech-
nology Management, Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice, The Service
Industries Journal, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Leadership
& Organization Development Journal, Chinese Management Studies, and Local Envi-
ronment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, etc. ORCID https://
orcid.org/0000-0002-0755-7587