Abstract—Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increasingly seek to systematize their operations using businesslike practices. This study examines the productization of an internal research project management service in an HEI. Employing a qualitative single-case study, challenges in formalizing this internal enabling service are identified, its current state is assessed, and an ideal structured process is designed. Key challenges include difficulty standardizing a knowledge-intensive internal process and the need to define the customer when both internal and external actors—funders and researchers, respectively—are stakeholders. A current state analysis revealed uncoordinated practices and a lack of ownership in project initiation. Applying product portfolio thinking, an ideal model was designed that clarifies roles, stages, and flexibility for different funding requirements, defining both the technical internal process and the commercial outward-facing structure of the service. Productizing this internal service is shown to improve efficiency and consistency, and facilitates Customer Relationship Management (CRM) by enhancing how the HEI engages with external partners. The research findings contribute to the literature on service productization in HEIs and provide practical guidance for universities seeking to improve their research support services. 
 

Keywords—service productization, project management, higher education, service portfolio, Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Cite: Samuel Lakkala, Linnea Muraja, Jasmin Puhakka, Pekka Tervonen, and Harri Haapasalo, "Creating a Service Product for Research Project Life Cycle Management in a Higher Education Institution: A Case Study," International Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 32-40, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).