Abstract
We have witnessed a dramatic transformation of the US and western European economies in just twenty years. Built on manufacturing, today these are indubitably services-based economies. The transformation raises a number of important issues for economists, and for evolutionary economists in particular for they have long highlighted the importance of innovation and structural change in their treatment of industrial organisation, employment creation, welfare, economic growth, and international trade. Our understanding of the innovation process, and its economic implications, were built on studies of manufacturing sectors. What needs to be changed? Are some theories and models no longer applicable? Do we need to develop new explanations, theories and models? Is innovation in service sectors fundamentally different to innovation in manufacturing sectors, or is there a set of common features? These are key questions that are now being asked. We suggest that, by studying services innovation, scholars of innovation have an opportunity to develop an integrated account of innovation that is applicable to both services and manufacturing, and which covers all aspects of the innovative process. This requires a reassessment of established theories and models, and the development and testing of new theories and models. In other words, it requires a through review of what (we think) we know about innovation. This, at any rate, is our contention, our belief. We do not yet know the answer to the above questions. A tremendous amount of research is needed before a set of clear answers can be proffered. One of the goals of this special issue is to raise the interest of economist not yet working in this area, and to hopefully engage them in it. As the collection of papers contained herein address important, leading edge research topics in services, they will stimulate the interest of economists who are not yet actively researching the area as well as those who are already engaged in services and services innovation research.
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