Service Innovation Literature Research Articles

The Influence of Market Entry Strategies on the Success of Digital Service Innovations in the Mobility Sector

The phenomenon of servitization paired with digitalization has resulted in an emerging research stream referred to as digital service innovation (DSI). DSI has attracted much interest in academia and industry, given its increasing economic importance. However, extant innovation research still exhibits a strong product innovation focus and limited attention to the end of the innovation process, especially the determinants of innovation success. We investigate the role of market entry strategies for DSI success in digital service and platform settings. Drawing on a novel sample of 325 DSIs in the mobility sector, we examine the role of three types of market entry strategies, that is, market entry order, brand extensions, and home country advantage on the success of the DSI. The results indicate that early market entry and individual brands rather than extensions of existing brands are relevant determinants of DSI success, and that this impact depends on the level of business model innovativeness and competitive intensity. By examining the uniqueness of market entry strategies for DSI success, this paper adds novel insights for DSI and their success factors to the digital and service innovation literature. In doing so, we also suggest essential strategies that help practitioners advance DSI performance.

The impact of service robots on consumer response: Examining the roles of consumers' service expertise and technology expertise

AbstractService robots as an example of service innovation has been of great interest to researchers as it could produce greater value‐in‐use for consumers during service encounters. However, the question of how and why service robots may affect consumers remains inadequately understood. Leveraging service‐dominant logic and the heuristic‐systematic model, Study 1 examines the impacts of service innovation types on brand equity and the moderating role of consumer expertise. Study 2 explores whether cognitive and emotional trust can bridge the underlying mechanism. We find that consumers with higher levels of service expertise rate firms with supportive innovation (vs. interactive innovation) higher in brand equity. On the other hand, service novices rate firms with both types of service innovation similarly. Emotional trust significantly mediates the effect mentioned above. In addition, consumers with high technology expertise will better recognize firms' service innovation efforts regardless of innovation type. Our findings extend the service innovation literature by demonstrating how individual‐level factors such as consumer expertise help explain the relationships between various types of service robots and consumer response. Moreover, we reveal the importance for service brands to invest in different service robots based on target groups and build emotional trust with consumers.

Knowledge exchange in SMEs service innovation with design thinking

PurposeThis study, adopting a knowledge perspective, aims to explore how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engage in service innovation by implementing design thinking.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research methodology and a multiple case study strategy were adopted on account of the exploratory nature of this study. Three cases based in Scotland have been selected. Data were collected from staff, managers and researchers who participated in Create Cultures of Innovation (CCoI), a project sponsored by the Scottish government.FindingsThe research shows that SMEs can be enabled, through design-led interventions, to think collaboratively and leverage knowledge to achieve service innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research contributes to the service innovation literature by theorising an integrated research framework of “Knowledge exchange in SMEs service innovation with design thinking”. Further, this study enriches the extant understanding of service innovation in the traditional sector (manufacturing and hospitality) and redefines the roles and relations of the dimensions of service innovation.Practical implicationsThis study addresses the call on tools and methods for servitisation, suggesting that changing the culture and mindsets of both the top management and the staff are critical for the success of servitisation and the implementation of design thinking. In addition, this research suggests the need to embed design thinking within the leadership prior to rolling it out to the wider public. Support from the top management should focus on both the engagement of staff and the changing of vision from product to service-focused.Originality/valueThis paper gets together service innovation, design thinking and knowledge exchange in the context of manufacturing SMEs offering novel insights into how to succeed in servitisation with the implementation of design thinking.

The golden mean: Research on the mechanism of customer participation in employee service innovation

Service innovation is of importance in achieving business success. This study aims to understand how customer participation affects employees' service innovation through zhongyong thinking and verify the moderating role of leadership empowerment in the service section. Data were collected through a paired questionnaire survey with 352 valid frontline employees and their superiors in the starred hotel industry. Multiple linear regressions and bootstrap analysis were performed to examine the hypotheses. The results indicate that customer participation is positively related to zhongyong thinking and service innovation, and zhongyong thinking partially mediates the main effect. In addition, service innovation is more substantial when leadership empowerment is high, and customer participation has a weaker impact on zhongyong thinking when leadership empowerment is low. This study contributes to the employee service innovation literature by confirming that customer participation and employees' zhongyong thinking play vital roles in the Chinese service context. This study also helps service managers understand that empowering their subordinates can facilitate employees' service innovation.

Innovation in the sharing economy: A framework and future research agenda

The sharing economy (SE) has been variously described as a disruptive, discontinuous, and social innovation. Now, more than a decade since the emergence of seminal platforms such as Airbnb, and amid heightened competition and macroenvironmental pressures, service innovation has become a strategic priority. Our editorial essay is guided by three objectives. First, as a prelude to this Special Issue, we examine the current state of SE service innovation literature. Despite some important contributions, especially in relation to business model innovation, other salient types of service innovation remain underexplored. Second, we position the contributions of the 13 papers in this Special Issue on our novel Sharing Economy Innovation Framework, which stipulates both the type of service innovation examined, and the focal dyadic relationships involved. Third, based on remaining gaps in the framework, we outline an agenda for future research on SE innovations.

Bringing together the whats and hows in the service innovation literature: An integrative framework

AbstractThe concept of service has gone through both evolutionary and revolutionary changes, but this has had little effect on the way reviews portray service innovation research. Our paper is the first to investigate whether and how different conceptualizations of service influence the formation of perspectives on studying and practicing service innovation. Combining an exploratory content analysis with a thorough examination of 886 articles on service innovation published from 1981 to 2019, we suggest a novel integrative framework for the multiple perspectives on service innovation. We outline new service development, service engineering, service infusion, service design, service reconfiguration and service integration as autonomous, yet interconnected, perspectives, each with its own research focus, logic and vocabulary. This integrative framework can assist with defining research questions and designing innovation studies, as well as selecting approaches to managing innovation. We also argue that the main obstacles to the progress of service innovation research are lexical cross‐contamination, parallelism in approaches, the gravity of the new service development perspective and the legacy of new product development. To overcome these challenges, we encourage a more distinct pluralism of perspectives and demonstrate possibilities for meaningful conversations across them.

Key challenges and opportunities of service innovation processes in technology supplier-service provider partnerships

Business-to-business (B2B) technology suppliers have the potential to contribute to the service innovation process in distinct ways. Because they work with multiple service providers, they can identify emerging market trends and technological requirements. However, they face different challenges and opportunities throughout their partnership in the service innovation process. This study contributes to the B2B service innovation literature by uncovering challenges and opportunities that technology suppliers face during the service innovation process and their partnership with service providers. We identify five groups of challenges/opportunities: (1) B2B partners’ level of knowledge, (2) B2B partners’ involvement in the back/front end, (3) B2B partners’ market approach, (4) the impact of B2B partners’ organizational processes, and (5) B2B partners’ business interactions. We develop a managerially distinct service innovation process typology that identifies different roles and characteristics of B2B partners. It further identifies the extent to which the service innovation process can be outcome and process-based.

From vision to innovation: new service development through front-line employee engagement

ABSTRACT This article investigates how service companies might engage frontline employees in transforming a market vision into a new service routine. This is a major challenge given the separation between those making decisions at the managerial level and those interacting with customers, ultimately enabling the service experience. Through interviews and observations, we capture the mechanisms and practices that emerged in an in-depth case study of a radical service innovation anchored in a new market vision. Our findings show that frontline employee engagement in the innovation process has to be triggered by managers, thereafter unfolding naturally in cycles of proactive behaviour and experimentation. The emerging routinisation process allows transitioning from the definition of a new vision to new routines through guiding and building on employees’ experience and proactive behaviour, institutionalising the new practices that ultimately lead to radical service innovation. This study contributes to the service innovation literature by merging two very different sources of knowledge, namely vague, intangible, and radically new visions, and practical and tacit frontline employee experiences usually associated with incremental innovation.

Bridging employee curiosity and service creativity: a new lens

PurposeThis study develops a framework to examine how, why and when different traits of employee curiosity affect service creativity by considering the roles of knowledge sharing and task autonomy.Design/methodology/approachTo reduce common method bias, this work separated the variables investigated into three parts, each of which was randomly used to collect data at three different periods. A total of 822 matched questionnaires obtained from frontline employees of service firms provided useable data for hypothesis tests. A moderated mediation approach was employed to analyse the data.FindingsResults are as follows: (1) Deprivation sensitivity, joyous exploration and social curiosity have positive effects on knowledge collecting (KC) and knowledge donating (KD). (2) KD mediates the relationships between the three curiosity traits and service creativity. (3) Task autonomy enhances and suppresses the mediating effects of KC and KD, respectively, on the curiosity–service creativity relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has two main research implications: First, as different types (traits) of employee curiosity have different effects on service creativity, a single-dimensional view of employee curiosity may mask the differences of individual dimension and lead to a oversimplified conclusion. Second, lifting the vein from employee curiosity to service creativity has to consider the roles of knowledge sharing and task autonomy.Originality/valueThis research is the first to contribute to the service innovation literature by revealing the underlying mechanisms through which different types of employee curiosity affect service creativity and uncovering the moderating roles of task autonomy in the process mechanisms.

COVID-19 and lack of socialization: does service innovation become an imperative for universities?

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the moderated mediation effect of the lack of students’ socialization (as one of the COVID-19 consequences) and the university reputation on the relationship between the service innovation and students satisfaction. The relationship between students satisfaction and their loyalty is also examined.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a quantitative research approach, whereas the study population consists of all universities’ students in Lebanon. Data were collected from 201 students, elected depending on snowballing sample technique. A questionnaire was used to gather data, whereby partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to check the proposed scales validity and the relationships between the study variables.FindingsThe findings reveal a significant direct effect for university’s service innovation on students satisfaction and an indirect effect through the mediation role for university reputation. Moreover, an evidence for weak negative significant effect for lack of socialization on students satisfaction exists. Whereby, lack of socialization does not moderate the relationship between university service innovation and students satisfaction. Finally, students satisfaction has a significant positive effect on their loyalty.Originality/valueThis paper advances the service innovation literature in the higher education sector. In addition, the paper might be the first paper to address the influence of lack of socialization as one of the COVID-19 consequences on students satisfaction. Furthermore, areas for future research are suggested.

Service design as an innovation approach in technology startups: a longitudinal multiple case study

While service design has been accepted as a human‐centered and cocreative approach to service innovation, its role in technology‐driven contexts, specifically technology startups, has been largely unexplored. Previous research suggests that technology startups tend to focus on technical aspects of innovation, neglecting the value cocreation potential of service innovation that service design can facilitate. Focusing on value propositions as the main mechanisms of service innovation, this study explores how service design facilitates service innovation in technology startups. This longitudinal study examines the opportunities and challenges of introducing service design for the purpose of service innovation in five technology startups over a period of 11 months. Results reveal how service design facilitates the creation of new value propositions that expand the previous technology‐driven focus towards a human‐centered and cocreative one. Additionally, findings suggest that there are two levels of how service design becomes embedded in technology startups that are contingent on their life cycle stage. This contributes to the service innovation literature that views innovation as development of new value propositions and describes the key role of service design. The study also discusses managerial implications of the findings for technology startups and service designers and provides directions for future research.

Co-Innovation in Creative-Intensive Business Services: The Role of Clients in Advertising Agencies' Innovation Processes

The provider-client relationship is at once the main locus and the fundamental source of innovation through the interactive exchange of information and knowledge occurring during service production. However, one relevant research gap concerns the influence of relationships with clients on providers’ own innovation processes. This paper aims at contributing to fill this gap, by focusing in particular on Creative Intensive Business Service (CIBS), and, more precisely, on advertising agencies. Drawing on an extensive literature review that combines three main areas of research – (i) service management and innovation literature, (ii) relationship marketing, and, (iii) user involvement in new service development - we define a multidimensional framework and identify key constructs for the analysis of provider-client relationships that foster agency’s innovation. Thus, we contribute in advancing knowledge on client’s contribution in service innovation, with particular reference to CIBS.

Identification of the factors that influence service innovation in manufacturing enterprises by using the fuzzy DEMATEL method

With the rise of the service economy, many companies are attempting to gain a competitive advantage through service innovation. However, the existing research on the factors influencing service innovation appears to be scattered, lacking comprehensive and systematic understanding, and failing to find any causal relationship between factors and the importance of each factor. Hence, this paper will systematically identify and analyze the factors that influence service innovation based on a service ecosystems perspective in manufacturing enterprises. This paper uses a set of factors that influence service innovation through an analysis of the existing service innovation literature, and uses the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method to more accurately quantify the causal relationship of each factor and to identify the key influencing factors. The results show that customer participation, frontline employee participation, information technology capability, knowledge sharing, senior management support, and market turmoil are the key influencing factors. This study explores the key factors influencing service innovation in manufacturing enterprises, and discriminates the causal relationship between various factors. This study contributes to the literature on service innovation, provides future research directions and helps managers to more easily achieve service innovation.

Service Innovation in the Hospitality Industry

The notion of service innovation has gained significant source of competitive advantage to any organization, in general, and also to firms in the hospitality industry. Any organization desiring to succeed must continually seek to create innovative products or services to gain and sustain an edge in the increasingly competitive market environment. This paper reviews extant literature associated with service innovation from two perspectives. A general literature review of the concepts associated with service innovation is performed drawing attention to such items as, the concept of service innovation; the definitions of service innovation; the differences between product and service innovation; the dimensions of service innovation; the drivers of service innovation; patterns of service innovation; effects of service innovation; and service innovation success factors. Second, a literature review associated with service innovation in the hospitality industry is undertaken. This latter review draws attention to the benefits of service innovation in the hospitality industry; the types of innovations in hospitality firms; and summarizes the findings of recent studies on service innovation in hospitality firms. Overall, the study found evidence of significant research attention to service innovation in the context of services in the hospitality industry. Moreover, it was found that some regions or countries, such as Europe and the Far East (Taiwan, in particular) appeared to be the recipients of greater attention in service innovation literature associated with the hospitality industry

The Impact of the Internet on Experience Services and the Cost of Information: An Updated Conceptual Model of Innovation vs. Imitation and Firm Performance in Services.

The extant service innovation literature suggests the high cost of an information search, when evaluating a new service provider, creates switching costs that hold customers hostage, allowing first-movers to recoup their investments and sustain an advantage. We utilize Transaction Cost Economics as a theoretical foundation to expand the service innovation literature by examining the Internet’s impact on the cost of information. We propose that as a result of the Internet, experience services offered by service firms have largely become search services, with lower levels of information asymmetry. We also suggest that the Internet has had little impact on information costs related to firms that offer largely credence services. These services will continue to exhibit higher levels of information asymmetry. Finally, we present a moderated model of innovation vs. imitation strategies that suggests that firms offering search services will increase firm performance through imitation, while credence firms will increase firm performance through innovation strategies. The extant service innovation literature suggests the high cost of an information search, when evaluating a new service provider, creates switching costs that hold customers hostage, allowing first-movers to recoup their investments and sustain an advantage. We utilize Transaction Cost Economics as a theoretical foundation to expand the service innovation literature by examining the Internet’s impact on the cost of information. We propose that as a result of the Internet, experience services offered by service firms have largely become search services, with lower levels of information asymmetry. We also suggest that the Internet has had little impact on information costs related to firms that offer largely credence services. These services will continue to exhibit higher levels of information asymmetry. Finally, we present a moderated model of innovation vs. imitation strategies that suggests that firms offering search services will increase firm performance through imitation, while credence firms will increase firm performance through innovation strategies.

Ethical leadership, intrapreneurship, service innovation performance and work engagement in chambers of commerce and industry

ABSTRACTThe main purpose of this study which examines how it can be more effective in terms of organizational and managerial aspects with chambers of commerce and industry affiliated to The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey is to analyze the relationships between ethical leadership, work engagement, intrapreneurship, and service innovation behavior. In addition, it is to determine the role of mediation of work engagement effecting on intrapreneurship and service innovation behavior. For this purpose, quantitative analysis methods have been adopted. The data collected from 568 employees who were employed in chambers of commerce and industry operating in Turkey were analyzed. For the validity and reliability of the measurement tools, confirmatory factor analysis, the model’s good fit values and the AMOS Structural Equation Model were used. It was found that ethical leadership had statistically significant effect on employee engagement, intrapreneurship and the subscales of service innovation behavior (employee service innovation behavior and new service development). The results showed that work engagement partially mediated with ethical leadership effecting on intrapreneurship, ethical leadership effecting on the subscales of service innovation behavior. It is thought that the study is important in terms of providing empirical contributions to the ethical leadership, service innovation, intrapreneurship and work engagement literature. Finally, there are some limitations of the study and some suggestions are offered for future studies.

Pursuing superior performance of service innovation through improved corporate social responsibility

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the performance of service innovation (PSI), and the mediating effect of knowledge acquisition. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on social exchange and knowledge management theories, this paper establishes a relevant conceptual model and adopts a hierarchical regression analysis to examine the model with a data set of 298 firms from China. Findings CSR positively affects the PSI; however, the effects vary when firms take responsibility for different stakeholders. CSR for the same group of stakeholders influences differently the short-term financial and long-term non-financial PSI, whereas knowledge acquisition mediates the impact of employee and customer CSR on PSI, but not the impact of community CSR on PSI. Practical implications Managers could improve the PSI of the firm by strategically assuming CSR and by managing corporate knowledge acquisition activities. Originality/value This study contributes to the service innovation literature by identifying the influence of particular types of CSR on PSI, and by highlighting the influencing mechanism of knowledge acquisition. It extends scholarly understanding of the antecedents of PSI as well as the business returns to CSR.

On Service Innovation as an Interactive Process: A Case Study of the Engagement with Innovation of a Tourism Service

In the innovation studies literature, the process of innovation has been described as an interactive process that engages many different actors over time in the development and regeneration of goods and services. In the development and regeneration of tourism services, this often includes community actors. Yet, little attention has been paid to the way in which actors grasp the societal environment with which they interact, for example in intimate relationships or interactions with a wider community, and how such interaction formats may in turn affect the innovation process; for example, its desirability and visibility. The paper contributes to service and tourism innovation research by drawing on the concept of engagement to explain three cognitive formats of social interaction between innovators and their social environment. These are familiar engagement, engagement in plan, and engagement in justifiable action. The contribution to service and tourism innovation literature is to show how the varied capabilities of engagement impact innovation. Furthermore, based on a case study on a tourism service, the paper argues that the different formats of engagement typically must be combined and balanced in the innovation process.

Social media and co-creative service innovation: an empirical study

PurposeOnline information research on hotels is gradually emerging as a key area of research with the increasing use of social media as a platform for co-creative service innovation (CCSI). The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between the key drivers of co-creation intention in the social media context. Understanding relationships between key drivers of customers’ co-creation intention will prove valuable in advancing current knowledge about service innovation using social media. The key drivers examined in this study are – customer innovativeness, attitude toward CCSI on social media, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. This knowledge will be of considerable value for its practical application in the hotel industry.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 346 hotel guests using survey method. Structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping estimation was used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results show that customer innovativeness, attitude toward CCSI on social media, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control positively influence both co-creation and adoption intention. Further, it was also found that co-creation intention mediates the relationship between its two driving factors, namely, customer innovativeness, attitude toward CCSI in social media and adoption intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide theoretical implications for hospitality discipline. The findings also provide various strategies hospitality firms can use to co-create service innovation through the effective use of social media.Originality/valueThe relationships examined in the present study have not been tested previously; this is the first attempt of the kind. Thus, the associations established in this study form an important contribution to the existing body of knowledge in co-creation, service innovation and social media literature.

Service Innovation Genealogy: The Research Field Tells its Own Story

This paper examines the generation of service innovation research since its seminal works until present days. It derives from of an exhaustive literature review of 31 years of research on service innovation (1986 to mid-2017). We have conducted an inductive categorization to identify the leading research subjects and to explain how they have emerged and performed over the years. We present our categorization of twelve research topics that summarize the service innovation literature: Performance and measures, Customer related studies, Knowledge management, Innovation capabilities and competences, Service interactions, New services development and design, Innovation networks, Innovation typologies, Information and communication technologies, Industries X Services perspective; Public services; and Social innovations. We performed a Multiple Correspondence Analysis to identify common behaviors among research categories. We identify four different waves, which have determined and shaped service innovation research production over time. They are: Core discussions, constituted by the “active founders”; Sources and activities, containing the “operationalizing themes”; Peripheral applications, covering the “diffused testers”; and Conceptual blending, containing the “blending-out themes”. We summarize the four waves and their research categories in a service innovation genealogy. We argue that service innovation theory arose from theory borrowed from economics three decades ago; evolved through operationalisations of its core themes on the last 20 years; followed into multiple testing of its theoretical premises across management research fields; and finally reached a stage where it can lend theoretical knowledge to emergent research fields outside original service innovation theory, such as social innovations.