Modes of service innovation: a typology
| Published date | 10 August 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-03-2015-0067 |
| Pages | 1358-1382 |
| Date | 10 August 2015 |
| Author | Qiang Wang,Chris Voss,Xiande Zhao,Zhiqiang Wang |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Modes of service innovation:
a typology
Qiang Wang
China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China
Chris Voss
Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
Xiande Zhao
China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China and
Institute of Supply Chain Integration and Service Innovation,
School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology,
Guangzhou, China, and
Zhiqiang Wang
Institute of Supply Chain Integration and Service Innovation,
School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology,
Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose ofthis paper is to explore different modes of service innovationby examining
business model innovation alongside two traditional modes: product innovation and process innovation.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors first empirically test a typology using archival data
from 69 service innovation projects in a major mobile telecom company. The authors then extend the
typology by investigating the interrelationships among service product, service process, and business
model innovationbased on empirical evidence from multi-modeservice innovations. Finally,the authors
study the patterns of modes in a networked environment.
Findings –The results indicate that the typology is applicable and all three modes of service
innovation exist in the sample. The authors find that all of the business model innovations involve
external partnerships during the development process, while only a small proportion of service process
innovations involve external partnerships.
Originality/value –This study has empirically validated a typology of service innovation and discussed
the theoretical and managerial implications of multi-mode innovations, contributing to service innovation
literature and practices.
Keywords Typology, Innovation management, Service innovation, Business model innovation
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The service sector has grown over the past three decades as services dominate in most
advanced economies, and countries that historically focussed on manufacturing are
now growing rapidly in services (Song et al., 2009). Service research has attracted
scholars from different disciplines in recent years, but there is a growing need to refine
and promote service research agendas (Ostrom et al., 2010, 2015). The importance of
service innovation has become increasingly recognized. Menor et al. (2002) addressed
the importance of service innovation research by examining areas covered by previous
research as well as areas requiring discovery. Ostrom et al. (2010) identified service
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 115 No. 7, 2015
pp. 1358-1382
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-03-2015-0067
Received 6 March 2015
Revised 3 May 2015
Accepted 6 June 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
The work described in this paper was substantially supported by the Major Program Fund of the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 71090403/71090400).
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innovation as one of the research priorities in the science of service, and Ostrom et al.
(2015) reemphasized that stimulating service innovation is a major strategic priority for
service research. Spohrer and Maglio (2008) also pointed out the need for service
innovations to fuel further economic growth. While there is a growing amount of
research in this area, there are still many debates and uncertainties that need to be
addressed in service innovation research.
Although much research on service innovation has focussed on innovation of the
service offering –the service product –it has long been recognized that the simultaneity
of service production and delivery implies that service innovation could be the result of
innovation in the service process (e.g. Shang et al., 2009), as services can be seen as deeds,
processes, and performances (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). More recently, there has also
been a growing recognition of innovation in business models, especially in the service
context, and it can be argued that any typology of service innovation should also consider
business model innovation. Therefore, we adopt a typology of service innovation that was
originally proposed by Forfás (2006) and was modified by Voss and Zomerdijk (2007).
This typology is based on three innovation modes: service product, service process, and
business model innovation.
The relationships between the three proposed modes of service innovation are still
unclear. One of the dilemmas concerning the design issue in service innovation is the
question of whether it is a product or a process that is being designed (Voss and Hsuan,
2009). There is also a debate as to whether service innovations always involve bo th
product and process innovation or if these two aspects are indeed separate (Droege
et al., 2009). These authors suggest that one important opportunity in service innovation
research is in identifying distinguishable innovation dimensions, because the applicability
of the classic “product-process”framework in a service context is often doubted by
researchers. There are a number of studies examining the relationship between product
and process innovation in manufacturing (Reichstein and Salter, 2006), but studies
of this relationship in the service context are relatively scarce and inconclusive (Boone,
2000; Nijssen et al., 2006). The relationship between business model innovation and
product/process innovation in the service context is far more under-researched. Ostro m
et al. (2015) have engaged in an international and interdisciplinary research (19 research
centers/networks were involved in roundtables and 334 service researchers participated
in an online survey) to identify priorities for service research. They point out that
“understanding the interrelationships among service-product, service-process, and
business-model innovation”is one of the “five important directions for future
research in service innovation”(Ostrom et al., 2015, p. 131). In the existing literature, a
service innovation is usually based on either just one of these modes (mainly service
product innovation or service process innovation) or a blurred combination of all
possible modes (i.e. a broad concept of service innovation that basically involves
all aspects of service), which impairs the theoretical and practical generalizations of
the service innovation concept.
The objective of this research is to explore how different modes are used in servi ce
innovation, and the specific patterns with regard to the combinations of, as well as the
relationship between each mode.
To validate the typology and explore our research questions, we use secondary
document data from 69 service innovation projects in a large telecom firm. To enable an
appropriate comparison to be made, we control for success –each innovation has won a
best service innovation award. We collected secondary data and award application
documents for these projects, supplemented by semi-structured interviews. Based on
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innovation
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