Operationalisation of service innovation: a systems thinking approach

This paper initialises an effort to explore the impact of an innovative systems thinking approach for service operations design on creating innovation. A qualitative exploratory case study approach in two of the UK’s service sector departments was conducted, using face-to-face semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and extractions from both observations and documents. The results identify that operationalising service innovation is positively linked with applying the Vanguard Method for service operations design. Twelve micro-determinants for service innovation operationalisation have been identified that reside at three different levels in the service organisation, namely employees level (i.e. Micro), the functional level (i.e. Meso), and corporate level (i.e. Macro). The value of this paper is the introduction of a step-by-step guidance on how to build service operations design to operationalise service innovation, the paper also theorises service innovation with systems thinking methodology that emphasises holistic, multi-disciplinary, and integrative characteristics of the service system.     

Inter-organizational information systems adoption for service innovation in building sector

The building sector has experienced a significant decline in recent years in Spain and Europe as a result of the financial crisis that began in 2007. This drop accompanies a low penetration of information and communication technologies in inter-organizational oriented business processes. The market decrease is causing a slowdown in the building sector, where only flexible small and medium enterprises (SMEs) survive thanks to specialization and innovation in services, which allow them to face new market demands. Inter-organizational information systems (IOISs) support innovation in services, and are thus a strategic tool for SMEs to obtain competitive advantage. Because of the inherent complexity of IOIS adoption, this research extends Kurnia and Johnston's (2000) theoretical model of IOIS adoption with an empirical model of IOIS characterization. The resultant model identifies the factors influencing IOIS adoption in SMEs in the building sector, to promote further service innovation for competitive and collaborative advantages. An empirical longitudinal study over six consecutive years using data from Spanish SMEs in the building sector validates the model, using the partial least squares technique and analyzing temporal stability. The main findings of this research are the four ways an IOIS might contribute to service innovation in the building sector. Namely: a) improving client interfaces and the link between service providers and end users; b) defining a specific market where SMEs can develop new service concepts; c) enhancing the service delivery system in traditional customer–supplier relationships; and d) introducing information and communication technologies and tools to improve information management.     

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.     

A framework for innovative service design

Drawing on research from design science, marketing, and service science, our paper provides an integrated framework for evaluating and directing innovative service design. The main goal of our review is to highlight the strengths of existing frameworks and to suggest how they can be enhanced in combination with design science principles. Based on our review, we propose a new framework for the design of innovative services that integrates several key paradigmatic approaches and identifies fundamental open research questions. Our approach is unique as it combines three service disciplines, namely services marketing, service science, and design science, and provides a new framework that describes step by step the procedure that needs to be taken and the conditions that need to be met for developing innovative services. We believe that providing such a framework is a valuable addition to the literature.     

Employee involvement in ideation and healthcare service innovation quality

ABSTRACT

This study hypothesizes and empirically tests the influence of involvement of (1) frontline employees and (2) top managers in ideation process on healthcare service innovation quality. Based on data from 168 service innovation projects in Dutch healthcare organizations, the empirical results indicate that frontline employee involvement and top management involvement in, respectively, idea generation and idea application both improve the quality of healthcare service innovation. We find that the positive effect of frontline employee involvement is stronger under the condition of higher service innovativeness. In the direct relationship of top management involvement and healthcare service innovation quality, our data do not show such a moderating effect. The key and general managerial implication of the findings is that healthcare organizations are inspired to involve frontline employees in the idea generation processes and involve top managers in the idea application processes of service innovation projects, in order to improve innovation quality.     

Management of perceptions of information technology service quality

The present study evaluates the perception gaps of service quality between information technology (IT) service providers and their clients. IT services require high investments, which make analyzing its effectiveness increasingly important. To do this analysis, this study uses the instrument SERVPERF of the SERVQUAL model. The research took place in a large Brazilian retail bank, which identified gaps in perceptions between IT service providers and its clients. The findings suggest opportunities for improvement in the quality of IT services from a strategic alignment perspective, particularly in the following dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The study also indicates some enhancements for the SERVQUAL model.     

Inter-firm relational resources in cloud service adoption and their effect on service innovation

This study examines (1) inter-firm relational resources for cloud service adoption and (2) their effects on service innovation. A research model and the related hypotheses are developed based on resource-advantage (R-A) theory that combines inter-firm relational resources identified in theoretical and empirical research as important antecedents of cloud service adoption and its effect on service innovation. This study collects data from 165 managers from service firms in Taiwan. The results show that resources, including reliability, cost, and compatibility significantly affect a firm’s cloud service adoption. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud service significantly contributes to service innovation. The findings add to the current understanding of service innovation in two important ways. First, drawing on R-A theory, this study is among the first attempts to identify inter-firm relational resources (reliability, cost, compatibility, and customer orientation) for cloud service adoption and their effect on innovation performance. Second, this study introduces cloud services as effective technological platforms for a firm and its business partners to share, integrate, and reciprocate information, knowledge, and experience for service innovation.     

粤港澳大湾区新一代信息技术产业和知识产权服务业融合发展研究

先进制造业和现代服务业融合是顺应新一轮科技革命和产业变革、增强制造业核心竞争力,更是推进粤港澳大湾区经济转型升级的关键点和构建现代产业体系的主攻方向。本文在厘清两业融合发展基础概念的基础上,以现代服务业的重要组成知识产权服务业为切入点,尝试构建分析研判新一代信息技术产业和知识产权服务业发展融合度的指标体系。在此基础上,本文聚焦新一代信息技术产业开展了实证研究,结果显示当前湾区内新一代信息技术产业与知识产权服务业存在着需求定位不清晰、服务不规范等问题,两业融合状况仍有较大提升空间。据此,本文围绕合作路径、业务关联、业态模式、政策环境等维度提出了若干对策建议,以期为保障现代服务业推动粤港澳大湾区先进制造业高质量发展提供了有益参考。     

The evolution of service innovation research: a critical review and synthesis

The number of service innovation articles has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. By reviewing 128 articles published between 1986 and 2010, primarily in leading marketing and innovation journals, this study analyzes the progression of service innovation research according to topicality and perspective. The authors summarize prior research by clustering it into three evolutional phases and drawing parallels with the evolution of the wider services marketing field. Overall, the view of service innovation has evolved, from a complement of traditional product innovation to a multidimensional, all-encompassing notion that entails several functions, both within and outside the firm.     

Transformative service research and service design: synergistic effects in healthcare

ABSTRACT

This conceptual paper answers the question: How do we design service experiences in whole to increase the well-being of all participants in the healthcare system – patients, families, and caregivers? In order to do so, we position service design as an essential tool and even a mindset needed for transformative service research success. We discuss the transformative role service design plays in improving service and consumer entities’ well-being with a focus on how this approach can lead to improved healthcare service outcomes. We also add to the conversation surrounding service and consumer entities’ well-being by broadening the concept and application of service design to consider social, existential, psychological, and physical well-being. We particularly explore how healthcare services can benefit from further consumer engagement and collaborative patient–provider relationships, two key factors essential for redesigning the industry.     

地面卫星信息监测分析服务系统软件设计中的关键技术

地面综合气象卫星信息监测分析服务系统是卫星系统应用的重 要组成部分。根据其功能实现的需要,通过采用基于ArcGIS的遥测信息处理、基于空间信息 的时间属性叠加存储,以及基于索引查找的海量信息定位等方法,搭建了气象卫星信息监测 分析服务系统软件设计所涉及到的地理信息与遥感信息相结合、时空一体化数据存储、海量 数据图像处理与显示等关键技术的实现方案,为该气象卫星的整体成功应用奠定了坚实的 技术基础。     

阿联酋粮食战略储备项目工艺设计的先进性

阿联酋粮食战略储备项目规划总存储能力726 760 t,一期粮食存储能力为276 760 t。粮库分为稻谷仓和小麦仓,均为28 m直径钢筋混凝土筒仓,稻谷仓单仓仓容9 960 t,共6栋,小麦仓单仓仓容15 500 t,共14栋。以及与之配套生产附属设施,主要包括工作塔、汽车发放站、控制室、转接塔、输送栈桥等。进仓设备能力为1 200 t/h,出仓设备能力为600 t/h。     

Examining human resource practice outcomes and service innovation

This study sought to examine the relationship between human resource practice outcomes and service innovation. It also examines the moderating role of knowledge sharing in the relationship between workplace friendship and service innovation, as well as the mediating role of knowledge sharing in the relationship between job satisfaction and service innovation. The study employed survey research design. The respondents were selected from across the service industry in Ghana using convenience sampling technique. Items measuring the constructs were adapted from extant literature. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to ascertain the validity of the measurement model. Hierarchical regression was used to analyse the data. The results show that knowledge sharing, job satisfaction, workplace friendship, and employee commitment predict service innovation. However, the interaction of workplace friendship and knowledge sharing has no effect on service innovation. Similarly, the moderation of employee commitment and job satisfaction did not make any contribution to service innovation. The findings imply that service firms must create a friendly working environment, ensuring that employees are satisfied in order to promote service innovation. It also implies that service firms must promote social activities that encourage knowledge sharing, but these social activities must relate to employees’ job.     

The multiple effects of service innovation and quality on transitional and electronic word-of-mouth in predicting customer behaviour

In the service industry, word of mouth (WOM) has become an important indicator for influencing customer behaviour and developing marketing strategies. The current study develops a new theoretical model to analyse the moderating mechanism of electronic WOM, and further considers a multiple mediation analysis of how service innovation may influence in-person word of mouth (WOM) through service quality and brand loyalty. The results show that managers need to focus on WOM to improve customer service quality perception and encourage revisits. A study of 939 customers of a famous hotpot restaurant provides supporting evidence for this moderated mediation analysis. This study also discusses how this intriguing design of moderated mediation could be clarified using regulatory focus theory and further literature.     

The impact of service innovation on firm performance

This study empirically examines the impact of service innovation on performance in developing countries such as China. We construct a more integrative model linking service innovation, service quality and performance and collect 277 samples in the Chinese tourism sector. The findings are: First, service innovation affects firm performance through direct and indirect paths where service quality plays a positive mediating role, and the direct impact is larger than the indirect one; Secondly, the innovation mode is cost-reductive, which focuses on eliminating internal cost rather than improving service quality; Third, the assessment of service quality emphasizes the dimensions of assurance and reliability.     

Influence of innovation on performance: analysis of Spanish service firms

The main objective of this research was to analyse innovation in service firms. In strategic management, the methodology of fit allows us to study the adjustment between two dimensions by revealing the internal consistency between them and its influence on the efficiency of firms. This paper is focused on the analysis of fit between types of services (classified according to intensity of innovation) and the innovation decisions made by these firms. The fit has been contrasted through the methodology of adjustment as an approach to the ideal profile. An important question in this paper consists in revealing whether the fit between the type of services and innovative decisions influences a firm's performance.     

Integration of planning and execution in service innovation

The purpose of this article is to elaborate two activities included in innovation: planning and execution. We use four dimensions – decision making, organization, process, and external interaction – as the analytical framework. Building on five empirical case studies in the Finnish residential sector, the article identifies various approaches to integrating planning and execution during the development process. Furthermore, the article identifies four integrative mechanisms that relate to each of the four analytical dimensions. The key proposition is that the integration between planning and execution is the driving force for innovation, and that the locus of this integration is the practical engagement of actors with specific aims, problems, and means at hand related to the emerging solution. Finally, the article identifies the availability of, or access to, service-provision resources and the customer interface as a key enabler of this integration.     

The impact of service innovation on firm-level financial performance

This article empirically investigates if firms focusing on service innovation perform better financially than firms not focusing on service innovation. Analysis of the financial performance of 3575 Norwegian firms in the manufacturing industries supports the proposition that firms focusing on service innovation have significantly higher growth of operating results than firms not focusing on service innovation. However, this proposition is not supported in a corresponding analysis of 1132 Norwegian firms in the service industries. We elaborate on these results by investigating a variety of performance measures and by comparing the effects of service innovation between manufacturing and service industries. The article contributes to the service innovation measurement literature and to a better general understanding of the determinants of service innovation performance effects.     

Service providers’ sustainable service innovation: service-dominant logic

This study examined the service innovation in different service providers with multiple case-study approach. From the perspective of service-dominant logic, four service innovation development models can be distinguished in Technology Development Program companies in Taiwan, including service system integrator and niche market, innovative service solution provider and niche market, innovative service solution provider and mass market, and service system integrator and mass market. Service providers develop ICT platforms, customer relationship management systems, community commerce services, and multi-channel services that are appropriate for a specific industry. On the one hand, active improvement of ICT service system integration extends company capabilities toward external cooperative partners through the provision of integrated product services and comprehensive solutions. On the other hand, innovative service solutions optimize consumer experience and customer relationship management and improve business effectiveness and reduce operations costs due to an important role assigned to services and experience in product sales.     

The alignment of service architecture and organizational structure

How does service modularity contribute to performance of service firms and how does organizational architecture facilitate these effects? We propose a new perspective that service modularity contributes to the service performance by increasing efficiency, broadening the service scope, and increasing the visibility of service to customers. Moreover, we bring forward the ambiguous relationship between organization integration and service modularity by holding that organization integration can influence the service modularization process so as to moderate the relationship between service modularity and performance. Our analysis of classic professional service firms (i.e. accounting firms, architecture firms, and law firms) in China, which is a typical emerging market, supports our theoretical framework.