Business Service Innovation: A Preliminary Conceptual Framework of Success Drivers

Abstract

Despite various calls for a better understanding of the drivers of innovation success in the service sector, research on internal and external determinants of service innovation remains highly fragmented. This paper aims to reconcile the scattered research findings in this area by reviewing the literature published over the past two decades on success factors of service innovation for business services. The studies are thematically analysed based on their theoretical backgrounds, research designs, and overall findings. A conceptual framework incorporating firm characteristics, a market factor, and inter-firm drivers as antecedents of innovation success is developed, providing directions for future research.