Services innovation is a topic of growing interest for researchers and policy makers alike. Despite the growing number of studies conducted in developed economies, current literature provides only fragmentary insights into the nature of services innovation in emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, etc.
In recent years, emerging economies have transformed the global competitive landscape. Though still in the follow-up stage, service sectors in emerging economies have boomed alongside flourishing manufacturing industries, and have grown to constitute a much larger part of employment and output than before. The successful development and launch of innovative services is not only becoming key for services enterprises to survive and succeed in developing and sustaining competitive advantage, but is also considered to be an important trigger for the extension of services business and a new source of competitive advantage for manufacturing firms.
However, owing to the differences in development stage, factor endowment, technology development, market maturity and service culture and consumption habitation, services innovation activities in emerging economies inevitably show significant differences to those in developed economies. Interestingly, more and more services firms in emerging economies have grown rapidly and become formidable competitors to established services firms in developed economies, despite being latecomers.
Therefore there is a multitude of issues which deserve to be studied theoretically and empirically in emerging economies, which would raise profound implications for the management of services innovation activities and policymaking.
To gain a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of services innovation in emerging economies, this special issue aims to present research on the theory, practice and policy of services innovation in emerging economies.
Qualitative and quantitative as well as conceptual approaches defining, understanding and managing services innovation activities in enterprises in emerging economies are appropriate and appreciated. Contributions will be evaluated on the basis of originality, clarity and relevance. We encourage submissions that provide a unique perspective using diverse methodological approaches, and from interdisciplinary/international/industry-academic co-author teams.
Theoretical, methodological and/or empirical research papers in any sector of services or manufacturing are invited. Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
- Taxonomies, modes and processes of services innovation in emerging economies
- Obstacles and bottlenecks for innovation activities in services in emerging economies
- New service development (NSD) in emerging economies
- Innovation activities of knowledge intensive business services in emerging economies
- Services innovation systems in emerging economies
- The measurement and assessment of services innovation in emerging economies
- Performance effects of services innovation in emerging economies
- Determinants to services innovation success
- The relationship between services innovation and service quality and capability
- Protection of services innovation in emerging economies
- Localisation and globalisation of services innovation in emerging economies
- The influence of services innovation on manufacturing at different levels, including firm level, industry level and regional level
- Formation, implementation and assessment of innovation policy in services in emerging economies
Submission deadline: 31 October, 2011
Author notification/review comments: 15 January, 2012
Final manuscript due: 31 March, 2012
