East‐Asian practitioners aspiring to engage in the design thinking (DT) practice—a human‐centred approach to innovation developed and primarily used in Western cultures—may experience a “cultural ...clash” or “cultural misfit” that may inhibit the acceptance of DT logic. To tap into this still underexplored terrain, this qualitative study explores the enablers and challenges of effective DT practice in achieving service innovation in Hong Kong organizations. Based on a dozen in‐depth interviews, we identified numerous sociocultural and institutional enablers and challenges, which we interpreted based on the postulates of structuration theory proposed by Giddens. Our conceptualization and empirical investigation of DT through a practice lens offers a new perspective when studying the contextual antecedents of DT. Specifically, the findings show that the choice to engage in DT practice is shaped by cultural specifics in the plurality of influences that move beyond the Western perspective and previous DT studies. From a practical point of view, our research informs policymakers and managers about the importance of being culturally sensitive and humanizing digital transformation when organizing service innovation.
PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the relationship between sustainability practices and the degree of innovation in the service provided by restaurants. The study identifies relevant restaurant ...segments in relation to sustainable practice-based service innovation so that effective actions to raise awareness and train managers and staff may be developed. Segmentation has been identified as a key tool when designing strategies and proposing actions. Yet, the use of segmentation techniques is still scarce regarding service innovation and sustainability in restaurants.Design/methodology/approachA segmentation analysis was carried out applying the CHAID algorithm from 300 valid questionnaires completed by restaurant owners or managers from coastal Ecuador, where tourism and gastronomy may be drivers of service innovation.FindingsA typology of restaurants based on the sustainability-service innovation interrelation suggests three final segments: sustainable innovators focused on the value chain, moderate innovators focused on saving resources and restaurants with a low innovative profile.Practical implicationsThe three segments derived from the analysis present differences in terms of the degree of implementation of sustainability practices, as well as in terms of the demographic profile of the restaurant manager. These segments are measurable, substantial, accessible and actionable, so that tailored initiatives to raise awareness and boost sustainability-oriented innovativeness among restaurant owners/managers may be targeted to each group of establishments.Originality/valueThe present research provides evidence of the positive relationship between sustainability practices and service innovation in foodservices. The segments of restaurants identified enable the design and implementation of actions that facilitate the transition of less sustainability-oriented restaurants towards more innovative and sustainable business models.
Purpose
By developing a conceptual model, the purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the role of social assistive technologies in facilitating the process of service innovation in ...care providing organisations to adopt the principles of the consumer-directed care strategy and reduce perceived consumer vulnerability.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a cross-sectional survey method, the authors collected data through a survey questionnaire distributed among 335 aged caregivers and specialists. The conceptual model and its 11 research hypotheses were examined using confirmatory factor analysis in structural equation modelling. The rival and mediation models were also estimated.
Findings
The conceptual model was validated and eight of eleven hypotheses were supported. It was found that dynamic capabilities are crucial to developing service innovation concept in care providing organisations. In this way, social assistive technologies play a facilitating role to promote the consumer-directed care strategy throughout care providing organisations and allow care providers to enhance wellbeing of vulnerable older people based on their socio-economic status. From the lens of aged care providers, it was also found that the consumer-directed care strategy implemented in aged care facilities may help reduce consumer vulnerability among older people especially when they use social assistive technologies in their service settings.
Practical implications
This study suggests aged care service providers should boost dynamic service innovation capabilities to improve the need for social assistive technologies in aged care facilities with respect to the importance of the consumer-directed care strategy.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the development and validation of a conceptual model for the use of social assistive technologies to sustain service innovation in aged care business models and enhance the consumer-directed care strategy’s performance to better understand consumer vulnerability among older people.
PurposeThe aim of this paper is to understand if service innovation (Helkkula et al., 2018), based on artificial intelligence (AI) systems, may guarantee healthcare service ecosystem (H-SES) ...well-being (Frow et al., 2019; Beirão et al., 2017), taking into account that many doubts relieved in terms of transparency may compromise the patients' perceived quality of health services provided through AI systems.Design/methodology/approachA literature review on service innovation, detected in terms of value co-creation, and service ecosystem, investigated in terms of well-being, is drawn. To analyze the implications of service innovation on a H-SES well-being, through the technology acceptance degree and predisposition to use by actors, a case study based on TAM-model 3 determinants as categories is carried out.FindingsAI-based service innovation archetypes in healthcare may be considered as antecedents of the service ecosystem well-being conditions as long as they enable actors to co-create value. To make it possible, a patient-driven service innovation is necessary in order to mitigate the risks of its inactivity due to fears in terms of transparency.Originality/valueService innovation and service ecosystem well-being may be studied in an integrated way, with a multidisciplinary approach, and are linked by value co-creation, because only thanks a patient-driven service innovation is possible to foster service ecosystem well-being in healthcare.
Assistive technologies, such as robots, have proven to be useful in a social context and to improve the quality of life for people with dementia (PwD). This study aims to show how the engagement ...between two social robots and PwD in Australian residential care facilities can improve care quality. An observational method is adopted in the research methodology to discover behavioural patterns during interactions between the robots and PwD. This observational study has undertaken to explore the improvement arising from: (1) approaching social baby-face robots (AR), (2) experiencing pleasure engaging with the robots (P), (3) interacting with the robots (IR), and (4) interacting with others (IO). The findings show that social robots can improve diversion therapy service value to PwD through sensory enrichment, positive social engagement, and entertainment. More than 11,635 behavioral reactions, such as facial expressions and gestures, from 139 PwD over 5 years were coded, in order to identify the engagement effectiveness between PwD and two social robots named Sophie and Jack. The results suggest that these innovative social robots can improve the quality of care for people suffering from dementia.
Purpose
Online 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/approach
Data were collected from 346 hotel guests using survey method. Structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping estimation was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The 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/implications
The 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/value
The 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.
The early stages of innovation involve high levels of uncertainty, leading to it being labelled as the “fuzzy-front end” (FFE). Although openness has been identified as pivotal to innovation ...performance in the open innovation literature, little effort has been put into exploring its role in the FFE. Specifically, this study examines ‘openness competence’ within the FFE–i.e., the ability of a FFE team to explore, gather and assimilate operant resources from external sources by means of external searches and inter-organisational partnerships. The aim is to investigate the impact of openness competence on front-end uncertainty reduction and service innovation success. Data were obtained from a survey of 122 IT-based service innovation projects implemented by IT service provider firms in Thailand. The results suggest that openness competence positively influences both the degree of uncertainty being reduced during the FFE and the overall success of service innovations. These findings offer several implications for research on open innovation and the FFE as well as encouragement to managers to apply a more open approach to the FFE of their service innovation projects.
•We explore whether openness influences success through uncertainty reduction.•Openness competence within the FFE helps reduce market and technical uncertainty.•Openness competence directly influences service innovation success.•Market uncertainty reduction partially mediates the effect of openness on success.•Technical uncertainty reduction has no significant impact on success.
Value creation through service innovation is challenging in complex, changing markets. Agility may be the key to understanding resource integration in dynamic contexts and what drives and enables ...service innovation. To understand service innovation, 12 interviews were conducted in four innovative companies. This study’s findings indicate that agility links adaptive and creative resource integration efforts in organizations, enabling actors to function smoothly together in dynamic contexts while engaging in disruptive activities. Creative resource integration is experimenting and reusing resources and practices in new contexts for the purpose of improving value creation. In retrospect, creative resource integration activities, which may not be considered innovative in the moment, are labelled as innovation based on aggregation. Being truly innovative requires the ability to be agile by proactively and reactively balancing adaptive and creative resource integration, the drive to constantly improve, and embracing a culture for agility congruent throughout the organization.
Expansion of business activities comes with various environmental and natural disasters, hence agitating the economies and academia to present the counter and effective solution. Researchers also ...pinpointed prior that there exists a dark side of business expansion such as lacking of green innovative activities and dynamic capabilities which are creating resistance to achieve sustainability. Besides, literature also claims that green innovation is a crucial segment to achieve competitive edge that leads to sustainable entrepreneurship; however, it is not easier to be achieved as green innovation along green capabilities makes a complex network which consists of embedded partners, hence, also in dire need of green knowledge sharing as well to make the process smooth. In this lieu, the study aims to scrutinize the effectiveness of green knowledge sharing, green dynamic capabilities, and green service innovation on green entrepreneurship in the presence of gender role as a moderator. Empirical estimations calculated through PLS methodology reveal that green knowledge sharing, green dynamic capabilities, and green service innovation has a positive and significant linkage with green entrepreneurship in Vietnam. The outcomes also exposed that the male gender role significantly moderates the said relationship in Vietnam. Findings confirm that adoption sustainability practices such as green knowledge sharing, innovation, and dynamic capabilities are helpful to fulfill sustainable entrepreneurship demand; hence, further research is needed to extend the framework along with existing concepts.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to address United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) 8 and 9 from a service perspective. SDG 8 is a call to improve the dignity of service work by ...enhancing wages, working conditions and development opportunities while SDG 9 calls upon nations to construct resilient infrastructures, promote inclusivity and sustainability and foster innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a bibliometric review to extract important themes from a variety of scholarly journals.
Findings
Researchers tend to investigate policy-level topics, such as national and international standards related to working conditions, while ignoring the experiences or well-being of workers occupying marginalized and low-opportunity roles in service organizations. Service researchers, educators and practitioners must collaborate to improve the state of service industries by conducting participatory action research, promoting grassroots organizing/advocacy, implementing digitized customer service and addressing workforce soft skills deficiencies.
Research limitations/implications
The authors consider how service work can be transformed into respectable employment and present four specific ways nations can enhance their service industries.
Practical implications
Economic planners can view SDGs 8 and 9 as a framework for understanding and promoting the well-being of service employees and accelerating the productivity and innovation levels of the service sector.
Originality/value
The United Nations’ SDGs are examined from a services perspective, which increases their significance in service-dominated economies.
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