ABSTRACT
Traditional innovation studies mainly focus on innovation processes in manufacturing industries, whereas those in service industries have been relatively neglected (Howells, 2007). Innovation theory was mostly developed based on the analysis of technological innovations in manufacturing industries before the twenty-first century (Gallouj and Weinstein, 1997). However, innovations in service industries in recent years have become increasingly important because services significantly contribute to the national economic growth and comprise a large proportion of the gross national product in advanced economies. In a knowledge-based information society, innovation processes for services and manufacturing are difficult to differentiate because innovation emerges from the close interaction between the two industries (Bryson and Daniels, 2007; Daniels and Bryson, 2002; Miles, 2007; Howells, 2010).
