The impact of service innovation on firm performance: a meta-analysis
ISSN: 1757-5818
Article publication date: 5 June 2020
Issue publication date: 27 April 2021
Abstract
Purpose
With the rise of service economy, many companies are attempting to gain a competitive advantage through service innovation. However, the existing research has not drawn consistent conclusions about the relationship between service innovation and firm performance. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative review on the service innovation-performance relationship based on research findings reported in the extant literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Studies from 46 peer-reviewed articles were sampled and analyzed. A meta-analytic approach was adopted to conduct a quantitative review on the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the effects of any potential moderators were further explored.
Findings
The results found that service innovation has a significant positive impact on firm performance. Additionally, the relationship between service innovation and firm performance is influenced by measurement moderators (economic region and performance measurement), and contextual moderators (firm type, innovation type, customer factors and attitudes toward risk).
Originality/value
The meta-analysis has been used to explore the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the findings have contributed to the literature on service innovation, as well as providing future research directions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to appreciate the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. Special thanks also go to Editor-in-chief, Professor Jay Kandampully and Associate Editor, Professor Allard Van Riel, for their valuable guidance and assistance in improving the quality of this article. This work was supported by the Chinese National Funding of Social Sciences(No.16BGL080) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.DUT20RW204).
Citation
Feng, C., Ma, R. and Jiang, L. (2021), "The impact of service innovation on firm performance: a meta-analysis", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 289-314. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-03-2019-0089
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited