Development of a framework for industrial service innovation management and coordination

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify different service innovation drivers, innovation process activities and to understand industrial services innovation management and coordination, as well as to develop a framework for industrial service innovation management and coordination. Design/methodology/approach - The study involved collection of information and data from the literature and the Norwegian oil and gas (O&G) industry. A survey was conducted to get an overview of existing practices and guided interviews were conducted to confirm the findings of the survey. Findings - The study indicates that the market needs are considered the most important innovation process driver, feedback from the customers is the most important activity to encourage service innovations, whilst return on investments is the most important decision-making factor in evaluating innovation feasibility. Employees are the most important source of innovation ideas. Furthermore, interactions between different companies, as well as involvement of customer, employees and suppliers in the innovation process are becoming increasingly important. Practical implications - The study shows that service providers and receivers often collaborate in the innovation processes, and that many of the activities are performed simultaneously. This results in the collaborative parties needing to put resources on managing and coordinating the innovation process in a structured, effective and efficient way. The proposed framework for service innovation management and coordination provides practitioners with a structured approach to manage industrial service innovations. Research limitations/implications - The findings are based on the data collected from a number of companies from the O&G industry in Norway. Originality/value - The paper identifies different innovation process drivers and activities and proposes a modified framework for industrial services innovation management and coordination based on the study analysis, interaction with the practitioners and using available literature on innovation management.