Ian Miles - Böcker

A frequent complaint in literature is that services have been previously largely overlooked by innovation researchers and technology policy makers. Given the unarguable growth in the importance of the service sectors, increasing numbers of researchers and policy makers have taken a fresh look at service activities. Innovation Systems in the Service Economy: Measurement and Case Study Analysis presents contributions which increase the understanding of the role of services in the development of the division of labor in modern economics. This volume is devoted to the elaboration and understanding of the following two themes. First, service firms can be innovative in their own right, even though the process of innovation and the kinds of innovation may be different from those traditionally associated with manufacturing and other primary activities. Second, service firms and associated activities play an important role in the evolving division of creative labor which is constituted by modern innovative systems.

First published in 2000. Over the past two decades, the service sector have increased dramatically and now occupy the largest share of the economy of advanced industrial societies. Certain business services are regularly cited as evidence for the emergence of a "knowledge economy". In this pioneering book, leading researchers in the fields of service industries and innovation studies investigate the reasons for the growth of the service sectors and this emergent knowledge economy. Drawing on material as diverse as macroeconomic statistics and firm-level case studies, the contributors demonstrate that services are often important innovators in their own right, as well as contributing to innovation and economic performance in their user industries. The question of how far services are special cases, and what specific processes and trajectories characterize their innovative activity is treated systematically. Additionally, a variety of original analyses and information resources are presented. This book should be of value to the student of the modern industrial society, to those seeking to forge policies appropriate to the new context of economic development, and to researchers who are confronting the challenges of the knowledge economy.

Development, Technology and Flexibility (1992) is concerned with forecasting the use of innovation within manufacturing industries. It assesses the factors that inhibit and facilitate the implementation of new technologies and organisational techniques. The focus of the study is on Brazilian industry, whose mixture of advanced and traditional social and economic structures makes its experience relevant to many other regions of the world. Based on interviews with over a hundred leading firms, it examines Brazilian innovators’ views as to the prospects for growth, the changing nature of competition, and the likely rates of diffusion for such ‘modernising innovations’ as computer-aided design, microelectronic process controllers, just-in-time and quality control.

A frequent complaint in literature is that services have been previously largely overlooked by innovation researchers and technology policy makers. Given the unarguable growth in the importance of the service sectors, increasing numbers of researchers and policy makers have taken a fresh look at service activities.Innovation Systems in the Service Economy: Measurement and Case Study Analysis presents contributions which increase the understanding of the role of services in the development of the division of labor in modern economics. This volume is devoted to the elaboration and understanding of the following two themes. First, service firms can be innovative in their own right, even though the process of innovation and the kinds of innovation may be different from those traditionally associated with manufacturing and other primary activities. Second, service firms and associated activities play an important role in the evolving division of creative labor which is constituted by modern innovative systems.

Case Studies in Service Innovation provides the reader fresh insight into how innovation occurs in practice, and stimulates learning from one context to another.

Case Studies in Service Innovation provides the reader fresh insight into how innovation occurs in practice, and stimulates learning from one context to another. The volume brings together contributions from researchers and practitioners in a celebration of achievements with the intention of adding to the wider understanding of how service innovation develops. Each case presents a brief description of the context in which the innovation occurred, the opportunity that led to the innovation and an overview of the innovation itself, also addressing how success was measured, what success has been achieved to date and providing links to further information. The book is organized around five major themes, each reflecting recognized sources of service innovation: Business Model Innovation: new ways of creating, delivering or capturing economic, social, environmental and other types of value; The Organization in its Environment: an organization engaging beyond its own boundaries, with public private partnerships, sourcing knowledge externally, innovation networks, and open or distributed innovation; Innovation Management within an Organization: an organization actively encouraging innovation within its own boundaries using project teams, internal governance of innovation, and methods or tools that stimulate innovation; Process Innovation: changes in service design and delivery processes, such as consumer led innovation or consumers as part of the innovation process, service operations management, and educational processes; Technology Innovation: the use of technology, including ICT enabled innovation, ICTs that are themselves innovative and support the delivery of new services, new ICT services, new ways of delivering services associated with ICT products, and technology other than ICT. The final part of the book is given to four extended cases allowing for a more in-depth treatment of innovation within a complex service system. The extended cases also illustrate two important and growing trends, firstly the need for, and benefits of, a more customer centric approach to service innovation and secondly the need for better understanding of public services and the role of public-private partnerships in identifying and achieving innovation.

Knowledge and innovation are key factors contributing to growth and prosperity in the new service economy. This book presents original, empirical and theoretical contributions to address the economic dimensions of knowledge and the organisation of knowledge intensive activity through specialised services. Specific analyses include: macro statistics to highlight the contribution of services to economic activityfirm level survey data to identify and consider client relationscase studies of four innovation-oriented business services.Further chapters deal with the specific functions connected with knowledge, the new discipline of 'knowledge management', intellectual property rights, and the role of knowledge in national and international economic systems.Offering an overview of a highly important and pervasive set of phenomena, this book outlines and illustrates the intellectual agenda associated with the rise of a global services economy. It will appeal to industrial and business economists, researchers, students, policymakers and business analysts.

This book examines the way in which the increasing internationalization of services, including the operation of multinationals in this sector, interacts with the process of innovation in services. The book challenges the theoretical traditions that have developed around the analysis of service innovation and internationalization, and argues for a new research agenda. The distinguished contributors address many of the most pertinent issues and adopt a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches to enrich the debates. In contrast to most other books on this topic, this volume pays particular attention to services that are knowledge or technology intensive. It elucidates the process of internationalization of such services (through trade and FDI) and stresses the important role it plays in the globalization of production, distribution and innovation. The book also highlights the significant implications service internationalization can have for the competitiveness of firms, regions and countries. The authors thoroughly evaluate trade and investment statistics in order to identify different modes of internationalization and the substantial cross-national differences that this reveals. They move on to examine the organizational structure of multinationals, the new international division of labour and the factors which can influence the location decisions of knowledge-intensive services. Using extensive survey data from a variety of different countries, they accurately identify the trends, characteristics and drivers which have acted as a catalyst for the increasing internationalization of knowledge-intensive services, as well as the obstacles which can hinder this process. Adopting a truly global perspective, this significant new volume will be of considerable interest to students, scholars and policymakers in the fields of international business, innovation and management.

Foresight has emerged as a key instrument for the development and implementation of research and innovation policy. The main focus of activity has been at the national level. Governments have sought to set priorities, to build networks between science and industry and, in some cases, to change their research system and administrative culture. Foresight has been used as a set of technical tools, or as a way to encourage more structured debate with wider participation leading to the shared understanding of long-term issues.In this comprehensive and critical Handbook, cross-cutting analytical chapters explore the emergence and positioning of foresight, common approaches and methods, organisational issues, and the scope for policy transfer and evaluation. Leading experts and practitioners contribute chapters analysing experiences in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Japan, China, Latin America, small European nations, Nordic countries and selected developing countries. The book concludes with consideration of the future of foresight itself.This fascinating Handbook will appeal equally to those wishing to apply foresight to their policy or strategy-making activities, and to those studying the theory and practice of foresight. The Handbook will be vital reading for policymakers considering, commissioning, or using foresight, companies eager to use public foresight, as well as academics and researchers in foresight, futures and STI policy and management communities.

There has been a great deal of discussion on the knowledge economy, but much of this has been more a matter of rhetoric than serious analysis. This book is a pioneering effort to address this gap, using a range of methods and investigating knowledge-intensive service activities (KISA) in many different sectors. The expert contributors highlight the changes that are occurring in the labor force and the organization of work, as well as in the competences and combinations of knowledge demanded in contemporary occupations. They provide corporate managers and policymakers with much needed data and analysis regarding the implications of knowledge-intensive service systems and the skills required for innovation within these sectors. By exploring these systems in both traditional and services industries, the editors point to important areas of action for improving business practices and human capital development that are key for business and employment development. This unique book deploys rich empirical material that will help put KISA onto the map for researchers, policy makers, policy analysts and practitioners across many disciplines and professions including human resources, training and skills development, and procurement. Providing in-depth and theoretically informed studies, whilst drawing on cases from many sectors and countries, this compendium will prove essential for students of business management and human resource management.Contributors: J. Albors-Garrigos, M. Broch, J.L. Hervas-Oliver, P. Marquez Rodriguez, C. Martinez-Fernandez, L.E. Martinez-Solano, I. Miles, T. Potts, S. Sharpe, T. Weyman, H. Wiig Aslesen

Foresight has emerged as a key instrument for the development and implementation of research and innovation policy. The main focus of activity has been at the national level. Governments have sought to set priorities, to build networks between science and industry and, in some cases, to change their research system and administrative culture. Foresight has been used as a set of technical tools, or as a way to encourage more structured debate with wider participation leading to the shared understanding of long-term issues.In this comprehensive and critical Handbook, cross-cutting analytical chapters explore the emergence and positioning of foresight, common approaches and methods, organisational issues, and the scope for policy transfer and evaluation. Leading experts and practitioners contribute chapters analysing experiences in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Japan, China, Latin America, small European nations, Nordic countries and selected developing countries. The book concludes with consideration of the future of foresight itself.This fascinating Handbook will appeal equally to those wishing to apply foresight to their policy or strategy-making activities, and to those studying the theory and practice of foresight. The Handbook will be vital reading for policymakers considering, commissioning, or using foresight, companies eager to use public foresight, as well as academics and researchers in foresight, futures and STI policy and management communities.

​Decision-makers at all levels are being confronted with novel complexities and uncertainties and face long-term challenges which require foresight about long-term future prospects, assumptions, and strategies. This book explores how foresight studies can be systematically undertaken and used in this context.  It explicates why and how methods like horizon scanning, scenario planning, and roadmapping should be applied when dealing with high levels of uncertainty. The scope of the book moves beyond “narrow” technology foresight, towards addressing systemic interrelations between social, technological, economic, environmental, and political systems.  Applications of foresight tools to such fields as energy, cities, health, transportation, education, and sustainability are considered as well as enabling technologies including nano-, bio-, and information technologies and cognitive sciences. The approaches will be illustrated with specific actual cases.