Services Innovation in Ireland - Options for ... - Europe INNOVA

Services Innovation – Typology Examples
Typology Types Examples
Business Models • Outsourcing and internationalisation of services.
• Developing services from a manufacturing base.
• Finance and insurance services offered by supermarkets.
Customer Interfaces • Electronic forms of interface as service delivery mechanism including ATM’s
and on-line purchasing.
• Shift towards more flexible opening hours.
• E-tracking of orders and deliveries.
Service-Products • New services built around complementary enabling technologies
e.g. e-Banking.
• Bespoke new services developed for individual customers.
• Development of e-training courses by educational establishments.
Most Irish companies appear to follow a systematic approach to services innovation complemented by
more incremental changes rather than utilise a fast track approach, which is viewed as overly risky.
While services companies recognise that public agencies have a valid role in seeking to support
their service innovation efforts, support was felt to be best positioned in relation to either financial
supports for innovation activities and structures or advice. However indirect supports such as
networks are equally valued to create a supportive and conducive environment.
Irish Policy in the Area of Services Innovation
Innovation is a key priority for the achievement of future economic growth in Ireland and clearly
widely recognised as such in policy statements and in practice. However, while innovation policy and
priorities in most policy documents are largely technology based, there are some emerging priorities
particularly those associated with enterprise, that could, with development, provide the basis for
support to other, non-technological, dimensions of services innovation.
At the same time it is clear that while the key agencies have responded to the challenge of services
innovation they have done so with a generally implicit and an essentially technologically based
approach utilising traditional manufacturing-based concepts and understanding of innovation. The
design of services innovation policies will need to take account of the varied policy requirements of
services which are described by the Typology of Services Innovation developed in this Study.
The issue for policy makers and the key agencies in Ireland is whether more will need to be done
and more explicitly stated, to broaden the concept of innovation in order to remain relevant to the
rapidly changing needs of services companies in Ireland.
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