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

Box 18 Service innovation through intercompany learning
Within the wider Flextronics corporate, IT Development for the corporate logistics function is carried
out in Dublin and the Irish operation also retains some responsibility for a number of key strategic
customers such as Dell. The Irish operation drives such initiatives as the implementation of 6 Sigma
Quality System and Flexfactory Best Practice programme. Therefore corporately the Irish operation
remains important and the wider corporate is dependent on the skills available here.
Further, case study companies were not exclusively reliant on public business support mechanisms.
Participation in informal networks and contact groups were evident as well as participation in more
formal networks such as the IBEC groups.
The role of intra-company learning was also evident, particularly in those cases where the company
is part of a wider group. Here, the transfer of knowledge and good practices was evident. In some
cases, the Irish Operation acted as a ‘knowledge hub’, while in others knowledge centres were said to
be outside of Ireland, and typically linked to company headquarter functions.
Overall, a clear divide was evident from the case studies suggesting that clients of Enterprise Ireland
and IDA Ireland were on the whole satisfied with existing provision of innovation support. Companies
that were less well connected to the agencies, however, tended to feel that the innovation needs of
the services sector were less well catered for.
When the case study companies were asked about areas of future support need in relation to services
innovation, on the whole companies replied that the role of the agencies was important. However,
it appears that the role for the agencies should not necessarily be one of direct financial support.
For example, almost all companies surveyed recognised and prioritised the importance of indirect
supports such as networking opportunities, strategic advice and so on 74 . As one company put it
‘agencies such as EI and IDA are best placed to act as a facilitator or enabler’ (Enterprise IG).
This view, however, was not universally shared. For example, larger companies in the sample, across
all sectors, tend to perceive a limited role of the public sector with respect to service innovation.
Indeed, as one large financial services company indicated, services innovation was not an obvious area
of ‘need’ in the sense that this area is too complex for outside agencies to make a real contribution.
In relation to specific services innovation support, companies’ views were further divided as to
whether the existing supports were sufficiently focused. Some, particularly those currently clients of
either Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland argued that current supports are sufficiently focused. Others
felt that the services sector in particular was less well catered for and suggested the need for agency
staff to keep updated with service sector innovation needs and trends. Mechanisms identified for
addressing this issue included secondments from the agencies to service companies and the creation
of shared fora of enterprises and the agencies to discuss such issues.
One company, however, suggested that the problem here was not necessarily one resting with
the agency. The service sector itself was also said to ‘have a weak ability to describe and package
what they do so that non-sectoral people can appreciate their offerings and make decisions around
giving…support’ (PulseLearning). This particular criticism was not one that was commonly made by
the case-study companies, however, the premise that companies need to articulate their innovation
needs more precisely may also be true.
The case study companies identified a number of specific areas of support need in relation to services
innovation. One of the most common/cross sectoral areas of support need was networks. This area,
as identified in the most recent Enterprise Ireland Strategy, is an area that will be receiving more
74 For example, Chorus, DCC, PulseLearning, Emerald Cultural Institute.
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