Three Discussion Papers align the Future of Service Innovation Activities
Three reports have been prepared to draw more attention to:
- The results of the European Service Innovation Scoreboard in a wider context (Discussion Paper 1 on Service Innovation and Economic Performance);
- Trends in service innovation policies across countries and regions (Discussion Paper 2 on Service Innovation Policy A Benchmarking Review); and
- Cluster support measures for service innovation that exist and might be further explored (Discussion Paper 3 on Promoting Service Innovation through Cluster Initiatives).
Service Innovation and Economic Performance
Performance measurement can be a tricky business, especially for those who are less familiar with statistical analyses. This discussion paper on Service Innovation and Economic Performance aims to shed some additional light on how statistical information can provide a clearer picture of the current state of play of service innovation in the EU regions and how such innovation might best be promoted or developed.
The information also reveals various regional specificities and relationships that are based on groupings and correlation analyses that consider different types of European regions with respect to their service innovation characteristics.
Some of the more interesting conclusions that can be drawn include:
- There are positive associations that exist between economic performance, specialisation in knowledge-intensive services, service innovation input and the wider framework conditions. In addition, comparable service innovation frameworks and characteristics can be identified in some Member States;
- There is no one-size-fits-all service innovation model in Europe, but several positive approaches were detected that have specific characteristics and behaviours;
- However, the formulation of more in-depth views on service innovation requires more detailed information and analyses and one related problem is the time lag between the introduction of a service innovation initiative and the stage when its impact can accurately be assessed.
Service Innovation Policy A Benchmarking Review
This discussion paper is an update of a previous service innovation policy mapping exercise conducted in 2012. This time, the paper focuses on the development of service innovation policy in 11 EU countries, namely Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The paper verifies that service innovation policies are generally a feature of the policy landscapes in Central and Northern Europe. Despite this concentration, service innovation policy development tends to be uneven and there are significant differences between countries in their general understanding of service innovation and in the approaches and instruments that are deployed. Poland is one of the countries that are at the forefront of promoting service innovation, as it has introduced many supporting measures.
Promoting Service Innovation through Cluster Initiatives
This paper shines the spotlight on clusters and their importance for service innovation by taking a look at five case studies on cluster initiatives that aim to promote service innovation. In addition, the report draws out a number of lessons learned that might be of value to similar initiatives.
Cluster policy can either explicitly embrace the concept of service innovation or remain neutral towards it. Policy-makers can support the use of service innovation by strengthening the critical framework conditions for service-based clusters such as those for digital-based industries, healthcare industries or experience-based industries. They can also foster the servitisation process that many manufacturing industries require to undergo by providing explicit incentives for collaboration between manufacturing and service companies and other relevant organisations.
It can also be argued that a very significant portion of the instruments in the general business policy tool box is being deployed under the heading of service innovation. In addition, the tools that aim to foster service innovation are often adaptations of well-known instruments, or highly specialised tools that are directed at individual industries.
