Innovation in the Service Economy

Whilst contemporary economies are innovative, they are also predominantly service economies in so much as services are the main source of wealth and employment. However, there is still considerable unwillingness to consider innovation in terms of services, a paradox rooted in an obsolete conception which regards manufacturing as the only engine of growth. In this book, the author propounds a theoretical framework which describes and evaluates the main approaches to analyzing and understanding innovation in services. He provides interesting and extensive empirical material on the nature and sources of innovation in various services sectors and countries, and makes an original contribution both to theories of innovation in services and theories of innovation in general. Taking both an evolutionary and conventionalist stance, he demonstrates that services, and more importantly innovations in services, can be regarded as the new wealth of nations.