The typology of service innovation—Evidence from Chinese KIBS sector

This paper challenges the classification approaches of service innovation which appear since the beginning of service innovation studies. The analysis aims to clarify the typology of service innovation, which helps to build the foundation of further research on service innovation. The approach in this paper is both theoretical and empirical. In the theoretical part we examine the different theories and models developed for the analysis of the service innovation typology. The empirical part describes results from a multiple case study carried out in the Chinese KIBS sector. Through theoretical and empirical analysis, concept innovation and delivery innovation are regarded as the basic typology of service innovation.