Understanding Hidden Innovation in UK Services: Indicators, Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications

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• Dr. Michael Kitson (University of Cambridge)
• Tuesday 04 November 2008, 12:00-14:00
• Wordsworth Room, St John’s College.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Peter Wild.

Policy has an important role to play in stimulating and supporting innovation in the service sectors. Policymakers have been increasingly interested in innovation in services, but they have often lacked concrete evidence on how these sectors innovate. Drawing on a survey of more than 16,000 firms, this paper reveals the high levels of ‘hidden innovation’ in some service sectors, especially with respect to the ways in which service firms develop new business models and exploit technology. A minority of UK firms innovate, and this is very apparent in services and many service firms face significant barriers such as a lack of skilled personnel and a lack of intelligence on markets and technology. Because of their overall size in the economy, an increase in the performance of the UK’s service sectors would have a major impact in closing the productivity gap between the UK and other leading nations. Taking innovation in services seriously would mean recognising how innovation in services is a different process from innovation in manufacturing, and in particular, developing new policies to stimulate and support increased training and development, and the effective exploitation of technology, which are key aspects of innovation in service firms.

This talk is part of the Cambridge Service Alliance Forum series.

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• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
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