Barriers to service transition in an innovation ecosystem: a qualitative study

Purpose This study arises from the need to understand the servitization or service transition process in non-manufacturing firms and sets out from a taxonomy proposed in the literature (Lütjen et al ., 2017). This study aims to identify the barriers to service transition in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) participating in an innovation ecosystem and how these small firms can benefit from this strategy to develop in this scale. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was carried out based on multiple case studies, data being collected through semi-structured interviews with service business-people belonging to a science and technology park situated in an inland region of Portugal. Findings From content analysis, the results obtained indicated a lack of specialized personnel as the main barrier and as a strategy to overcome this situation these companies turned to business cooperation. This means that good management of this cooperation increases the quality of the services provided, as inter-organizational networks, through participation in ecosystems, can secure a wider set of resources and capacities. Practical implications This study shows that firms try out different service offers simultaneously and that innovation capacity increases constantly during service transition. Secondly, the study emphasizes the importance of innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurship, servitization and cooperation networks in promoting resilient and small ventures. Thus, this study can help owner-managers, SMEs and political decision-makers to make better informed decisions, which can be particularly relevant in scenarios of uncertainty and crisis. Originality/value This study draws conclusions in a little explored empirical area in the literature, challenging the widespread understanding that service transition is used only in manufacturing firms. This study provides clearer conceptual understanding of service transition from a network and relational perspective which, despite the perspective's relevance, still lacks research in the context of servitization.