Market‐creating service innovation: verification and its associations with new service development and customer involvement

Purpose – The present study aims to develop a measure of the market‐creating service innovation (MCSI) proposed by Berry et al. , verify the typology, identify the relationship between MCSI and each new service development (NSD) stage, and assess the degree to which the role of customers involved in each NSD stage contributes to each type of MCSI. Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey was sent to service companies in Taiwan, the target respondents being senior managers with experience in developing successful new services in the past three years. A total of 179 usable questionnaires were collected, resulting in a respondent rate of 21.2 per cent. The responses covered a wide range of service industries. Findings – The present study confirms that the four MCSIs proposed by Berry et al. do indeed exist in practice. The degree of association between each NSD stage and each type of MCSI varies according to MCSI type. The statistical weights for customers involved in each type of MCSI are also different. Research limitations/implications – This study extends a theoretical mechanism of NSD that customers indeed contribute to service innovation, but their involvement varies depending on the characteristics of the service innovation. Practical implications – Utilizing a new scale of MCSI, service providers can evaluate what types of MCSI are a better fit for their business. Originality/value – This study provides a better understanding of MCSI, which helps service providers to properly allocate their limited resources. In addition, this study clarifies the degree to which the values of customer involvement in NSD contribute to MCSI.