Title: Learning strategies, behaviours and outputs during the service innovation process

Authors: Eric Stevens, Sergios Dimitriadis

Addresses: Groupe ESCEM, 1 rue Leo Delibes – BP 0535, 37205 Tours, Cedex 3, France. ' Marketing and Communication Department, Athens University of Economics and Business, Patission 76, 10434 Athens, Greece

Abstract: Recent research suggests that organisational learning (OL) can contribute greatly to the success of service innovation projects. The article aims at providing insights on: a) learning behaviours used by the actors during the different stages of an innovation process; b) the outputs of these learning behaviours; c) the way these learning behaviours and outputs contribute to the efficiency of the innovation process. It reports findings from a longitudinal case study in retailing. Multiple learning strategies are identified that enhance the effectiveness of the process. Implications for service companies to encourage learning during innovation and opportunities for further research are discussed.

Keywords: longitudinal research; organisational learning; retailing; service innovation; innovation processes; learning strategies; retail trade; learning behaviours; learning outputs; efficiency; multiple strategies; effectiveness; service companies; hypermarkets; France.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2011.042082

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2011 Vol.10 No.3, pp.285 - 309

Published online: 26 Nov 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article