Manifoldness of services firms: Did R&D lead to better performance after the global financial crisis?

While prior research on service innovation has primarily emphasized R&D drivers and the characteristics of novel service offerings, limited attention has been given to how R&D impacts firm performance across distinct service sub-sectors—particularly during and after periods of economic disruption such as the global financial crisis (GFC). Adopting a service systems framework, this study classifies service firms according to two dimensions: the degree of service intangibility and the extent of customer involvement. Leveraging an unbalanced panel dataset spanning 2003 to 2013, the analysis investigates how returns on R&D investments vary across different service industry categories and how these patterns shift in the aftermath of the GFC. Results indicate that R&D yields positive returns across both classification criteria, though the effect is more pronounced for firms delivering intangible services and those with intensive customer participation. Post-GFC, however, the advantage of R&D investment appears greater among firms offering more tangible services. Moreover, service providers characterized by high customer engagement continued to derive superior R&D benefits in the post-crisis era. These insights contribute to both theoretical advancement and managerial practice, while also suggesting several avenues for future inquiry.