A Method for the Management of Service Innovation Projects in Mature Organizations

The ability to design innovative services is an important capability for organizations in the 21st century. Although innovation is the fundamental force to create a sustainable business, many organizations, especially mature organizations, struggle to develop innovative services. This paper offers a method for managing service innovation projects in mature organizations. The method is described using the elements of method engineering. Its relevance is evaluated through an exploratory case study at the intersection of business and IT, focusing on a German financial services provider that sought to develop new IT-based service innovations. Information technology plays a major role as an enabler for a broad range of innovative services, and IT organizations are in a unique position to design services in collaboration with business units to address evolving customer requirements. The key finding of this case study is that while processes, methods, and tools are important for managing service innovation projects, socio-technical aspects such as context, environment, team management, and project setup also are essential for the successful design of innovative services. The current literature provides rudimentary guidance in these areas, yet a thorough description of these factors and their integration into a complete method has not yet been documented.