Innovation: Implications For Goods And Services

The concepts of goods and services innovation have been discussed extensively in the academic literature. The research has been both selective (dealing with specific attributes such as R&D, process innovation, measurement of innovation, and use of information technology) and specific (dealing with specific industries such as banking, insurance, biotechnology, nanotechnology). This paper examines the concept of innovation in the context of "goods" and "services." The comparisons made between the two sectors are based on three distinct areas —definition,process,measurement. This paper also presents a conceptual framework showing the interactions among the various variables inherent in some of the distinct areas. Previous papers have highlighted the differences in innovation between goods and services. What is missing is how the intervening variables invoked in the discussions are themselves related to one another. While this paper reinforces the conclusions reached by other studies with regard to innovation, it specifically highlights on an aggregate scale, the areas in which goods and services differ. Future research should take these distinctions into account, not as single items but collectively. It is critical to consider how these innovation variables interact with one another in the context of goods and services. Perhaps the most significant contribution of this paper is in its presentation of the framework for understanding the innovation process as it relates to the goods and services sectors.