Demystifying the benefits and risks of Lean service innovation: a banking case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demystify Lean for service innovation by investigating its benefits and risks. Lean innovation is a relatively new approach which is advocated in management literature. Little scientific work about its practice exists in the field. Although the Lean innovation principles are clear, there is limited evidence about their impact on service innovation processes. Design/methodology/approach – From the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm, a framework for understanding Lean innovation is developed. Using this framework, the benefits and risks of Lean innovation are analyzed in a case study. Findings – The case study not only shows that Lean service innovation can have many advantages, but also draws attention to the risks. The risks might result in the inability to follow Lean principles and might hamper the realization of the benefits. Using the case studies, study mitigation mechanisms are identified. Originality/value – This research offers a new knowledge perspective and a better understanding of Lean service innovation. There are two main contribution of this paper. First of all, it reports on the impact of Lean innovation on a bank’s innovation processes, both its benefit and risks. This has a contribution to understanding the innovation process in service organizations. Second, this paper extends Lean innovation to a service context and contributes to the knowledge basis of Lean innovation.