Service innovation process digitization: areas for exploitation and exploration

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the dominant role which technology plays in the new service development (NSD) process and indicate the critical success factors that managers should have in mind during the implementation of service projects, as well as the extent to which NSD lead to technological investments. Design/methodology/approach Studies were identified using a three-phased literature review methodology, which was suggested by Webster and Watson (2002). A total of 144 papers have been categorized and analyzed based on their content. Findings The findings of this paper indicate that information technology (IT) is a critical factor for the success of new services, but managers ignore its benefits. It could be used during the development process, to support managers to produce innovative services. Practical implications This study provides practical implications for IT managers, to increase the success rate of service innovation. The understanding of the effect of technology on firm performance can help managers to use technology to increase firms’ performance and provide an opportunity for organizations to benchmark their own processes of service innovation technology with their competitors. Originality/value This paper may be of interest to academics who are already studying service innovation or NSD-related scientific areas or researchers who have been introduced to the field but they are interested in examining more specific insights into where current research topics in this literature can be located and how they may contribute to them.