Service innovations, value-driven business model, and institute growth: insights from a higher-education institute

Purpose External pressures, like the pandemic, influence industry and academia. ICT can assist in creating service innovations and better responses to external pressures. When higher education institutes combine service innovations with an appropriate business model, they can better understand educational transformations and marketing and aim for productivity, effectiveness, and sustainability. This paper aims to provide insights into transformations by organizing innovations and business models and creating a positive influence. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study method to examine the educational transformation in its settings. The method followed is direct non-participant observation, and the selected case is a marginalized business school of an Indian public institution. Combining observation and case study provides deeper insights into individuals/groups in a social context. The direct non-participant allows the researcher to get closer to the field of research while retaining the position of an outsider. Findings This paper defines service innovations with four conceptualizations – ICT, socio-techno-organization, demand, and orchestration. The findings provide insights into business models and educational marketing, with three suggestions for sustainability and economic growth. The suggestions are (1) operationalization based on incremental, iterative, and spiral expansion for the first two, (2) orchestrating educational marketing and value elements for a value-driven business model, and (3) social reengineering based on human values and leadership commitment. Research limitations/implications It uses a single marginalized negative case study and is not bereft of limitations. Selecting positive cases representing geographically dispersed units, hybrid lectures, and diverse participants provides further insights into the operationalization of ICT and socio-techno-organizational aspects. Practical implications As educational institutions decide the appropriate strategy for their institution, the findings provide practitioners with insights to create value, expansion, growth, and insights into educational marketing. Originality/value The three steps in findings and their contribution to economic growth and sustainability enhance the body of knowledge – transformations in educational institutions. It provides insights into business models and educational marketing.