ABSTRACT

Big data promise to revolutionize the way of doing business in many industries. Service industries are an intriguing field of research on this topic. In fact, in these industries new digital-native entrants compete side by side with a much larger number of incumbent firms whose innovation activity is deeply rooted in a non-digital past. Thus, this study focuses on the transformational impact of data-rich environments on service innovation in incumbent firms by addressing the following research questions: 1) What are the processes through which data-rich environments affect service innovation? and 2) What are the factors that enable these processes? A two-step research design is adopted. First, the service innovation and information systems literatures are integrated in a unified conceptual framework that articulates the relationship between data-rich environments and service innovation. Second, 40 semi-structured interviews in seven large service firms are carried out, to refine and populate the initial framework with typologies, concepts, and examples from the field.