Dynamics of experience service innovation: innovation as a guided activity – results from a Danish survey

Abstract

This paper is a first attempt to identify patterns and dynamics of innovation in experience service firms building on a survey of Danish experience firms. The paper shows that innovation in experience service firms takes place in an open and interactive process drawing on many sources of innovation. At the same time, innovative firms also seek to differentiate themselves strongly from other firms. This indicates that innovation in these firms can be understood as interactive and situated within a division of labour at the same time. Interaction and situation are complementary forces of innovation that seem critical to benefiting from innovation. The paper argues that innovation is both an open and highly situated and guided activity.