The function of innovation culture in the success of new services

ABSTRACT The role of culture has been important for the success of new service development. As an example, Sheth highlighted the role of resistance to innovation and the cultural orientation of developing countries, such as India, in determining success in the development of new services. There has been extensive research in the area of new service development, but an area that needs additional research is innovation culture. Using data from 96 companies in 24 countries, we first identify important global service success factors: innovation culture, global orientation, incentives and rewards, collaboration with external partners, market analysis, and identifying customer needs. We then test a model between the success factors and the success of new services and find that innovation culture is critical in the success of new services. We also find that collaboration is the most salient factor in success. In the absence of innovation culture, understanding customer needs does not improve success chances, and financial rewards help develop an innovation culture. Implications are derived for research and practice.