IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/servic/v33y2013i15-16p1633-1658.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage

Author

Listed:
  • Yan Xin
  • Kah-Hin Chai
  • Ville Ojanen
  • Aarnout Brombacher

Abstract

The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of the moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). This study is among the first to systematically operationalize the contingents in the absorptive capacity construct as service solution characteristics, that is, intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability, and tested them in the KIBS sector. Using a sample of 327 new technology-based KIBS firms in Finland, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis is applied to test the hypothesized moderator effects. The results suggest that service solution characteristics moderate the effects of the antecedents on absorptive capacity and the effect of absorptive capacity on competitive advantage. Guidelines are provided to practitioners to deal with projects with different service solution characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Xin & Kah-Hin Chai & Ville Ojanen & Aarnout Brombacher, 2013. "The moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(15-16), pages 1633-1658, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:servic:v:33:y:2013:i:15-16:p:1633-1658
    DOI: 10.1080/02642069.2011.638918
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/02642069.2011.638918
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/02642069.2011.638918?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Birgitte Andersen & Jeremy Howells & Richard Hull & Ian Miles & Joanne Roberts (ed.), 2000. "Knowledge and Innovation in the New Service Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2285.
    2. J Howells & B Tether & F Gallouj & F Djellal & C Gallouj & K Blind & J Edler & C Hipp & F Montobbio & N Corrocher & A Macpherson & D Banach, 2004. "Innovation in Services: Issues at Stake and Trends," Working Papers halshs-01113600, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sundbo, Jon & Orfila-Sintes, Francina & Sorensen, Flemming, 2007. "The innovative behaviour of tourism firms--Comparative studies of Denmark and Spain," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 88-106, February.
    2. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2016. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 3: Zur Standortstruktur von wissensintensiven Unternehmensdiensten – Fakten, Bestimmungsgründe, regionalpo," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 59427, April.
    3. Frida Thomas Pacho, 2018. "Diversified Network Effects on Innovation Performance in Tanzania: Innovation Strategy in Service Firms," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, Macrothink Institute, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, vol. 5(1), pages 1-1, December.
    4. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung - welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert des Wachstum?," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 144, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    5. Nayak, Purusottam & Mishra, SK, 2009. "Structural Change in Meghalaya: Theory and Evidence," MPRA Paper 15728, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Andreas Koch & Harald Strotmann, 2008. "Absorptive Capacity And Innovation In The Knowledge Intensive Business Service Sector," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(6), pages 511-531.
    7. Evangelista, Rinaldo & Vezzani, Antonio, 2010. "The economic impact of technological and organizational innovations. A firm-level analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1253-1263, December.
    8. Leonel Corona-Treviño, 2016. "Entrepreneurship in an open national innovation system (ONIS): a proposal for Mexico," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 1: Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung – Welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert das Wach," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58342, April.
    10. L. M. Castro & Angeles Montoro-Sanchez & Marta Ortiz-De-Urbina-Criado, 2010. "Innovation in services industries: current and future trends," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 7-20, March.
    11. Ina Drejer & Anker Lund Vinding, 2005. "Location and collaboration: Manufacturing firms' use of knowledge intensive services in product innovation," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(6), pages 879-898, September.
    12. Berné-Martínez, J.M. & Arnal-Pastor, María & Llopis-Amorós, María-Pilar, 2021. "Reacting to the paradigm shift: QCA study of the factors shaping innovation in publishing, information services, advertising and market research activities in the European Union," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    13. Rinaldo Evangelista & Maria Savona, 2002. "The Impact of Innovation on Employment in Services: Evidence from Italy," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 309-318.
    14. Faïz Gallouj & Maria Savona, 2010. "Towards a Theory of Innovation in Services: A State of the Art," Chapters, in: Faïz Gallouj & Faridah Djellal (ed.), The Handbook of Innovation and Services, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Bryson, John R., 2011. "Openness, knowledge, innovation and growth in UK business services," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1438-1452.
    16. Alexandre Trigo, 2013. "The Nature of Innovation in R&D- and Non-R&D-Intensive Service Firms: Evidence from Firm-Level Latent Class Analysis," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 48-68, January.
    17. Di Meglio, Gisela & Pyka, Andreas & Rubalcaba, Luis, 2012. "Varieties of service economies in Europe," FZID Discussion Papers 44-2012, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
    18. Alan MacPherson & Vida Vanchan, 2010. "The Outsourcing of Industrial Design Services by Large US Manufacturing Companies," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 3-30, January.
    19. Nicoletta Corrocher & Lucia Cusmano & Andrea Morrison, 2009. "Modes of innovation in knowledge-intensive business services evidence from Lombardy," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 173-196, April.
    20. Nabil Amara & Réjean Landry & David Doloreux, 2008. "Patterns of innovation in knowledge-intensive business services," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 407-430, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:servic:v:33:y:2013:i:15-16:p:1633-1658. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FSIJ20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.