Applying configurational thinking to identify recipes for producing service innovation in the service sector

Using data from a sample of 2,528 European service firms, this study applies configurational thinking to identify combinations or “recipes” of attributes that can result in service innovation. Attributes of interest include the sector of service activities, the type of market served, the presence of production in other countries, the introduction of potentially complementary process and organisational innovations, and investment in research and development. We employ crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to identify recipes for service innovation, and verify the results using logit regression. By revealing several recipes for service innovation and demonstrating the value of QCA’s configurational thinking in providing a nuanced picture of the heterogeneity of innovation activities at the level of individual firms, our findings provide valuable linkages to managerial actions and have the potential for revitalising theory of service innovation.