| Article ID: | iaor2017275 |
| Volume: | 8 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Start Page Number: | 246 |
| End Page Number: | 262 |
| Publication Date: | Jan 2017 |
| Journal: | International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics |
| Authors: | Li Lei, Jian Zhaoquan, Osman Mohamed Ali |
| Keywords: | computers: information, innovation, performance, networks, management |
Based on network theory and surveys of 243 service providing enterprises in South China, this study investigates the effects of relational embeddedness and network competence on service innovation performance respectively. The mechanisms by which network competence mediates the relationship between relational embeddedness and service innovation were also discussed. Results reveal that both relational embeddedness and network competence are positively related to service innovation performance; network competence has a fully mediating effect on the relationship between relational embeddedness and service innovation performance. This paper contributes to the service innovation literature by extending theories regarding relational embeddedness and network competence to the research field of service innovation.