14. Customer-Centric Service Innovation in Public–Private Value Networks

This chapter aims to deepen the understanding of customer-centric service innovation in the value networks of public and private actors. In practice, this topical issue has attracted growing interest, though it has not been studied to any great extent within service innovation research. To narrow the gap, a conceptual framework is built, driven by recent studies on public service innovation and the service-dominant logic (S-D logic) perspective. The emphasis is on innovation as complex networked value co-creation by resource re-bundling, embedded in an everyday service exchange among different actors. Customers as beneficiaries are an active and necessary group of actors in co-innovation, for which reason a specific focus is placed on deepening the understanding of customer value in use. This focus enables the development of more extended service concepts and platforms, transparent value-creation processes, and the strategic management of novel resource integration at different levels of service ecosystems. The contribution of an external facilitator, as an intermediary of innovation activity in value chains and networks, is also examined. The framework is illustrated with two empirical case studies. The main findings contribute to the topical debate on the linkages between S-D logic and innovation and provide conceptual starting points for its further development. They also provide a tool for collaborative reflection among practitioners in the public–private interface.