Abstracts Category : Other

Innovation Process in Research and Development ServiceFirms: the Case of the UK

by Xiuqin Li

Research and development service firms (RDSFs), asubsector of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), providecontract R&D services to third parties for payment. They are amajor generator of new technological knowledge servingmanufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. Their innovationactivities are in the up-stream of the knowledge creation valuechain. This explorative study focuses on R&D service firms andtheir innovation activities. We have adopted a qualitative researchdesign seeking to address the need to strengthen theory-building onservice innovation, and in particular to extend the limitedempirical evidence on RDSFs innovation. The literature oninnovation in services and KIBS constitutes a strong theoreticalfoundation of this study. It provides the conceptual tools uponwhich we develop a working definition of RDSFs and ground ouranalysis. We examine the long-term development of the UKs R&DService Sector using secondary data. This builds a real-lifecontext for case studies on innovation in RDSFs. Qualitativeresearch was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 32firms in the UK. Analysis revealed the heterogeneous nature ofthese firms by identifying four main business models. Moreover, ourfindings point towards a clearly defined typology of RDSFs based ona combination of innovation drivers and outcomes. Fourfundamentally different types of RDSFs can be identified:Technology-based innovation exploiters, Science-focused innovationexplorers, Client-led innovation integrators, and Open innovationtranslators.This thesis contributes to the research on the supplyside of R&D outsourcing by elaborating the development,business and innovation activities of RDSFs. It also contributes tounderstanding innovation in specific KIBS sub-sector by providingempirical evidence on the innovation processes ofRDSFs.Advisors/Committee Members: GAGLIARDI, DIMITRI D, Miles, Ian, Gagliardi, Dimitri.