Service Innovation for Value Co-Creation: The Role of Digital Technology

The question of how digital technology (DT) can be used to trigger new service innovations for value co-creation remains an uninvestigated question in traditional manufacturing industry. In this paper, we found an important way to achieve the new service innovation is through building and utilizing a digital service platform, which helps firms to liquefy digital resource and enhance resource density among various actors. Based on an in-depth case study of a Chinese garment firm, we present a service innovation for value co-creation model and emphasize the role of DT-both as an operand resource and as an operant resource in the service innovation process. The model highlights the bundling of diverse resources to create the novel resources that are mutually beneficial for both customers and firms. Our study contributes to the literature by investigating the operant role of DT and extend the emergent nature of service innovation in the garment industry.