The analysis of innovation in services is recent in literature once this kind of innovation has for long been considered as a byproduct from innovation in manufacturing. Three approaches deserve more attention under this perspective: the technicist, the service-based and the integrated. The latter attempts to establish a single theory of innovation for manufacturing and services, including the necessary conceptualizing to distinguish their specificity. In this sense, this paper aims at investigating theoretical foundations for the application of the innovation systems approach to services, including a spatial, local or regional dimension in future empirical studies. The paper argues for the relevance of this approach once the learning process, decisive for the innovation process in the realm of the new paradigm, is related to geographical, cultural and sectoral boundaries that provide a source for competitive advantage for the organizations.
service innovation; innovation systems; learning