Inter-organisational network configurations for ski areas innovations

Overview & Synopsis

Unlike industrial innovations, service innovations cannot be protected by patents or designs. Thus, the implementation of innovation networks is often seen as a key to generate a sustainable competitive advantage. In this paper, we are interested in the main forms of inter-organizational networks that led to service innovations. More precisely, this article aims to examine the relationship between the characteristics of inter-organizational networks and the type of service innovation. A typology of service innovations and a network analysis framework allowed us to study the innovations implemented by two major French winter sports resorts: the Portes du Soleil and Paradiski. In total, we studied the structure of 12 innovation networks. Our results show that, depending on the type of innovation implemented, networks are different in terms of partners involved, regulation mode and geographic scope. However, regardless of the innovation developed, it seems necessary to have a central actor to orchestrate the various partners.