Innovation requires a risk-tolerant environment where you are not expected always to succeed. When developing new service initiatives, not all ideas will be viable and occasional failure is inevitable. Managers need to provide support for risk-taking and reassurance that creative efforts are recognized whether or not they are successful. Innovation requires a lifelong learning orientation that involves all members of the organization. Employees need support in seeing their own learning as ongoing, rather than completed at the end of formal schooling.
Innovation requires creative thinking in a diverse, information-rich environment.
The creative process requires a great deal of input to stimulate new concepts. Innovation requires a cross-functional systems perspective for analysing the impact of change and overseeing implementation. A major barrier to innovation adoption is the customers fear of the risk involved. While a service provider may usually perform well, there are always those days when staff are preoccupied with personal issues or simultaneous customer demands outstrip delivery capacity. While customers may find a service innovation intriguing, they may also be concerned that the service firm is less likely to be able to control quality in providing a ser-vice with which they are less experienced.