Orchestrating Service Innovation: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective on Strategic Ties
(A2026-132462)

AUTHORS

Yansong Hu, Warwick Business School

ABSTRACT

Abstract This study investigates how corporate boards, via interlocking director relationships, can support such coordination. Drawing on Service-Dominant Logic, we argue that service innovation emerges through three key processes: integrating diverse resources, aligning institutional practices, and sustaining collaborative relationships. Using data from retail firms listed on the London Stock Exchange, we examine how the structure of inter-organizational ties and the composition of internal governance shape firms’ ability to introduce new services. We find that ties to directors from diverse industries enhance service innovation, particularly when boards occupy bridging positions that connect otherwise disconnected parts of the governance network. These bridging positions amplify the benefits of industry-diverse ties. Additionally, we show that these effects are strengthened when boards combine long- and short-tenured members and when CEOs exhibit longer time horizons.