Innovating in reverse: services and the reverse product cycle

Faïz Gallouj (1)

1 CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019

As they account for the largest share of employment and value added, services do not (or cannot) lie outside a Schumpeterian view of innovation phenomena. Of the various attempts at shedding more light on the mechanisms of innovation in service industries and firms, we consider the "reverse product cycle" to warrant special attention because of its highly thought-provoking nature and its theoretical ambition. This article has two objectives: firstly, to present this interesting and still neglected theoretical study, and secondly, to evaluate on a theoretical and empirical level the extent to which Barras' model meets the objective of a "theory of innovation in services".

Mots clés: Innovation; service industries; reverse product cycle

Domaines: Economies et finances; Gestion et management

Faïz Gallouj. Innovating in reverse: services and the reverse product cycle. European Journal of Innovation Management, 1998, 1 (3), pp.123 - 138. ⟨10.1108/14601069810230207⟩. ⟨halshs-01114103⟩