An empirical analysis on the forming mechanism of the innovation capability of service-oriented manufacturing enterprises

The research objects of this study are Chinese manufacturing enterprises that are transitioning to service-oriented manufacturing enterprises. This paper aims to reveal how external factors (technical, policy, and market environments) and internal factors (technical, service, organisational, and marketing innovations) influence the formation of the innovation capability of these companies. This paper considers both the above mentioned factors and builds a model for the formation of the innovation capability. The results confirm that service and organisational innovations do not directly affect innovation capability but indirectly affect it by acting on technical and market innovation. This study hypothesises that the market environment has an indirect influence; however, the results show that it directly affects innovation capability. While most studies examine the effects of external or internal factors (often separately) on innovation capability, this paper develops a unified model to investigate the combined effect of these factors on the formation of innovation capability. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.