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Open research questions in Service and Product Innovation

209 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,699 Service and Product Innovation papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding the impact of AI-enabled capabilities on green servitization and net-zero results. The study highlights the need for a comprehensive model that integrates AI-enabled capabilities, green servant leadership, and Industry 4.0 technologies.

    Achieving Net‐Zero Through AI ‐Enabled Dynamic Capability and Green Servitization in Chinese Furniture Manufacturing Industry · 2026 · DOI

  • Maintaining the relevance of service innovation after implementation. The decline of service innovation attractiveness over time. The need for continuous attention to service quality as customer value changes.

    Post-Innovation: Sustaining Service Innovation in Organizations · 2026 · DOI

  • Although Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) recognizes customers as co-creators of value, the process through which co-creation contributes to experiential outcomes remains insufficiently specified, particularly in complex service environments such as commercial aviation.

    Service co-creation and innovation in shaping airline passenger experience value · 2026 · DOI

  • Heterogeneity in service research stems from varied contexts and methodological approaches, yet its impact on theoretical and practical insights remains underexplored.

    Understanding heterogeneity in service research: a meta-analytic perspective · 2025 · DOI

  • In particular, the non-financial effects of PWYW have not been fully examined after controlling for the effects of increased self-efficacy due to pre-payment service use.

    The Impact of the Pay-What-You-Want Pricing Experience on Customer Behavior: Focus on Willingness to Participate in Value Co-Creation · 2024 · DOI

  • However, despite widespread interest in PSS, consensus regarding their actual environmental impacts, particularly with regard to salient issues such as global warming, is lacking.

    Reviewing the climatic impacts of product service systems: Implications for research and practice · 2024 · DOI

  • The study identifies the challenge of balancing the interests among platforms, service providers, and demand parties. The paper notes the complexity of the problem and the need for a new pricing decision mechanism. The study acknowledges the limitation of analytical solutions in reflecting complex nonlinear relationships.

    Research on Pricing Decisions for Shared Manufacturing Services in a Digital Service Context · 2026 · DOI

  • The study acknowledges the complexity of the problem and the need for further research. The paper notes that analytical solutions struggle to intuitively reflect complex nonlinear relationships. The study uses numerical simulation to address this limitation.

    Research on Pricing Decisions for Shared Manufacturing Services in a Digital Service Context · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of how reality technological attributes influence consumer decision-making. The study aims to address the lack of research on the value co-creation in AR/VR environments.

    From pixels to purchase: a study of value co-creation in AR/VR environments · 2026 · DOI

  • The current definition of marketing is too narrow and abstract. There is a need for a new perspective on marketing that focuses on its three defining properties. The paper identifies a gap in the current understanding of marketing and its role in business and academia.

    What is marketing? Three defining properties · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a framework that bridges entrepreneurial intent with co-creative execution in the context of traditional travel agencies. The need to understand the role of Value Co-Creation and Strategic Flexibility in driving a successful Business Model Pivot.

    A Strategic Framework for Business Model Pivot and Value Co-Creation: Evidence from Traditional Travel Agencies in Indonesia · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite its rigorous methodology, this study is subject to several limitations: First, Cross- sectional Nature: The data represent a snapshot in time. Given the volatility of the tourism sector, a longitudinal approach would be more effective in capturing the long-term evolution of a business model pivot. Second, Geographical Bias: Although the sample covers major hubs in Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali, Bandung, etc.), the findings may not be fully generalizable to smaller, more remote agencies that operate under different resource constraints. Third, Self-Reported Data: Relying on managers' and owners' perceptions may introduce a social desirability bias, particularly regarding their own organizational capabilities.

    A Strategic Framework for Business Model Pivot and Value Co-Creation: Evidence from Traditional Travel Agencies in Indonesia · 2026 · DOI

  • Purpose Despite growing interest in value co-creation (VCC) in service innovation, few studies have examined how logistics enterprises collaborate with SaaS platforms and manufacturing companies to overcome geographical, organizational and technical barriers.

    Value co-creation through service innovation in logistics: an evolutionary game study · 2026 · DOI

  • The current definition of marketing is limited and does not capture the full scope of the discipline. There is a need for a new approach to marketing that encompasses its purpose and meaning.

    What should be fixed in something that isn’t broken: A commentary on “How to save marketing ...”1 · 2026 · DOI

  • Research is lacking about the cognitive representations of salespeople. There is a need to understand how salespeople structure and reason through customer conversations. The study aims to address this gap by investigating how salespeople at different levels of expertise conceptualise a typical sales interaction.

    Examining Expertise Differences in Retail Sales: A Script-based Analysis of Customer Interactions · 2026 · DOI

  • There are limitations to this study. Even though we managed to include a three exper- tise group employee-only participant pool, without involving students, the study was restricted to staff from a single company in the furniture sales industry. While draw- 1 3A. Taylor et al. Page 21 of 26 13 ing exclusively on professionals strengthens the practical relevance of the findings, it also limits their generalisability. The salespeople in this study worked across a wide range of products, which enabled cross-selling opportunities. In contrast, in other industries sales staff specialise in a single product designed for a specific cli- entele, which narrows the scope for cross-selling. These contextual differences indi- cate that sales-related cognitive processes may differ substantially across sectors. Beyond product and company specificity, learning cultures and training resources vary considerably across retail organisations of different sizes and structures, which may shape expertise development trajectories in ways the present single-company design cannot fully capture. Additionally, the relatively short interview duration (M = 11.76 min) is inherent to the script-elicitation design, which prioritises concise structured verbalisations over extended narratives. While follow-up questions were included to deepen the elicitation, richer data may have been obtained through longer or repeated interview formats. Furthermore, as is well known in expertise research, self-reports need to be treated with caution because they are prone to recall bias, impression management, and situational framing effects (Ericsson & Simon, 1993). However, in the context of our study, they were beneficial because they provided direct access to participants’ subjective perspectives and reasoning processes, offering valuable insights into how salespeople themselves conceptualise and reflect on their expertise.

    Examining Expertise Differences in Retail Sales: A Script-based Analysis of Customer Interactions · 2026 · DOI

  • The integration of Artificial Intelligence is transforming how firms and customers co-create value. There is a need for a framework that can address key research gaps and provide actionable insights for leveraging AI.

    A framework for AI-driven value co-creation across customer journey stages · 2026 · DOI

  • The traditional customer journey model needs to be extended to incorporate AI-driven value co-creation. There is a need for a framework that classifies AI functionalities into mechanical, thinking, and feeling dimensions.

    A framework for AI-driven value co-creation across customer journey stages · 2026 · DOI

  • So, in the first step, through interviews with “18” activists with lived experience, an attempt was made to determine the propositional themes of this phenomenon by conducting interviews with open questions and codes emerging from the contexts of zombification of firms.

    Paradigmatic phenomenology of zombification of firms: theoretical premises and practical applications · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies the challenge of data silos and manual inefficiencies in traditional CRM approaches. The research highlights the need for firms to move beyond transactional sales and create a data-driven approach to market leadership.

    Strategic Integration of AI-CRM Capabilities for Sustainable Marketing Performance in Lagos State, Real Estate Sector: Ab Holistic Lifecycle Approach · 2026 · DOI

  • Most existing studies focus on isolated metrics such as immediate conversion rates. There is a significant gap in the literature regarding the operational benefits of AI-CRM.

    Strategic Integration of AI-CRM Capabilities for Sustainable Marketing Performance in Lagos State, Real Estate Sector: Ab Holistic Lifecycle Approach · 2026 · DOI

  • The study faces the challenge of selecting a representative sample of respondents. The research must address the potential bias in the sample selection process. The study needs to ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaire used to collect data.

    The Impact of AI-Driven Product Creation on Customer Value Perception: A Preliminary Study · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding about how knowledge about AI use in product creation influences customer value perception. The study addresses the gap by examining the personal beliefs of potential customers regarding value assessment of AI-created products.

    The Impact of AI-Driven Product Creation on Customer Value Perception: A Preliminary Study · 2026 · DOI

  • High product diversity and seasonal demand patterns in the sporting-goods retail sector. Strong brand intermediation in the sector. The need for effective digital ecosystem integration.

    Digital Ecosystems in Sport Retail: Performance Determinants · 2026 · DOI

  • The study addresses a gap in literature by examining digital transformation in Romanian sporting-goods retailers. Empirical evidence on how retailers in this segment perceive the outcomes of their digital efforts remains limited.

    Digital Ecosystems in Sport Retail: Performance Determinants · 2026 · DOI

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209 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 1,699 Service and Product Innovation papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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