The concept of innovation network (IN) is a well-established one that has been the object of an extensive theoretical and empirical literature. Our subject in this chapter is a particular kind of innovation network, as yet relatively unknown but which is developing against the background of economies dominated by service industries; we term them public–private innovation networks in services (ServPPINs). Such networks involve collaborations between public and private service organizations in the field of innovation. They differ from traditional INs in several ways. Firstly, the relations between the public actors and the private actors lie at the heart of the analysis. Secondly, service providers are the main actors in them. Finally, non-technological innovation (service innovation), which is often overlooked in the literature, is taken into account. The objective of this chapter is to examine the way in which the characteristics of ServPPINs can help to modify and enhance the traditional concept of IN. The first two aspects highlighted in ServPPINs (namely cooperation between the public and private sectors and the presence of service providers) are not, of course, absent from the main studies of INs and systems and, more generally, collaboration in the field of innovation. They are usually implicit in general models. With exceptions, they are seldom explored in any depth as key variables. In ServPPINs, on the other hand, they are fundamental, network-defining variables.
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