Studying innovation and change activities in KIBS through the lens of innovative behaviour

This paper examines innovation and change activities in knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) firms from the perspective of innovative behaviour. Earlier studies have shown that innovation activities in these firms are typically dispersed around the organisation and intertwined with service delivery. Drawing on the theories of innovative behaviour, we map out the variety of micro-level innovation and change activities at three KIBS firms. Our findings suggest that various types of innovative behaviour take place throughout an innovation or change process: idea generation continues until the end of the process and application starts in its early stages. The study also confirms earlier results on the dispersed nature of innovation and change activities in KIBS firms, although different role expectations limited employees' innovative behaviour. Innovative behaviour was performed as both in- and extra-role behaviour at different organisational levels. These findings have implications for both researchers and practitioners