Service innovation multi-country launch: causes of delays

Little research has focussed on launch of service innovations across international markets. The determinants of timeliness (conversely, delays) in the launch of service innovations across multiple country markets has equally received little attention in the literature. This paper reports on the findings of an exploratory case-based research investigation into service innovations launched by Cypriot financial institutions across three or more foreign country markets. The analysis shows that on-time introduction of service innovations rely heavily on: service innovation synergies with existing operations; sufficiency of marketing resources; extensive use of “soft” integrating organizational mechanisms; and proficiency in the development process. External environmental elements, including market heterogeneity and extensive competition have a lesser impact on the timeliness of such multi-country introductions. Several propositions are forwarded for further investigation.