Building knowledge capacity for sustainable development in the arab world

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to understand the changing service sector innovation system of India. Design/methodology/approach – The study used secondary sources of data including reports, books and journals to gather information on what constitutes the National Innovation Systems (NIS) of a country. This paper has attempted to assess the performance of the service sector innovation system, which comprises investment, infrastructure, knowledge- and skill-generation, relations and linkages. The present paper made use of this conceptual framework broadly to make an assessment of the performance of the changing service sector innovation system in India. The study focused on three elements: Research and Development (R&D), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in services and the status of the higher education sector, in order to examine the performance of the NIS in India. Findings and implications – The paper concludes that India has a well-functioning service sector innovation system, yet much needs to be done if India is to retain her ambition of becoming a knowledge powerhouse or an innovation superpower. Moreover, the private sector can play an important role in the improvement of the quality of education, as has been revealed by the example of The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). Originality/value – While there is some research on the NIS of India, not much has been written about the service sector innovation system of India. This study attempts to fill this gap in the current literature to some extent.