Exploring the New Service Development Process of Digital Services: Insights from Expert Interviews

As the economy increasingly shifts from product- to service-driven, New Service Development (NSD) – the process of developing new services from ideation to launch – becomes crucial. Of particular interest are digital services, like mobile applications, which have specific features, like the fruition through a blend of digital and non-digital media, whichmay require different actors, activities, and management approaches in the NSD.However, few studies have delved into the NSD process for digital services, or New Digital Service Development (NDSD). Therefore, our objective is to describe the activities and actors typical of NDSD, and identify possible managerial guidelines and tools that can support its efficient deployment. To achieve this, we reviewed extant literature, and conducted expert interviews with 10 managers from companies who recently developed and launched a digital service in the industrial, insurance, retail, and banking sectors. By comparing the results of the interviews with the insights from literature, we describe the main activities and actors of NDSD, showing the importance of specific activities for the development of the service features, the service delivery process, and the digital service ecosystem. From a theoretical perspective, we confirm the need for unique approaches for NSD, and show different levels of importance between the stages of NDSD depending on the context. From a practical perspective, our results may help to plan resources and activities to efficiently and effectively develop new digital services.