New Service Development and its Determinant Factors:
A Focus on Entertainment-related Services

ABSTRACT

What does the capacity of service-providing companies to create new services rely on? Analysis based on a questionnaire survey targeting management of various service sectors reveals that factors such as “the existence of a regulatory process for the creation of new services”, “a company climate and culture of welcoming new and unique ideas”, “sympathy from employees for management philosophies”, and “opportunities for informal opinion exchange or brainstorming” are important. These factors are more explanative than factors such as “the infusion, in varying degrees, of resources for new services development”, or “incentives for creators or employees of planning departments”. These results suggest that: 1. improving the ability to create new services cannot be achieved only through direct methods such as increasing infusion of resources or providing incentives, and 2. improving the ability to create new services requires the kind of steady effort over time that it deserves. Through researching and interviewing success cases such as the Tokyo Disney Resort, the Asahiyama Zoo, and the Hoshino Resort, the importance of the above-mentioned factors can be confirmed by specific examples.