Inoovation and Competition in IT Service Industries.

Information Technologies (IT) induce many innovations in service industries. Innovations in IT highlight the peculiarities of innovation in service industries compared to manufactured-goods industries. Because innovations often affect competitiveness, service-providers attach a high importance to them and introduce them frequently during intense competition. The purpose of this article is to characterise innovations in these new IT service industries and to determine which innovations will ensure the succes of service-providers. We explain the applications of new Information Technologies and describe how they have affected service industries, either traditional or new service activities.