Global Service Innovation: A Case Study of Ajisen Ramen

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which service companies transfer their services overseas and create new value while interacting with local characteristics. A narrative analysis method was used in a case study of Ajisen Ramen, a Japanese service company that created a Japanese-style ramen restaurant, which experienced rapid growth in China. This study analyzed the restaurant as global service innovation and constructed a causal mechanism to explain the resulting rapid growth. In the pre-entry stage, the tangible value source core service facilitated its successful overseas transfer. In the post-entry stage, value source core service standardization and value sharing were interrelated and locally accepted factors. Knowledge of the local characteristics influenced the local storefront format that allowed contact with local customers. This local front format made it possible to offer local customers new value. The global service innovation mechanism developed through this study reflects a causal diagram that correlated the theoretical concepts of these events.