Develop the R&D activities of a large international bank

How important is innovation for the long-term survival and growth of service firms? Why? Can you give examples? Would you consider this importance the same for all sorts of service industries? Why/why not?

Suppose you are a successful R&D manager in a large manufacturing company. You are asked to develop the R&D activities of a large international bank. While the offer is very interesting, you still have your doubts; do you have all the relevant experience and do you know how to succeed? Stated otherwise, what might be different in terms of managing an R&D department in a large service firm, as opposed to managing such a department in a manufacturing firm? Would you consider these to be differences of degree?

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