As cervejas especiais e a inovação em serviços

Abstract

This study aims to identify innovation in services in bars that sell craft beers as market differentiation through the theories of Gallouj and Weinstein (1997) and if this innovation is a radical or an incremental model, based on the studies of Tidd, Bessant and Pavitt (2008). The market of craft beers specialized bars in Fortaleza comes with an increasing emergence in the last few years. Identifying and registering this situation in the market of Ceará is from great importance for future studies and entrepreneurs. The research, conducted as qualitative form, aimed to identify, through interviews with owners of bars and also direct observation of their services, the qualities and failures that each one has and formulate a general picture of the characteristics of services (final, technical, competences of the service provider and customer competences) that gourmet bars have in common. This study stated that these bars have different service characteristics compared with conventional bars in Fortaleza, by serving special beers as a service differential. The conclusion was that these establishments are in a model of incremental innovation, when only a few characteristics of the service are replaced or added for new characteristics. The paper also recommends that more researches on the subject are developed as a way to understand and consolidate the market for craft beers in Fortaleza.