The purpose of this study is to systematically review the service scholars’ different perspectiveson the role of innovation policy in influencing innovation in public service.

Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a systematic reviewing approach. We have reviewedtotal of 117 articles published in the Web of Science and Scopus between 2009 and 2014. These exemplarsare then analyzed in two parts: 1) descriptive analysis of the identified articles based on the period,publication journals, methodology applied and main themes, 2) evaluative analysis of the identifiedarticles based on the actors and organizational structure perspective.

Findings – The policy strategy and innovation driver, as well as sustainable consideration directthe focus of innovation policy. The innovation policy focuses not only on the competitive advantages withtechnology development, but also the innovation environment enhancement for sustainable innovative expertcultivation, as well as the eco-environment protection that stimulate sustainability in the society atlarge. Moreover, a network of key actors has been emphasized within both innovation policy making andinnovation implementation process, which contribute for the public service innovation. Academic scholarsemphasis the open innovation mechanism between the actors within the public service innovation policywith different lens of perspectives: combining bottom-up and top-down process within intra-organization;integrating power and responsibility between organizations; and richness of relationships between publicauthorities and other through the outside-in and inside-out processes.

Contribution/value – This paper contributes with a synthesized overview of current agenda in termsof innovation policy studies. It compares different focus and potential impacts of innovation policy inrecent literature studies and join to the ongoing discussion around the role of innovation policy withinthe service innovation development.