TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify strategic options and challenges that arise when an industrial firm moves from providing smart service toward providing a platform.Design/methodology/approach This conceptual study takes on a multidisciplinary research perspective that integrates concepts, theories and insights from service management and marketing, information systems and platform economics.Findings The paper outlines three platform types – smart data platform, smart product platform and matching platform – as strategic options for firms that wish to evolve from smart service providers to platform providers.Research limitations/implications Investigating smart service platforms calls for launching interdisciplinary research initiatives. Promising research avenues are outlined to span boundaries that separate different research disciplines today.Practical implications Managing a successful transition from providing smart service toward providing a platform requires making significant investments in IT, platform-related capabilities and skills, as well as implement new approaches toward relationship management and brand-building.Originality/value The findings described in this paper are valuable to researchers in multiple disciplines seeking to develop and to justify theory related to platforms in industrial scenarios.
VL  - 32
IS  - 4
SN  - 1757-5818
DO  - 10.1108/JOSM-03-2020-0066
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-03-2020-0066
AU  - Beverungen Daniel
AU  - Kundisch Dennis
AU  - Wünderlich Nancy
PY  - 2020
Y1  - 2020/01/01
TI  - Transforming into a platform provider: strategic options for industrial smart service providers
T2  - Journal of Service Management
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 507
EP  - 532
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -