Servitization strategy adoption: evidence from Italian manufacturing firms

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the widespread application and implementation of servitization strategy by manufacturing firms worldwide, little attention has been devoted to its adoption by European-Mediterranean countries, such as Italy. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by investigating if and how Italian manufacturing firms adopt a servitization strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

According to the paper’s aim, the survey methodology has been chosen and a specific questionnaire has been constructed by adopting and adapting the questions used by Baines et al. (2010). Key respondents were CEOs and General Managers of the manufacturing firms surveyed.

Findings

Findings show the main features and determinants of the adoption of a servitization strategy by Italian manufacturers as well as a comparison between them and UK manufacturers, determining both theoretical and practical implications.

Research limitations/implications

This paper investigates the manufacturing firms located exclusively in the Italian region of Lazio. Thus, even though it is reasonable to believe that they can be considered as representative of the Italian reality, future enrichment of the sample could provide further insights into the investigation of the Italian case.

Originality/value

The paper examines the little-researched adoption of servitization by Italian manufacturing firms, contributing to the servitization research and providing evidence on its trends in a specific European-Mediterranean region.

Citation

Leoni, L. (2019), "Servitization strategy adoption: evidence from Italian manufacturing firms", EuroMed Journal of Business, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 123-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-11-2018-0073