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Suggests that, in many cases, where formerly excellent manufacturing companies have suffered a decline in their fortunes, they failed because they did not change with their customers; their operations were too remote. Considers how this might be avoided by applying a service quality model to manufacturing. Examines the differences between service and manufacturing operations and highlights the difficulties which manufacturing companies have in being close to their customers. Provides definitions of quality for products and services before presenting the model. Describes the features of the model – taking a total view, achieving a balance between expectations and delivery, system design and response to change‐as they apply both to service and manufacturing. Highlights the need to exceed expectations to maintain a competitive edge. Argues that, whilst this is achieved through committed staff in service industries, this same commitment can, with appropriate communication, be achieved in manufacturing companies.

There are two purposes in this paper. The first one is to explore the impact mechanisms and paths of service-oriented manufacturing (SOM) on the sustainability performance of green manufacturing firms and to pay particular attention to the mediating role of enterprise costs in the relationship between the two. The second one is to reveal the dynamic process and laws of SOM influencing on the sustainability performance of green manufacturing enterprises.

This paper employs a combination of dynamic and static research from two aspects. On the one hand, based on 495 green manufacturing firms in China, the authors verify the SEM of SOM, enterprise cost and sustainability performance of green manufacturing firms through empirical research, analyze the path relationship and mediation effect, and demonstrate its complex impact mechanism. On the other hand, the authors use agent-based modeling and simulation to reveal the dynamic influence of SOM on the sustainability performance of green manufacturing enterprises and explore its dynamic laws and future development trends.

The study results indicate that (1) SOM has a direct positive effect on firm sustainability performance. (2) Reducing firm costs has a positive effect on firm sustainability performance, and firm costs play a partial mediating role in the mechanism by which SOM influences firm sustainability performance. (3) The dynamic impact of SOM on sustainability performance increases significantly over time. (4) Significant firm heterogeneity exists in the process by which SOM improves sustainability performance. (5) There are differences in the promotion of SOM for economic performance, environmental performance and social performance.

This paper makes two main contributions. First, compared with previous research on sustainability performance focusing on a certain dimension, this paper organically integrates the three dimensions of sustainability performance, regards them as a whole and considers the paths to improve sustainability performance. Second, this paper focuses on the complex relationship among SOM, enterprise costs and sustainability performance and reveals different sustainability performance improvement paths and dynamic impact processes, thereby expanding and deepening previous research on sustainability on the subject. These contributions lead to a better understanding of the driving forces and realization path for green manufacturing firms' sustainability performance from an integrated static and dynamic perspective.

The authors empirically examined the theoretically recognized industrial linkages between manufacturing and services from the trade perspective. In particular, they confirmed the trade effect of manufacturing on services, given that global value chain fragmentation pervades and splits manufacturing and services segments separately in developed and developing countries.

Based on observations of 47 countries with manufacturing and service trade data from 1990 to 2020 and with gravity model specification, the authors primarily used the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) estimation with multiple levels of fixed effects. Considering that many zero values are included in the dependent variable and potential endogeneity, other methods such as Tobit regression, Heckman estimation and two-stage least squares estimation (2SLS) are used. Subsample estimation also supplemented the empirical research.

The results showed that manufacturing trade is a stepping-stone rather than an obstacle to service trade. This finding exhibited significant robustness under different model specifications, instrumental variable estimation and subsample checks. Moreover, in contrast to the north–north country ties, manufacturing trade between northern and southern countries has played a prominent stepping-stone role; meanwhile, manufacturing trade among core–peripheral countries has a considerably more significant impact than the outcomes of core–core and peripheral–peripheral countries.

The authors provided direct clarification and revealed that trade in manufacturing remains the demand basis for service trade. As trade in manufacturing and services are typical phenomena of transnational production linkages, the authors suggested exploring the underlying role of global value chain (GVC) fragmentation and the offset and even barrier effect of biased institutional arrangements on GVC fragmentation.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a nuanced understanding of international marketing agility by connecting organizational capability literature with that of standardization and adaptation. The focus of the research is to clarify whether managing the tension between product standardization and service customization generates an extra premium in international markets.

Two disaggregated Chinese data sets, the Annual Survey of Industrial Enterprises and the China Customs Database, are used for developing an econometric model. Export quality improvement is the outcome variable in reflecting the effect of international marketing agility on performance.

International marketing agility is reached through upstream FDI intensity, particularly in the context of service FDI. Manufacturing sectors with higher service intensity have more agility, being more likely to generate export quality.

This study makes three theoretical contributions by clarifying the concept of international marketing agility as an organizational capability generated by manufacturing standardization and service customization; investigating the influence of upstream FDI intensity for export quality while taking into account the industry contexts; and obtaining an enhanced understanding of the service intensity of manufacturing firms on export quality.

The authors offer a nuanced and contextualized understanding of international marketing agility and explore the complex relationships between FDI, service intensity and export quality.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of key research contributions on the topic of service strategies in manufacturing by focusing on descriptions of the phenomenon and theoretical explanations of its evolution and financial consequences.

A summary analysis of the extant literature is provided. Valuable contributions and fundamental methodological issues are identified and discussed. Challenges, limitations and directions for future research avenues are also highlighted.

As a result of the analysis and discussion presented, the concept of service‐driven manufacturing is integrated through the provision, evolution and impact of services in industrial settings.

The paper contains guidelines for manufacturing managers interested in the evolution from products to services in different industries.

The paper is expected to be used as a relevant source of ideas and guidance for all those interested in doing research in services strategies in manufacturing.

The purpose of this paper is to report on an industry policy implementation case involving around 30 manufacturing firms, where the intellectual capital (IC) lens, and especially the intellectual capital navigator (ICN) approach, was found to be very useful for evaluating alternative servitisation strategies. Servitisation is a form of business model innovation and as such involves restructuring the firm’s resource deployment system including its IC resources.

The ICN was one of several methods and themes used by a sample of manufacturing firms during a 12 month period. Data capture were through video filming, observation, and formal interviewing during and after the interventions.

The ICN is considered to be the third most valuable theme in a strategic and operational servitisation programme for manufacturing firms, primarily in the domain of effectiveness evaluation of alternative resource deployment strategies and as such should be one of the key dimensions in a business model template for manufacturing firms that aim to servitize. This research also illustrates the usefulness of the intellectual capital lens in the policy implementation process.

The findings of this study is limited to the servitization process of SME manufacturing firms in an Anglo-Saxon operating environment which very rapidly have gone from low to high cost.

The development of service-oriented business models for manufacturing firms suffers due to traditional business model frameworks not having a high relevance for servitising manufacturing firm. Consequently it is important to understand the potential contribution that the IC lens through the ICN can make in the servitisation process.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a cross-enterprises framework to achieve a higher level of sharing of knowledge and services in manufacturing ecosystems.

The authors describe the development of the emerging open manufacturing and discuss the model of knowledge creation processes of manufacturers. The authors present a decentralized framework based on blockchain and edge computing technologies, which consists of a customer layer, an enterprise layer, an application layer, an intelligence layer, a data layer, and an infrastructure layer. And a case study is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the framework.

The authors discuss that the manufacturing ecosystem is changing from integrated and centralized systems to shared and distributed systems. The proposed framework incorporates the recent development in blockchain and edge computing that can meet the secure and distributed requirements for the sharing of knowledge and services in manufacturing ecosystems.

The proposed framework provides a more secure and controlled way to share knowledge and services, thereby supports the company to develop scalable and flexible business at a lower cost, and ultimately improves the overall quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of manufacturing services.

The proposed framework incorporates the recent development in edge computing technologies to achieve a flexible and distributed network. With the blockchain technology, it provides standards and protocols for implementing the framework and ensures the security issues. Not only information can be shared, but the framework also supports in the exchange of knowledge and services so that the parties can contribute their parts.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse econometrically determinants of total factor productivity (TFP) in Indian manufacturing plants with a focus on the influence of services input on productivity.

Plant-level data drawn from Annual Survey of Industries for the years 1998-1999 to 2012-2013 are used for the estimation of TFP at plant-level by applying the Levinsohn–Petrin methodology. Econometric models are estimated to explain variations in plant-level TFP. The explanatory variables used are services input intensity (split into manufacturing services purchased and other services), the share of information communication technology (ICT) assets in total fixed capital stock, the share of contract workers in total workers and the share of imported materials out of total materials used, with plant size taken as a control variable. Model estimation is done by applying the fixed effects model.

Econometric results indicate that services input and ICT intensity have a significant positive effect on productivity of manufacturing plants in India. Use of imported materials raises productivity, whereas the use of contract workers in place of regular workers tends to lower productivity. The impact of imported materials on TFP of manufacturing plants seems to be relatively bigger for labour-intensive, low technology industries.

Care has been taken for TFP measurement. Analysis of the impact of services input on TFP has been undertaken for Indian manufacturing using plant-level data for the first time.

This paper aims to investigate organizational learning (OL) at the individual, group and organizational levels in service and manufacturing firms in Mexico to determine if there are differences in how OL operates or in the link between OL and firm performance.

The authors surveyed experienced managers from 1,093 Mexican firms across a range of service and manufacturing industries, using the Strategic Learning Assessment Map (Bontis et al., 2002).

Organizational learning processes (OLPs) were highly similar in service and manufacturing firms and OL had a strong positive association with performance in both types of firms. OLPs at the individual level had a slightly greater impact on performance for service firms.

The results provide further evidence of the strong link between OL and firm performance. There were no significant correlations of firm size or age with the OLPs or firm performance. However, the micro-companies that constitute 95% of Mexican firms were under-represented in the sample.

OLPs are equally important in manufacturing and service firms and across developed and developing economies. Therefore, OL should pervade all organizations. Managers should create cultures that encourage employees to produce new ideas and share those ideas with peers and supervisors through both formal and informal communication processes.

The findings indicate that the individual employees’ contributions to OL are the main driver of the impact of OLPs on firm performance and that individual-level learning processes are even more relevant for service firms than for manufacturing firms. As value co-production takes place simultaneously at the moment of the service delivery/service consumption, the individual learning stock is fundamental for enhanced firm performance.

The authors believe this to be the first large-scale study to compare OLPs in manufacturing and service firms across industries in a major emerging market.

In this paper we compare the quality management practices and quality results between Taiwanese manufacturing and service companies, based on a survey of 131 manufacturing and 109 service companies. The results presented here are focused on eight critical factors of quality management ‐ quality leadership, strategic quality planning, quality information and analysis, human resources management, quality assurance, supplier quality, customer orientation, quality citizenship ‐ and company quality results. The present study shows significant differences between manufacturing and service companies with manufacturing companies performing better in six critical dimensions of quality management as well as in quality results. Opportunities for improving quality management practices in Taiwanese service companies are identified.