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This study aims to investigate the contribution of knowledge-intensive business services firms to small- and medium-sized manufacturers’ digital servitization journeys, addressing the standardization versus customization dichotomy of services and solutions provision.

To identify the challenges that small- and medium-sized firms must face in the digital servitization journey and the role that knowledge-intensive business services firms may play in the innovation processes, the authors conduct a review on two still unrelated literature streams and develop a longitudinal single-case study, with a particular focus on knowledge generation mechanisms.

Digital servitization is a particularly challenging transformational journey for minor firms. Knowledge-intensive business services firms can act as sources, facilitators, and carriers of knowledge, and they can orchestrate further contributions of other external partners and firms.

The paper contributes to theory describing the roadmap and the role of external service providers in digital servitization journeys of smaller firms’, that are frequently excluded from mainstream research although being the backbone of European economies.

Digital servitization in minor manufacturing firms requires a long-term orientation and a multi-stage roadmap. Mixing standardized technology-based solutions and complementary professional services, knowledge-intensive business services firms can significantly contribute to lowering the journey’s uncertainties, operational complexity, and costs.

The paper sheds lights on how the collaboration between knowledge-intensive business services firms and small manufacturers generates novel knowledge and capabilities that contribute to takle the challenges of the different stages of the digital servitization roadmap.

Subscription offerings are being hailed as the next service growth engine for companies in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets. The study analyzes how a manufacturing firm can develop and implement a scalable service-based subscription business model for B2C and B2B customers alongside its existing product-centric model.

A longitudinal case study is conducted, drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with company executives and dealers in key European markets.

The study outlines an iterative process model for subscription business model innovation. It reveals key events and decisions taken in developing, implementing, and scaling the new business model and how internal and external tensions involving intermediaries arose and were mitigated during the four stages of the process.

The findings highlight the dynamics of business model innovation processes and underscore the importance of organizational learning, collaborative relationships with channel partners, and strategic talent acquisition during business model innovation.

The findings suggest how product-centric firms can implement new service business models alongside existing product models and what this means for partner and customer journey management.

While servitization research predominantly concerns B2B manufacturers, B2C research focuses on digital subscription contexts. The study bridges this divide by investigating the move to subscriptions in both markets.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the servitization phenomenon of product-centric companies, by identifying the resources, capabilities and organizational aspects needed to successfully deploy a servitized business model (BM).

By adopting a literature-based approach, this paper develops a servitization maturity model (SeMM) aimed at assessing and positioning companies in the servitization journey. The paper also illustrates the model application to two small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a machinery and a forklift truck company.

The SeMM identifies a set of 85 critical requirements that are used to evaluate the servitization level of product-centric companies, through a specific five-stage measurement scale. The requirements are categorized into: five maturity dimensions (organizational approach, process management, performance management, tools, capabilities) and nine BM Canvas components. The empirical application exemplifies how the SeMM can support managers in identifying and bridging the gaps in their servitization journey.

The SeMM adopts an original bi-dimensional approach and provides an operationalization of the servitization process through the identification of specific critical requirements framed on established BM and maturity dimensions taken from the literature. Moreover, the model responds to a call for research to develop practitioner-oriented tools and guidelines to support the servitization process, in particular for SMEs, and to the need to go beyond to measures of servitization based on indicators about number of services offered or their turnover.

Manufacturers face various challenges and risks during their digital servitization (DS), due to the complexity caused by introducing breakthrough technologies, increasingly complex product-service solutions and new stakeholders in the business network. The process necessitates the implementation of various changes that usually happen over a long period of time. Using complexity management as a theoretical lens, this paper delves into manufacturers’ DS journeys and explores how manufacturers manage the associated complexities.

This paper investigates the DS journey of two manufacturers in a longitudinal case study from 2014 to 2021.

Three main complexity management actions during the DS journey were identified: shaping the digital service system, shaping the organization and shaping the network. Tied to different types of complexities, these actions demonstrate how manufacturers navigate their journey. The findings also reveal different complexity management approaches used at the different stages of this journey.

This paper offers a comprehensive framework for understanding complexity management in the DS journey, including the types of complexities, complexity management actions and complexity management approaches and their rationale. This paper shows that different requirements are created during emerge, consolidate and evolve stages of the DS journey. Manufacturers need a dynamic approach that considers changes in complexities and actions over time.

This article aims to contribute to the digital servitisation literature by investigating the interrelations amongst Industry 4.0 technologies, servitisation and the performance of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The research uses survey data drawn from 200 manufacturing SMEs operating in the metals and machinery sector in Italy.

The study shows that Industry 4.0 technologies – Internet of Things (IoT), advanced simulation, cloud computing and Big Data Analytics (BDA) – positively moderate the relationship between servitisation and the performance of SMEs.

The study supports the need for firm managers of manufacturing SMEs to align servitisation and technological investments, suggesting that the synergic deployment of Industry 4.0 technologies supports servitisation performance.

The study supports the need for firm managers operating in business-to-business contexts to align their technological investments and servitisation strategies, suggesting that the synergic deployment of these Industry 4.0 technologies empower the effectiveness of servitisation strategies in terms of performance achieved.

The study highlights the moderating role played by specific Industry 4.0 technologies in the servitisation–performance relationship, opening avenues for future research exploring the mechanisms that underpin this complex relationship.

This paper aims to propose an interpretive framework to understand how machine learning (ML) affects the way companies interact with their ecosystem and how the introduction of digital technologies affects the value co-creation (VCC) process.

This study bases on configuration theory, which entails two main methodological phases. In the first phase the authors define the theoretically-derived interpretive framework through a literature review. In the second phase the authors adopt a case study methodology to inductively analyze the theoretically-derived domains and their relationships within a configuration.

ML enables multi-directional knowledge flows among value co-creators and expands the scope of VCC beyond the boundaries of the firm-client relationship. However, it determines a substantive imbalance in knowledge management power among the actors involved in VCC. ML positively impacts value co-creators’ performance but also requires significant organizational changes. To benefit from VCC via ML, value co-creators must be aligned in terms of digital maturity.

The paper answers the call for more theoretical and empirical research on the impact of the introduction of Industry 4.0 technology in companies and their ecosystem. It intends to improve the understanding of how ML technology affects the determinants and the process of VCC by providing both a static and dynamic analysis of the topic.

The car no longer serves simply as a means of transport but is at the core of a new concept of mobility. Car manufacturers are seizing opportunities to change the traditional business model of the auto business. Innovation in this business model has become vital to survival in today’s dynamic market conditions. This paper aims to find out what factors motivate and drive business model change and what the resulting business model innovation is.

This qualitative study is based on a single case, namely, BMW as an illustrative example of an advanced, highly innovative customer-centric service business model (BM). The study adopts a document analysis method to reveal the firm’s BMI process.

First, the study presents a conceptual framework for business model change with the factors –motivators and drivers – that impact on the process of change. BMW’s BMI and its impacting factors are discussed based on this model. The McKinsey 7 s Model framework, the elements of which are strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills is used as an analytical tool to discuss new business model implementation. The study highlights the BM configuration of a traditional car manufacturer, the car as a product and the new car as a service concept.

This study reveals the BMI of BMW’s digital services and its key motivators and drivers. BMW mostly innovates in three key dimensions of the Business model. These are value creation, value delivery and value capture. Most of the elements in these dimensions are innovated.

This paper aims to present a comprehensive framework that integrates the emerging trends of servitization and digitalization in manufacturing. The influence between digitalization and servitization is defined and quantified. Their contribution to firm performance is analyzed.

This paper presents a theoretical model that captures the relationships between the analyzed variables. Drawing on the Spanish Business Strategy Survey, hypothesis testing is conducted using data on 828 Spanish industrial firms. Linear regression models are built to capture the effect of each variable on firm performance and the type of interaction between the variables.

Servitization and digitalization are positively related to firm performance. Digitalization positively mediates the relationship between servitization and firm performance. The mediating effect of digitalization contributes to differentiating between the direct and indirect effects of servitization on firm performance.

The paper provides a useful analysis framework for firms to evaluate servitization and digitalization as success strategies. It is proposed that firms must simultaneously commit to digital transformation and the incorporation of services to create value, especially in business-to-business settings. Servitization and digitalization interact to exert a greater influence on performance.

The paper contributes to the theory on service strategy by providing an analysis model that includes digitalization as a mediator of the relationship between servitization and firm performance. Digitalization may provide a mechanism to unlock the benefits of servitization and thereby enhance firm performance.

This paper aims to analyze the digital servitization (DS) process with the paradox theory lens. The purpose is to catch how intra- and inter-organizational tensions generate complexity along a DS journey to find “where” and “when” industrial companies can intervene to face them.

The methodology is a qualitative, in-depth single case study, which longitudinally explores the DS strategy of a manufacturer along with three phases of development: design, implementation and assessment.

The analysis reveals six intra- and inter-organizational tensions in DS and provides insights on tensions’ origin and how to face them. A theoretical framework on DS complexity and an empirical framework on tensions’ origin is produced.

The research combines service and organizational paradox literature. Together with a longitudinal methodology, it results in a spatial and temporal analysis of DS, from which theoretical and managerial implications are drawn.

This study aims to develop a systematic method called servitization maturity model to support companies in developing distinctive capabilities for successful servitization.

The concept of maturity models is adopted to support companies in developing distinctive capabilities for servitization. A systematic literature review and case study approach are employed to develop the maturity model.

The findings highlight 46 capabilities classified into seven categories: strategy and leadership, performance, offerings, customers, organization, network and digital technology. Furthermore, the evolutionary path is defined by combining two types of levels, i.e. capability and maturity levels, to develop these capabilities.

The evolutionary path was partially validated through the application, while further investigation is required to validate the evolutionary path. Therefore, future research should investigate the further validation of the evolutionary path by conducting multiple case studies.

The proposed maturity model enables companies to not only capture the bigger picture of the required capabilities without oversight, but also determine a process for improving the requisite capabilities with feasible efforts.

Existing maturity models focused on the transition from less to more advanced services. However, recent studies emphasized that companies need to determine strategies that reflect their capabilities rather than simply move toward more advanced services. Based on this assumption, this study provides successive stages that enable companies to improve their capabilities through feasible efforts.