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Article
Publication date: 17 March 2020

Haidi Zhou, Qiang Wang and Xiande Zhao

The purpose of this study was to examine how firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies affect their innovation performance via two mediating variables, employee…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine how firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies affect their innovation performance via two mediating variables, employee involvement and supplier collaboration, and compare how this mechanism works in the service and manufacturing industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model was built on stakeholder theory, the resource-based view (RBV) and service-dominant logic (SDL). Based on survey data from 686 service firms and 1,646 manufacturing firms, the hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The empirical results showed that CSR positively affected service innovation and product innovation in service firms and manufacturing firms, respectively, and that these effects were positively mediated by employee involvement and supplier collaboration. However, compared with manufacturing firms, the effect of CSR on innovation performance was greater for service firms. Supplier collaboration and employee involvement also played a stronger role in service firms when mediating the relationship between CSR and innovation performance.

Originality/value

By analyzing and validating the direct and indirect effects of CSR on innovation performance in both the service and manufacturing industries, this study addressed the strategic benefit of CSR and extended research focused on the financial benefits of CSR. Therefore, its findings contribute to our understanding of sustainability and innovation issues. From a theoretical perspective, this study extended the RBV, SDL and stakeholder theory to the context of the CSR-innovation relationship, and showed that firms could align CSR and innovation initiatives to achieve strategic synergy. It also revealed the similarities and differences between service and manufacturing firms regarding the mechanism through which CSR affects innovation.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 120 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2023

Jiantao Zhu, Jun Zhang, Zhongshuang Jiang and Jinghua Li

Emerging markets face the developmental circumstances of a weak foundation in both manufacturing and services. Although servitization is viewed as an opportunity to realise…

Abstract

Purpose

Emerging markets face the developmental circumstances of a weak foundation in both manufacturing and services. Although servitization is viewed as an opportunity to realise industry transformation and upgrading, ways for emerging market firms to implement a high-level servitization strategy is still understudied. This study examines combinations of causal conditions for emerging market firms to implement a high level of servitization.

Design/methodology/approach

Anchored in the strategy tripod model, this study examines the configurations for implementing a high-level servitization strategy by using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and data from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research Database (CSMAR).

Findings

The findings identify three kinds of configurations for achieving a high-level servitization strategy: market-cultivational servitization, competition-driven servitization and government-related servitization. Furthermore, the mechanisms for implementing a high-level servitization strategy differ within the regional marketization level and state-owned equity. Specifically, the improvement of the regional marketization level helps manufacturing firms realise a high level of servitization by strengthening service capacity, and state-owned equity helps firms gain distinctive legitimacy to integrate suppliers and providers into the servitization context.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed multilevel perspective frameworks enable manufacturing firms in emerging markets to achieve a high level of servitization strategy.

Originality/value

This paper explores the impact of institutional environment, industry conditions and firm-level microfoundations on servitization, therefore providing a reference framework for emerging market firms interested in implementing high-level servitization strategies.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2023

Dan Zhou, Qihong Wu, Seoki Lee, Xin Li, Kai Sun and Xuerong Peng

This paper aims to disentangle the mechanism linking digital servitization and manufacturing firm performance. The contributions of the service networks and slack resources are…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to disentangle the mechanism linking digital servitization and manufacturing firm performance. The contributions of the service networks and slack resources are analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a survey of manufacturing firms that have implemented or are implementing digital service projects in China, this paper examines the mediation effect of service networks and the moderated mediation effect of slack resources to capture the role of service networks and slack resources in the relationship between digital servitization and manufacturing firm performance.

Findings

Both basic and advanced digital services can equally contribute to manufacturing firm performance. Service networks mediate the relationship between basic digital servitization and manufacturing firm performance. No moderated mediation effect of slack resources is found, but slack resources negatively moderate the effects of basic digital services on service networks and positively impact service networks.

Originality/value

The mediating mechanism of service networks in the relationship between digital servitization and manufacturing firm performance is theorized, and it is clarified that service networks mediate the association between basic digital services and manufacturing firm performance but not advanced digital services. Additionally, there is no significant difference in performance implications when manufacturing firms provide basic versus advanced digital services, answering the call for research on the various types of digital servitization. This paper also identifies firms’ slack resources as the boundary conditions under which basic digital services influence service networks and the positive impacts of slack resources on service networks, bridging the network literature, organizational slack literature and digitalization literature under the framework of service ecosystem research.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2008

Concepción López‐Fernández, Ana Ma Serrano‐Bedia and Gema García‐Piqueres

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence innovative firms in the manufacturing and service sectors in Spain to cooperate with research institutions in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence innovative firms in the manufacturing and service sectors in Spain to cooperate with research institutions in their innovation activities, and to examine the differences between types of firm.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review is used to identify variables likely to influence a decision to cooperate with research institutions. A logit regression model is then used to verify the importance of those variables. The empirical study was carried out using 2,000 Spanish community innovation survey data. The study sample was 3,964 innovative service and manufacturing firms.

Findings

It is found that spillovers, R&D intensity, costs, risks and alternative cooperation strategies influence both manufacturing and service firms in the same way in their decision to cooperate with research institutions in R&D. However, the variables relating to firm size, being part of a larger group of companies and type of innovation were shown to affect manufacturing and service companies differently.

Research limitations/implications

There was no control over the possible bias introduced into the study by not including firms that were not innovative. The variables included in the study were constrained by the availability of information supplied by the Technological Innovation Survey. And finally, the comparative study of innovative behaviour in manufacturing and services is exploratory in nature.

Practical implications

The empirical results make it possible to identify a profile of the Spanish manufacturing and service firms that cooperate with research institutions.

Originality/value

This paper is original in exploring the differences between manufacturing and service firms in relation to the determinants of establishing institutional cooperation in R&D.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 31 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 May 2019

Bang-Ning Hwang and Mu-Yen Hsu

For most manufacturing firms, technological innovations are usually the key strategies to gain their competitive advantages. However, competing strategically through service

1008

Abstract

Purpose

For most manufacturing firms, technological innovations are usually the key strategies to gain their competitive advantages. However, competing strategically through service provision is becoming an important strategy for most industries. A growing demand for packaged product and service delivery is blurring the traditional boundaries between manufacturing and service firms. This trend is called “servitization.” Prior research had different perspectives on the relationship between technological innovations and servitization. Some argued that as servitization exerts the innovative convergence of products and services, the possession of appropriate readiness and absorption capacity through technological innovations for a manufacturing firm is critical to the success of servitization. In contrast, some argued that the knowledge gained from developing technological innovations cannot be applied to the creation of services due to the fundamental difference between technology and service. These contradicting arguments motivated the authors to study the relationship between technological innovations and servitization a step further. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the research gap, the authors conducted an empirical study based on the large-scale samples from the second Taiwan Community Innovation Survey (Taiwan CIS). A multivariate logistic regression model was applied in the research.

Findings

The authors found that different types of technological innovations, namely product innovation and process innovation, have different impacts on servitization. The innovativeness level of the technological innovation moderates the relationship between technological innovation and servitization. Based on the above findings, this research specifically explains the causes of the contradictory results of the prior research.

Originality/value

The values of this research are twofold. Its academic contribution rests on bridging the literature of innovation and servitization, and on providing a model to clarify the relationships among technological innovation type, level of innovativeness and servitization. Its practical contribution lies in its establishment of a guideline that illuminates manufacturing firms reinforcing service delivery through their existing technological innovation trajectory.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 September 2021

Rodrigo Garza Burgos, James P. Johnson and Misty L.L. Loughry

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…

Abstract

Purpose

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.

Design/methodology/approach

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).

Findings

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.

Research limitations/implications

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.

Practical implications

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.

Social implications

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.

Originality/value

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.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 26 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2021

Marco Opazo-Basáez, Ferran Vendrell-Herrero and Oscar F. Bustinza

Existing innovation frameworks suggest that manufacturing firms have traditionally developed a complementary model of technological innovations comprising process and product…

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Abstract

Purpose

Existing innovation frameworks suggest that manufacturing firms have traditionally developed a complementary model of technological innovations comprising process and product innovations (e.g. Oslo Manual). This article presents digital service innovation as a novel form of technological innovation that is capable of enhancing the performance of firms in certain manufacturing industries.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on technological innovation and digital servitization fields of research, this study argues that digital service innovation, in manufacturing contexts, complements traditional sources of technological innovation, so increasing the profit margins of firms. This effect is significant in industries characterized by business-to-business contexts, high presence of link channels and long product life spans (e.g. manufacturing and computer-based industries). Predictions are tested on a unique sample of 423 Spanish manufacturing firms using parametric (t-test) and nonparametric (fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, fsQCA) approaches.

Findings

The results of this analysis show that a necessary condition so that manufacturing firms can increase profits is the deployment of simultaneous process and product innovations. It also reveals that optimal configuration requires that digital service innovation be undertaken, particularly in machinery and computer-based manufacturing industries. Hence, all three sources of technological innovation are brought together in order to reach the highest levels of company performance. The evidence suggests that technological innovation and digital servitization are closely interrelated in highly innovative manufacturing contexts.

Originality/value

This study's originality and value reside in the fact that it reveals the existence of firms incorporating digital service innovation – a new, technological innovation dimension that challenges existing innovation frameworks – to complement traditional technological innovation sources, namely process and product innovation. Moreover, the study conceptualizes and empirically tests the value-adding role of digital services in firms' technological innovation portfolio.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2020

Mohammad Monirul Islam and Farha Fatema

This study examines the innovation-efficiency linkage for Indian and Chinese manufacturing and service firms.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the innovation-efficiency linkage for Indian and Chinese manufacturing and service firms.

Design/methodology/approach

We applied the stochastic production and cost frontier approach to determine the output and cost efficiency of the firms surveyed in World Bank enterprise surveys. We then used both unconditional and conditional propensity score matching (PSM) estimation techniques to examine the effects of innovation as well as R&D on output and cost efficiency of the firms surveyed.

Findings

The study results suggest that innovation-efficiency linkage varies between countries and sectors. Innovations significantly raise output and cost efficiency of Indian manufacturing firms, whereas innovations in Chinese manufacturing firms are cost-oriented and negatively affect output efficiency. For the service firms of both countries, innovations are significantly positively linked with output and cost efficiency. The study also suggests that R&D acts as a crucial moderator for innovation-efficiency linkage for Chinese manufacturing firms but not for Indian firms, and the interaction effects of innovations are not substantially higher in magnitude than their individual effects. Finally, conditional PSM results suggest knowledge spillover for effective innovations of Indian firms, whereas R&D is a must for substantial innovation-efficiency linkage in Chinese firms.

Originality/value

This study offers quite a few crucial policy decisions concerning the relationship between innovation and efficiency as well as the moderation effect of R&D on innovation-efficiency linkage. It concludes that the effects of innovation on firms' efficiency and the role of R&D as a moderator of the innovation-efficiency relationship differ between India and China across the manufacturing and service sectors.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2005

Daniel I. Prajogo

This paper seeks to examine the difference between manufacturing and service firms with respect to the implementation of total quality management (TQM) practices, and the…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine the difference between manufacturing and service firms with respect to the implementation of total quality management (TQM) practices, and the relationship of these practices to quality performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data were collected from 194 managers of Australian firms with an approximately equal proportion of manufacturing and service firms.

Findings

The finding indicates no significant difference in the level of most of TQM practices and quality performance between the two sectors. This supports the positive argument concerning the applicability of TQM practices in the service firms despite several differences in the nature of their operations compared to their manufacturing counterparts. Furthermore, using structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, this study has shown that TQM construct based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria is valid across both industry sectors, and its relationship with quality performance also indicates insignificant difference between the two sectors.

Practical implications

From a managerial point of view, the results confirm the applicability of TQM principles in both manufacturing and service sectors and the validity of the MBNQA criteria in operationalising TQM principles into a set of organizational practices.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the knowledge in terms of cross‐validating the TQM construct in the manufacturing and service sectors. It also differentiates from the earlier studies in the area by simultaneously testing the TQM construct and its relationship with quality performance in both sectors.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Servitization Strategy and Managerial Control
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-845-1

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