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The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe certain critical dimensions related to service innovation in manufacturing firms. The paper focuses on dimensions related to the service transition, the offering and the development project.

A multiple case study was conducted in order to trace specific service innovations and to explore critical dimensions and events throughout their development. A total of 16 interviews were held, covering service innovations in SKF, Volvo Buses, and Volvo Trucks.

Each of the three service innovations studied are examples of recombinative innovations. While there are some differences in terms of what is innovative, a common theme is the bundling of technology and services. Recombinative innovation opens up the possibility to combine standardization and customization, which has been identified as a success factor for services in manufacturing companies.

Although a large number of manufacturing firms are introducing services to utilize the entire life‐cycle of the installed base, there is a shortage of literature that includes elaborate empirical accounts of service innovations in manufacturing firms. The study expands the scope for viewing service innovation by not only focusing on the offering but also taking into account service transition and the development project.

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 propose a process‐modelling method that is based on methods from both operations management (OM) and service operations management (SOM), which complies with the special requirements of servitised manufacturers.

After a comprehensive literature review of organisational change in servitised manufacturers, the requirements for modelling industrial services are established. In addition, existing business process‐modelling methods from OM and SOM are classified and related to these requirements. A modelling method that is adapted to the needs of servitised manufacturers is proposed, and the practical advantages of this methodology are explored in an exemplary case study of a machine tool manufacturer.

This paper suggests that existing instruments that have been developed within OM and SOM need considerable adjustment to comply with the needs of servitised manufacturers.

This paper contributes towards mastering the transition from the production of capital goods to the offering of entire solutions by outlining the special requirements of the process structure in a manufacturing company as it turns into a solution‐provider.

The primary objective of this paper is to explore antecedents for developing different types of services. A second objective is to address the neglected role of service development in manufacturing firms.

A qualitative research approach is used. While the study is qualitative due to its context, it is positioned between deductive and inductive qualitative studies, being neither a test of an already developed theory nor a development of a new theory. Rather, it is an extension of existing theories on service development through dialectic interaction between field studies and existing theory.

The findings suggest that three types of service (customer service, product‐related services, and customer support services) differ in their configuration of antecedents for service development.

The study is based on case‐study research, but the external validity (generalisability) of the antecedents could not be assessed. Future research would benefit from insights obtained from quantitative data.

The combination of different service types and antecedents forms a model that can guide managers in typical product manufacturing companies who wish to extend the service business by developing services successfully.

Based on three in‐depth case studies and 18 bi‐polar mini cases, this paper explores the relationship between types of services in manufacturing companies and typical antecedents that are necessary for service development.

The paper aims to provide a better understanding of how cognitive processes limit service improvements in typical product manufacturing companies.

Case studies are the main tool for theory development. All investigated manufacturing companies have been seeking possibilities to enhance their profitability through services, because their products were mainly in the maturity stage with decreasing margins and profitability.

The objective was to show how companies can overcome the typical “cultural” habits and cognitive processes by offering some guidelines to managers seeking to establish sustainable service improvement programs.

The remarks are limited to product manufacturing firms.

The key managerial implication is a method to overcome cognitive processes, which limit service improvements.

The paper establishes that cognitive processes form several feedback structures that all play a critical role in determining the success of service improvements.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of intellectual capital (IC), management accounting information systems, internal process performance and customer performance (CP) on the relationship of strategies with financial performance (FP).

The population in this research was medium and large manufacturing company business units in Java. The business unit as the unit of analysis in this research is part of the organization that: is responsible for the production and marketing of a product or set of products; is formed by product type; has its own competitors which are different from competitors of other business units or divisions within a parent company; and has a manager who is responsible and has authority over the planning and implementation of strategies to achieve the specified profit target.

An innovation strategy that includes product innovation, process innovation and technology has an impact on FP if there is a good internal process performance, reliable management accounting information system and good CP. The internal process performance, which includes operations management processes, customer management processes, innovation processes and regulatory and social processes, optimizes the relationship of the strategy with FP. In this study, IC does not affect CP and internal process performance, nor does the management accounting information system affect FP. However, information systems affect FP through internal process performance and CP.

The originalities of this study are: the use of the continuous innovation strategy in an integrated manner between product innovation and process and information technology – this has never been conducted by other researchers, especially in Indonesia; the use of IC, management accounting information systems, internal process performance and CP as mediating variables; the use of an integrative approach by including variables of IC, management accounting information systems and non-FP as contextual variables related to contingency approaches that have never been conducted in previous research; the modeling of new related concepts with the one developed in the balanced scorecard; and using single mediating and multiple mediating on the influence of sustainable innovation strategies on FP.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the patterns of service strategy changes in manufacturing firms and indicates how each pattern is interrelated with modifications in organizational design elements.

The paper draws on a longitudinal study using a survey of 97 manufacturers of capital goods. In addition, 15 case studies have been conducted. Survey and qualitative data are obtained in 1997, 2001, and 2004.

The findings highlight four patterns of service strategy changes: from customer service strategy to after‐sales service provider, from after‐sales service provider to customer‐support service provider, from customer‐support service provider to development partner, and from customer‐support service provider to the outsourcing partner. Evidence of specific alignment between service strategy and organizational design elements is provided.

The main limitation of this paper is the purposive sample.

Managers should follow the patterns of service strategy changes by extending the service offerings and modifying the organizational design elements.

Previous studies investigate service strategies and organizational design elements only at a specific time, which leads to a static perspective. This paper offers insights into interrelations among service strategy changes and organizational design elements.

This study seeks to examine how Chinese culture affects business‐to‐business marketing strategies and service revenue in manufacturing companies.

The paper used a combination of qualitative research approaches, namely interviews, longitudinal study and bi‐polar case studies. The sequence of the qualitative research approaches was chosen to maximize internal and external validity.

The findings expose the impact of the characteristics of Chinese culture on a firm's potential to generate high service revenues in business marketing.

The study has possible location‐ and industry‐specific limitations.

The implicit logic for increasing service revenue starts with overcoming typical and, in some respects, limiting cultural characteristics. These characteristics limit business‐to‐business marketing for increasing service revenue. Monitoring the effects of Chinese culture and gaining an understanding of how they have to be managed provides some guidance for managers to generate high service revenues.

The purpose of this paper is to examine what kinds of capabilities are required by process industry companies as they move toward servitization. The authors proceed in two steps. First, the authors explore the capabilities needed in servitization with a qualitative multiple case study. Second, the authors link the identified capabilities to the servitization steps that were derived from prior literature.

Based on earlier servitization literature, the authors build a five-step servitization model for industrial companies. Then, drawing on the empirical study consisting of three focus group sessions with three case companies and 20 interviews in 14 case companies, the authors identify 14 servitization capabilities and link them to the servitization steps.

The study reveals how dynamic capabilities are required in servitization. In contrast to operational capabilities, which are geared toward enabling firms to make a living in the present, dynamic capabilities extend or modify operational capabilities in response to market changes. Based on the empirical study, the authors were able to identify dynamic capabilities for all five steps of servitization: identification of current services and customer needs, determination of a service strategy, creation of new business models and pricing logics, improvements in capabilities, and, ultimately, management services as a separate function.

The current study is exploratory in nature and the number of empirical observations is limited to 14 industrial companies operating in the process industry.

Most importantly, in servitization, companies need dynamic capabilities to transform their operating capabilities in sales and marketing as well as in quantifying and communicating the value created for customers.

The study is the first one to make a link between the capabilities needed and the various stages of servitization and also the first to study the specific context of process industry companies.