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1 – 10 of over 1000Beini Liu, Zhenyan Li and Yaoyao Fu
Servitization of products is becoming increasingly prevalent among manufacturing enterprises. Existing research has primarily focused on exploring whether the direct impact of…
Abstract
Purpose
Servitization of products is becoming increasingly prevalent among manufacturing enterprises. Existing research has primarily focused on exploring whether the direct impact of servitization on manufacturer performance follows a linear or a curvilinear relationship. However, the understanding of the underlying mechanisms between servitization and manufacturer financial performance remains limited. This paper aims to examine the non-linear relationship between servitization and manufacturer performance as well as the mediating process and boundary condition associated with this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on resource-advantage theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model of the U-shaped relationship between servitization and the financial performance of equipment manufacturers. Panel data of 248 listed equipment manufacturers in China during the period of 2010–2020 are used to test each hypothesis through the ordinary least square method.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that servitization follows a U-shaped relationship with service business focus and the financial performance of equipment manufacturers. Service business focus mediates this U-shaped relationship between servitization and financial performance, and digital technology application moderates this relationship.
Originality/value
This paper pioneers the unraveling of the potential mechanism that can explain the curvilinear relationship between servitization of manufacturers and financial performance. This mechanism is the focus of the service business, which is theoretically delineated and empirically tested. Furthermore, digital technology application enables manufacturers to achieve service business focus more effectively in the process of servitization. Thus, this study addresses the call for research on digital servitization.
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Josip Marić, Mirjana Pejić Bach and Shivam Gupta
The purpose of this study is to disclose ontology of DSI as a novel concept in servitization community, explore the research context and themes (i.e. technological and industrial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to disclose ontology of DSI as a novel concept in servitization community, explore the research context and themes (i.e. technological and industrial sectors) where DSI emerges, unveil methodological complexities of the research on digital servitization and DSI and provide guidelines for future research avenues regarding DSI.
Design/methodology/approach
Bearing in mind the relative novelty of DSI as a concept in servitization literature, the authors adopted a systematic literature review approach to identify 111 peer-reviewed articles published in English language and available in business and management disciplines via scholar databases (Scopus). The analysis of literature discloses descriptive and thematic insights regarding digital servitization and DSI.
Findings
The study provides valuable insights from the descriptive and thematic analyses where classification of articles per publication year, citations, methodology/type of the paper, geographical location of data collection, as well as industrial sector and technological contexts are discussed. Moreover, the unique value of this study is observed through its specific focus on the characteristics of DSI-related literature.
Originality/value
The study is among the first of its kind to provide extensive descriptive and thematic insights on the available literature dealing with digital servitization and DSI, mapping out prior research across a wide spectrum of publication outlets and illustrating the chronological evolution of research on digital servitization and DSI.
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Benjamin Biesinger, Karsten Hadwich and Manfred Bruhn
(Digital) servitization, referring to service-driven strategies and their increasing implementation in manufacturing, is one of the most rapidly growing areas in industrial…
Abstract
Purpose
(Digital) servitization, referring to service-driven strategies and their increasing implementation in manufacturing, is one of the most rapidly growing areas in industrial service research. However, the cultural change involved in successful servitization is a phenomenon that is widely observed but poorly understood. This research aims to clarify the processes of social construction as manufacturers change their organizational culture to transform into industrial service providers.
Design/methodology/approach
This research takes a systematic approach to integrate disparate literature on servitization into a cohesive framework for cultural change, which is purposefully augmented by rationale culled from organizational learning and sensemaking literature.
Findings
The organizational learning framework for cultural change in servitization introduces a dynamic perspective on servitizing organizations by explaining social processes between organizational and member-level cultural properties. It identifies three major cultural orientations toward service, digital and learning that govern successful servitization.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the servitization literature by presenting a new approach to reframe and explore cultural change processes across multiple levels, thus providing a concrete starting point for further research in this area.
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José-María Sánchez-López, María Luz Martín-Peña, Eloísa Díaz-Garrido and Cristina García-Magro
Absorptive capacity, technological collaboration and servitization are analyzed to establish ways to overcome the balance between products and services in manufacturing companies…
Abstract
Purpose
Absorptive capacity, technological collaboration and servitization are analyzed to establish ways to overcome the balance between products and services in manufacturing companies. A fresh perspective is introduced by presenting a framework for innovation strategy, moving beyond product-based R&D.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested using data on Spanish firms in the high-tech chemical and pharmaceutical industries through ordinary least squares regression analysis. The sample consists of 112 manufacturing firms included in the Spanish Survey of Business Strategies.
Findings
The results show that absorptive capacity facilitates servitization and that technological collaboration moderates the relationship between absorptive capacity and servitization. The synergies between absorptive capacity and technological collaboration for servitization are recognized from the perspective of open innovation as a way of resolving the trade-off between products and services.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should introduce more sources of collaboration by broadening the value chain perspective. Other approaches to innovation may also be considered, including relationships to process innovation.
Practical implications
The results can provide meaningful guidance for companies to determine the key opportunities of servitization driven by absorptive capacity, and the best ways to leverage open innovation and collaboration strategies to exploit such approaches.
Originality/value
This research enriches theories on servitization, open innovation and innovative behavior. Open innovation strategy should be linked to greater servitization activity and should support an open service strategy. This approach is crucial for building innovation capabilities through technological collaboration.
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Anna Fedyunina, Liudmila Ruzhanskaya, Nikolay Gorodnyi and Yuri Simachev
This paper aims to discuss the firm productivity premium for servitized firms. It discusses servitization across the product value chain and estimates the effects of the range and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the firm productivity premium for servitized firms. It discusses servitization across the product value chain and estimates the effects of the range and extent of servitization on productivity premium in manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops a conceptual framework and tests the hypotheses on the effects of servitization on productivity premium using linear regression models with a sample of 20,837 Russian manufacturing firms gathered from the Ruslana Bureau van Dijk database and the Russian customs service.
Findings
Servitized firms exhibit higher total factor productivity and labor productivity. The labor productivity premium increases with the number of services offered. However, the impact of services on productivity varies along the product value chain: postmanufacturing and postsales services enhance productivity premium, while manufacturing and back-office services diminish them. The effect of establishment services remains ambiguous.
Practical implications
This paper offers an analytical framework for firms to assess their servitization strategies. These strategies should be gradual, focused on enhancing firm efficiency rather than being an end goal. Firms should initiate the process by introducing services at the postproduction and postsales stages of the product creation chain to achieve productivity premium.
Originality/value
The paper extends the evidence on firm-level productivity drivers and contributes to the servitization theory. A servitization strategy should be portfolio-based, considering both the potential gains and losses in productivity resulting from the implementation of specific services.
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While existing literature extensively explores manufacturing firms expanding into services, little is known about the modes of servitisation, the means by which they carry it out…
Abstract
Purpose
While existing literature extensively explores manufacturing firms expanding into services, little is known about the modes of servitisation, the means by which they carry it out. This paper concentrates on acquisitions as a mode of servitisation. Post-acquisition integration is when the potential of an acquisition is realised. The paper therefore aims to categorise types of integrations following the acquisition of servitised firms and discusses their consequences for servitisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical part of the paper is based on two case studies, each involving the acquisition of servitised firms. Both acquirers changed their integration approach over time.
Findings
The paper conceptualises three types of integrations: rhetorical, insulated and transformative integrations, indicating whether and how the acquirer becomes servitised following the integration. These highlight the analysis of integration based on business models and customer orientation in relation to servitisation.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to research on servitisation by emphasising acquisitions as a mode of servitisation and conceptualising three integration types related to business models and customer orientations. Furthermore, the paper highlights how an acquirer's servitisation leads to new offerings targeting new customers, as opposed to strengthening existing relationships.
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Tilbe Adsiz and Yucel Ozturkoglu
Recently, increasing costs and competitive pressure have accelerated the search for different business models in both the production and service sectors. The rapid development of…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently, increasing costs and competitive pressure have accelerated the search for different business models in both the production and service sectors. The rapid development of technology has increased the importance of digitalization, especially in developing new and different strategies. The digital service business model has also become a new business model that companies have recently preferred. In addition to its many advantages, it is a business model in which different barriers arise in practice. When we look at the literature, there are very few studies, especially on digital servitization. The purpose of this study is to integrate the concept of digital servitization with the Industry 4.0 perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this aim, first, the authors identify various challenges and barriers in front of digital servitization based on the Industry 4.0 perspective. Later, they determine the relative importance of these barriers critical to the success of digital servitization. Lastly, one multi-criteria decision-making method, the fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method, is used to analyze the cause-and-effect relationship between each barrier based on the Industry 4.0 perspective
Findings
Based on the results, the most crucial cause-and-effect barriers are insufficient infrastructure/lack of IT infrastructure and high implementation, respectively. Therefore, this study offers the reader the possible barriers to sustainable digital servitization with Industry 4.0 perspective implementations and comprehensive solutions for these barriers. In addition, this study draws a roadmap for disseminating digital service applications.
Originality/value
There is no study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, about determining barriers and problems with merging digital servitization with the Industry 4.0 perspective. So, there is still a significant gap in the literature about investigating these two essential topics from the Industry 4.0 perspective.
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This chapter reviews the literature on servitization to understand whether and how mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been dealt with and what the portrayed consequences are of…
Abstract
This chapter reviews the literature on servitization to understand whether and how mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been dealt with and what the portrayed consequences are of servitization through M&As. Servitization refers to how manufacturing firms extend and remodel their offerings to focus on value in use rather than product transfer. The rationale of the chapter follows from how business model innovation or business modeling has been predicted as the next M&A wave, while the focus on servitization has been pronounced in research and practice as a means for manufacturing firms to refocus operations during the past decade. The chapter concludes that while the servitization literature is vibrant, the mode of reaching service competence and renewing business is not well explored in the literature. In line with the predicted next M&A wave, servitization through M&As would thereby create an interesting path for future research.
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Wen-Hong Chiu, Zong-Jie Dai and Hui-Ru Chi
This study aims to explore how manufacturing firms master customer lock-in through value creation by servitization innovation strategies from the perspective of asset specificity.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how manufacturing firms master customer lock-in through value creation by servitization innovation strategies from the perspective of asset specificity.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study with triangulation fashion is adopted to identify servitization innovation strategies. Several manufacturing firms were investigated, which are distributed in different positions of the value chain. Content analysis and abductive approaches are adopted to analyze the data. Moreover, an in-depth interview and participatory observation were conducted to refine the analysis results.
Findings
This study identified four different focusing points of servitization operations. Based on these, the paper further induces an innovative servitization strategy matrix of customer lock-in, concerning communion, intellectual, existential and insubstantial strategies. Furthermore, a conceptual model of customer lock-in by servitization innovation from the perspective of asset specificity is elaborated. It is suggested that companies can use tangible or intangible resources by sharing or storing operations to create servitization value.
Originality/value
This study theoretically proposes a conceptual model to extend servitization innovation as an intangible asset and adopt the new perspective of asset specificity to illustrate the value creation in servitization to generate customer lock-in.
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