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The paper proposes an innovative systemic method helping decision-makers to control servitization transition process, through decision process risk diagnosis.

The proposed method is based on the modeling of decision processes and risk identification and analysis. This method was based on an action-research approach, in close relationship with two companies (SMEs). The paper develops the feasibility experiment at Automelec company.

The method was successfully implemented and delivered concrete diagnosis results.

The generalization of the applicability of the method needs to be tested on several different cases.

The first practical implication is related to the efficiency of the method to help decision-makers in a servitization context to limit uncertainty and get a global view of the weaknesses of their decision-making process, it raises their awareness about servitization transition for their companies. Furthermore, the method also helps to explain the strategy of a servitization transition. It enhances the level of maturity of the decision process of the company, and can be used as a training/learning tool for managers.

The results brought by the research contribute to give the decision-making boards for organization living a servitization transition and especially SMEs a better control over the servitization decision process and related risks, which will increase the economic stability of the company and its vision over long, medium and short horizons. This will bring positive impact on the overall economic and social environment and networks of the servitized SME, and enhance the confidence of coworkers, subcontractors and clients.

The first originality of the paper is related to the new way of considering risk, not only as an analysis criterion but as the central driver in steering a strategic transition for the company, such as servitization. The second originality of the study is about assessing risk occurrence over a decision-making process through decision reliability and decision confidence.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the environment-strategy-structure fit in the context of industrial servitization and its impact on the profitability of manufacturing SMEs.

Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with the CEOs of 184 French manufacturing SMEs. These primary data were complemented by the indicators extracted from a financial database to ensure objective measures of financial performance. Analyses were conducted by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The research tests the impact of the organizational design (customer interface, service delivery system and service culture (SC)) on financial performance. It also tests the moderating effect on this relationship of servitization strategies adopted by the firm (added services (AS), activities reconfiguration (AR) and business model reconfiguration (BMR)) and the environment in which the firm is situated (industry dynamism, competitive intensity and industry munificence).

This study considers the coalescence of the environment-strategy-structure to be a driver of firm performance in the context of industrial firms’ servitization. Three specific servitization strategies (AS, AR and BMR) are suggested based on the service offering’s impact on the customer’s activity chain or business model.

The research proposes some optimal organizational design depending on servitization strategy and environmental factors; for example, SC has a strong impact on financial performance when BMR is adopted.

This empirical study is based on an extended sample of 184 SMEs and provides quantitative support for the claim that good alignment between strategy and organizational design based on environmental factors increases profitability.

Servitization of manufacturing is characterized by very complex decision processes within strongly unstable and uncertain decision contexts. Decision-makers are face situations of lack of internal and external information. The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision aid approach to support the management of servitization decision-making processes.

The scientific orientation of this research consists in working at improving the efficiency of the servitization decision-making process, by identifying factors of non-reliability, in order to propose remediation actions for the whole process. Improving the final decisions taken by the managers is considered as a consequence of the improvement of the decision-making process reliability. The method, based on modeling and evaluation, requires the specification of a decision process model for servitization, used as a basis to assess decision process reliability and diagnose the enterprise’s servitization decision system. Improving the final decisions made by the managers is considered as a consequence of the improvement of the decision-making process reliability.

Key added values: first, to formalize a servitization decision-making reference model; second, to specify a reliability assessment applied to the decision system; and third, to define a decision process reliability diagnosis procedure for servitization, illustrated in a case study.

A direct perspective is to complete the focus on procedural reliability, by taking into consideration the subjective rationality of decision-makers in the reliability assessment procedure. Additionally, this reliability assessment method and diagnosis could become the basis of a larger risk management approach for servitization.

The diagnosis procedure proposed in the paper is dedicated to generating practical results for enterprise decision-makers, consisting in recommendations for decision process improvements, in the context of servitization. The approach is illustrated through an industrial SME case study. The practical implications are highly contextualized.

The key originality of this research is to tackle servitization complexity with a decision system modeling and diagnosis orientation, including the formalization of the notion of “decision process reliability,” and the specification and implementation of a quantitative assessment procedure.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Use of an appropriate “servitization” strategy offers scope for small and medium-sized enterprises to increase the service portion of their offerings and become more profitable. However, the impact of each strategy can be moderated by organizational structure factors and/or industry characteristics. Positive influence on performance is likelier when congruence exists between these different aspects.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.