| 1. |
- Brozovic, Danilo, et al.
(författare)
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Servitization as Strategic Flexibility : Insights from an Exploratory Study
- 2011
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Ingår i: Track 1.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Responding to significant market changes, many industrial companies have been pursuing the strategy of ‘servitization’, i.e. transition from selling products to selling an integrated products and service offering that delivers value in use. Once undergone the first step in the process of servitization by adding simple after-sales service to their goods, the company can continue the transition towards more complex solutions.A fundamental premise of this paper is that service transition is regarded as an example of strategic flexibility in practice. However, in spite of the abundant literature on servitization, it remains largely disconnected from the literature on flexibility. The purpose of this paper is thus to explore the industrial companies’ transition towards services as strategic flexibility in practice and to expand the field of industrial service research by infusing ideas from another discipline. The parallels are drawn between strategic challenges of servitization and certain aspects of strategic flexibility, such as sources, antecedents, and market-focused strategic flexibility. A qualitative empirical study is presented, testing the propositions developed from the merge of the concepts. The paper thus opens new dimensions to understanding of the concept of servitization.
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| 2. |
- Nordin, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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A Flexibility Perspective on Services : A Critical Review and Reconceptualization
- 2011
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Ingår i: Track 1.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concept of flexibility has received substantial interest among academic scholarsover many years, particularly focusing on manufacturing related issues. Given an increasedturbulence in many markets, the interest seems well justified. However, the literature issurprisingly devoid of analysis of flexibility in service settings, or how flexibility and servicesare interrelated. The purpose here is therefore to offer a critical analysis of the literature and toconceptualize the interrelationship between flexibility and services. As such, this papercontributes with a novel perspective on services and may serve as a starting point for thedevelopment of a more formal flexibility-perspective on services.
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| 3. |
- Nordin, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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The risks of providing services : Differential risk effects of the service-development strategies of customisation, bundling, and range
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Service Management. - : Emerald. - 1757-5818 .- 1757-5826. ; 22:3, s. 390-408
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the risks for manufacturing companies of extending their traditional goods offerings by the addition of different kinds of services. Design/methodology/approach - The study develops a conceptual framework of nine propositions (and corresponding diagrammatic representations) of the relationships between: three kinds of risk (operational, strategic, and financial); and three strategies for the provision of added service (customisation, bundling, and broadening the range of offerings). This conceptual framework is examined empirically by qualitative analysis of data gathered in a three-year longitudinal study of managerial representatives from nine multinational manufacturing firms engaged in the addition of services to their traditional goods offerings. Findings - It was found that eight of the nine propositions are fully supported, and one receives equivocal support. In addition, several contextual factors are identified as moderating influences on the relationships between the three categories of service offering and the three classes of risk. Research limitations/implications - The study provides an original conceptual framework and nine research propositions that represent a useful starting point for the development of a formal theory of the risks of providing services. Practical implications - The conceptual framework provides guidance for managers' assessments of the risks accompanying the infusion of added services to the traditional goods offerings of manufacturing companies. Originality/value - The paper provides a novel conceptualisation of service innovation and attendant risk.
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