The roles of internet of things in enabling servitized business model : a systematic literature review

Internet of things has increasingly gained attention regarding its potential in enabling servitized business model. However, the academic research that explains this concept is still underexplored. Thus, this paper aims to provide a consolidation and comprehensive analysis of the relevant literature, through conducting a systematic review. From analysing 53 articles, four types of IoT-enabled servitized business model: add-on, sharing, usage-based and solution-oriented are identified. The framework was established to present the relationships of the roles of IoT, firm’s benefit and inhibiting factors in enabling each type of business model. This framework provides a useful and inclusive overview of the topic

Modularization of smart product service: A framework integrating smart product service blueprint and weighted complex network

Modularization of smart product service (SPS) emerges as a priority strategy to agilely satisfy the dynamic customization requirement and to flexibly response to the rapid market change. Compared with the traditional product service, the SPS have more complicated interactions between the service components due to the novel characteristics caused by the application of smart technologies. The SPS modularization presents great differences from the identification of service component, correlation evaluation and module partition with the traditional product service modularization. However, most the existing research mainly focuses on the context of traditional product service, while containing scant study of smart product service. Therefore, this study proposes a hybrid framework for SPS modularization. In the framework, a cyber-physical product service blueprint is firstly proposed to represent the SPS operation process and identify the SPS components. Then, a rough-fuzzy correlation matrix is presented to determine the comprehensive interdependence between all pairs of SPS components with fully considering the hybrid decision uncertainties involved in the evaluation process, i.e., intrapersonal linguistic vagueness and interpersonal preference diversity. After that, the complex network theory is used to construct the SPS network and a modified Girvan-Newman algorithm is adopted for the SPS module partition. Finally, an illustrative modularization case of smart gearbox maintenance service and some caparisons with other methods demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed approach

The roles of internet of things technology in enabling servitized business models : a systematic literature review

The internet of things (IoT) is gaining attention from both scholars and practitioners regarding its potential as a key enabler of servitized business models; academic research on this emerging concept is increasing but overall underexplored, however. This paper comprehensively analyses and consolidates the relevant literature on the emerging concept of IoT and servitized business models through conducting a systematic literature review. Based on an analysis of 74 articles, four archetypes of business models are identified that are enabled by the IoT: add-on, sharing, usage-based and solution-oriented and supplemented with information on what role IoT adoption takes, benefits from the provider perspective, and the inhibiting factors per archetype. A framework draws the findings together and forms five propositions about these elements and their corresponding business models that may guide future empirical research and serve as a common typology. Therefore, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on innovative servitized business models by classifying emergent business models utilising IoT and what is currently known about them. For practice, this paper provides an overview for initial consideration by practitioners before adopting IoT in enabling servitized business models and the range of applications IoT may have in enabling servitized business models with examples

Second Generation General System Theory: Perspectives in Philosophy and Approaches in Complex Systems

Following the classical work of Norbert Wiener, Ross Ashby, Ludwig von Bertalanffy and many others, the concept of System has been elaborated in different disciplinary fields, allowing interdisciplinary approaches in areas such as Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive Science, Economics, Engineering, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Medicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Philosophy. The new challenge of Complexity and Emergence has made the concept of System even more relevant to the study of problems with high contextuality. This Special Issue focuses on the nature of new problems arising from the study and modelling of complexity, their eventual common aspects, properties and approaches—already partially considered by different disciplines—as well as focusing on new, possibly unitary, theoretical frameworks. This Special Issue aims to introduce fresh impetus into systems research when the possible detection and correction of mistakes require the development of new knowledge. This book contains contributions presenting new approaches and results, problems and proposals. The context is an interdisciplinary framework dealing, in order, with electronic engineering problems; the problem of the observer; transdisciplinarity; problems of organised complexity; theoretical incompleteness; design of digital systems in a user-centred way; reaction networks as a framework for systems modelling; emergence of a stable system in reaction networks; emergence at the fundamental systems level; behavioural realization of memoryless functions

An exploration of how product-based firms transition to IoT-enabled servitized firms

The current trend of Industry 4.0 involves the use of digitalisation and smart technologies in product manufacturing. This has enabled product-based manufacturing firms to make the radical shift in their traditional business model towards the service-oriented business model in order to respond to the disruption of digital technologies. This corresponds to the concept of servitization which refers to the shift from selling pure products to the integration of product-service offerings. It is also expected that by leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) technology as part of the emerging Industry 4.0 disruptive technologies, product-based firms can fundamentally transform their business model and help to facilitate and enable the novel servitized business models. The existing literature discusses the concept of IoT-enabled servitization under the terms of “digital servitization” and “smart servitization” which can be considered as the transformation of firms’ processes and capabilities to shift from a product-centric business model towards smart product-service software systems in enabling value creation. Although the knowledge of the servitization concept has been advanced in both theory and practice, the existing knowledge of the emerging concept of IoT and servitization is still in its infancy and the literature is fragmented. Therefore, the research on this emerging concept provides an opportunity for further investigation. The adoption of IoT in implementing servitized business models is associated with the introduction of new service offerings to meet the new market needs in the volatile market, as discussed in the strategic management literature. The importance of renewal and reconfiguration of firms’ resources and capabilities in order to implement a new business model has been emphasised in the theories of dynamic capabilities view and resource-based view (RBV). In this context, the opportunity exists to carry out empirical research that identifies all associated characteristics, resources, capabilities and related factors that lead to the successful implementation of IoT-enabled servitized business models. To explore this research prospect, the purpose of this thesis is to identify firms’ resources and capabilities and the associated processes which are necessary to implement IoT-enabled servitized business models. In line with the abductive research logic which was underlined by the author’s critical realism, the research design developed to address this research opportunity includes two phases: theoretical and empirical. The former aims to explore the extant literature related to the emerging concept and develop a conceptual framework to serve as a guide for empirical study. The latter is a case-based research method which is adopted to empirically test the conceptual framework and emerge the new findings. Two case studies comprised of six embedded units of analysis are selected to provide an opportunity for the literal replication of the guiding principles that underline the capabilities the product-based firms can adopt in order to transition to an IoT-enabled servitized business model. The research findings concluded that there are four types of IoT-enabled servitized business model which have different associated characteristics. It was also illustrated that firm resources, operational capabilities and firm’s network configurations vary by different IoT-enabled servitized business model strategy, and product-based firms require a particular set of dynamic capabilities (DC) to manage those resources and capabilities. This research highlights the understandings of the transformation process from product-based to IoT-enabled servitized firms. Subsequently, the thesis provides the theoretical and practical contributions by developing a conceptual framework that can be used by academic research in order to further empirically investigate and broaden the knowledge of the emerging concept of IoT and servitization, and by practitioners to evaluate their existing (product-based) firm resources and capabilities, and renew or adjust those resources and capabilities as appropriate in order to implement IoT-enabled servitized business models. Finally, the limitations and future research avenues are highlighted