The adoption of servitization strategies by UK-based manufacturers

Almost all manufacturers offer services, but some use these as the basis for their competitive strategy. This is a growing area of interest among practitioners, policy makers, and academics, yet little is known about the adoption of servitization by UK manufacturers. In this paper a survey is presented that has been used to explore the extent, motivations, challenges, and successes of servitization within the business-to-business sector. The findings indicate, for example, that many manufacturers are succeeding with their service strategies, that they are attracted to these as a source of customer focus and revenue growth, and that such strategies require less organizational change than might be expected. Although the findings from the survey should be treated as preliminary, and further work is needed to confirm their reliability and insight, they indicate that servitization is proving to be a powerful competitive weapon for many companies

Multi-factor service design: identification and consideration of multiple factors of the service in its design process

Service design is a multidisciplinary area that helps innovate services by bringing new ideas to customers through a design-thinking approach. Services are affected by multiple factors, which should be considered in designing services. In this paper, we propose the multi-factor service design (MFSD) method, which helps consider the multi-factor nature of service in the service design process. The MFSD method has been developed through and used in five service design studies with industry and government. The method addresses the multi-factor nature of service for systematic service design by providing the following guidelines: (1) identify key factors that affect the customer value creation of the service in question (in short, value creation factors), (2) define the design space of the service based on the value creation factors, and (3) design services and represent them based on the factors. We provide real stories and examples from the five service design studies to illustrate the MFSD method and demonstrate its utility. This study will contribute to the design of modern complex services that are affected by varied factors

Water, housing and (in)formality in Kitwe, Zambia: infrastructure, citizenship and urban belonging

Wusakile is one of the oldest and most prominent mining neighbourhoods in Kitwe, on the Zambian Copperbelt. Since the 1930s, mining companies have provided water and housing to their employees in Wusakile. By exploring the variegated dynamics between water, housing and citizenship in Kitwe, this chapter highlights the ways in which citizens’ access to water infrastructure is embedded in historical processes. It explores scholarly debates about water infrastructure, the role of the state and the market in water provision and how this influences citizenship. Water infrastructure, due to its social, economic, political and cultural significance, in addition to its importance to public health, plays a pivotal role in urban life. Nkana Water and Sewerage Company is a commercial utility which started operations in 2000. In informal settlements public water services were not provided and residents were expected to supply themselves, by resorting to shallow wells, illegal connections or the Kafue River