Digital servitization: How data-driven services drive transformation

The infusion of data-driven services in manufacturing provides new opportunities for long-term competitive advantage; however, it also poses new challenges and entails tradeoffs among strategic options. Digital servitization changes intra-firm processes and customer relationships as well as overall ecosystem dynamics. Drawing on an extensive study of ABB Marine & Ports, a market-leading systems integrator, the concept of digital servitization is examined by analyzing its key characteristics, including opportunities and challenges for manufacturers. The resource integration patterns that connect actors and the dual role of technology in both increasing resource integration complexity and in facilitating the coordination of complexity are discussed. Advancing digital servitization requires fostering service-centricity and executing strategic change initiatives for both the internal organization and the broader ecosystem. Firms must undertake three interlinked changes: (1) digital, (2) organizational, and (3) ecosystem transformations. In addition to contributing to the service literature, these findings provide actionable insights for managers

Theorizing about resource integration through service-dominant logic

Resource integration, as it relates to value creation, has recently been a key aspect of the discussions about service-dominant (S-D) logic. However, the majority of research pays relatively little explicit attention to the process of theorizing and the epistomological and ontological assumptions upon which the theorizing process is based. This article addresses these issues. The processes that relate to theorizing and developing strong theory are discussed. We then examine how to conceptualize ‘resources’ and ‘resource integration’ following differing ontological and epistemological assumptions that guide the theorizing process. Research recommendations to help navigate through the finer details underlying the theorizing process and to advance a general theory of resource integration are developed

United We Stand, Divided We Fall: Historical Trajectory of Strategic Renewal Activities at Scandinavian Airlines System, 1946-2012

Although the second half of the twentieth century saw the rise and fall of ‘multi-flag companies’ in the civil aviation industry, our understanding of how some managed to buck the trend and achieve longevity remains limited. This paper advances business history and strategic management research by examining the strategic renewal activities of Scandinavian Airlines (formerly Scandinavian Airlines System) during the period 1946-2012. The study sheds light on the key roles of private and state owners, rivals as well as banks, in critical financial phases are discussed in terms of longevity in the company. The longevity of the business stems from the leaders’ ability to develop as anticipated and respond to change in their competitive arena in close interaction with the owners. Thus, incumbent firms that strategically renew themselves prior to or during market reform, such as deregulation, enhance their chances of developing the size of their networks and revenue streams. Our main contribution to business history and strategic management literatures is the development of context-specific stages, which shed light on the evolution of strategic renewal activities and shifts from older processes and routines towards customer service and efficiency

Customer-firm business relationship and network : The case of Retailers/IT

During the last decade's information technology and its impact on business relationship has occupied the attention of researchers. The interface between two actors has been discussed to be either digital, "physical" or/and a combination of the both. In this paper we tackle the issue of what makes customers conduct their exchanges with firms on the internet and what make most customers still carry out exchanges in "traditional" stores. The study relay on business network and focuses on the concept of business relationship strength. More specifically, the relationship is explained not only by the focal relationships but also through connected actors' impact on the digital or physical business relationship.To investigate this issues a questionnaire were sent out to 5000 respondents. The receivers of the survey were asked to answer the questionnaire in a position of a customer. 1243 questionnaires returned which equals with a response-rate of 24.86 %,. These respondents then become separated into two types, those who prefer making exchanges on the Internet and those who prefer to make exchanges at a physical store. A framework for customer - firm relationship strength is developed from the statistical analyses, and discussed against current theory and practice. The emerging framework is presented with regard to three main dimensions of relationship strength, exchange, behaviour and the impact from connected actors.The paper was published at the 24th IMP-conference in Uppsala, Sweden in 200

SAS "New" Business Model

In September 2005 SAS introduced a new business model. Where did the model come from and what influenced it? This paper’s focus is on the making of the model where we study the making of a business model as a dynamic process through time. In concrete terms, traces of today’s model can be found and examined from the SAS group’s embryonic attempts starting in 1946, through the financially good years during the 1980s, to the market re-regulation in contemporary time. During these years several changes have taken part both on the larger air travel market and in SAS´s market practice. We have separated SAS´s history into three era’s, the technological era, the businessman’s airlines era, and the “to serve Europe with air travel” era. Elaborating on the theoretical notion of mutuality between markets and market practice (Cf. Helgesson et. al., 2004), the impact of these practices and of the market infra structure at different points in time are described and their importance for the emergence of the business model discussed. Our findings show that the political efforts to de-regulate the European air travel markets did not automatically change all market practices and thus not the market. The process that followed the de-regulation can better be characterised as a translation process in which a changed market was created, based on an already established network of embedded material and immaterial items, such as booking systems, airplanes and perceptive frames, that had to be taken into consideration.Paper presented at IMP2006 Milan

Effects of user community sensing capability in digital product innovation : Evidence from the video game industry

Digital technology continues to extend the co-creative role of users and user communities as sources of innovation-conducive knowledge. While the potential of user communities in this context is well established, little is known about the capabilities needed to successfully manage the interface with virtual user communities. The paper investigates User Community Sensing (UCS) capability as a measure of firms’ ability to anticipate changes and opportunities for innovation by interfacing with relevant user communities. Based on existing research and data from 173 product innovation projects, the study employs structural equation modelling to test the hypothesised effects of this capability on product innovation performance and product innovation speed. The results indicate that UCS capability affects performance positively and indirectly by increasing knowledge about users but has no significant effect on speed. As well as contributing to the literature on innovation management, the study has a number of implications for practitioners

Re-Mixed! : Discussing the impact of IT and traditional actor identities: The record industry

The escalating developments and increasing common use of IT have during the last decade been generally acknowledged as a principal contributing force of various industry and market structure transformations. As various traditional marketing structures and the identity of producers, consumers and related mediating actors and activities allegedly are being turned ‘upside down and aside’ there seems to be an emerging need for a new terminology and development of new marketing structure axioms1 : “Our thinking is profoundly influenced, indeed trapped, by the words we use and the images they evoke. It is crucial that we find new labels and phrases that help us think and conceptualize afresh”. “We find ourselves using some combination of ‘actor’, ‘firm’, ‘provider’, ‘customer’, ‘beneficiary’, or similarly connotatively imprecise labels” (e.g. ‘lustomer’ (Brown, 2007), ‘prosumer (Toffler, 1980) ‘value propositioner’, value beneficiary, ‘value actualiser’) (From Vargo & Lusch, 2008. abbreviated). The paper discusses ways to deal with the marketing discipline’s seemingly ‘reality escaped’, terminological and linguistic ‘gridlock’. The discussion is fuelled by findings from a case study of the music industry exploring asserted changes of various marketing behaviours and structures due to IT. The paper principally agrees and joins the call for ways that “help us think and conceptualize afresh” However, case findings suggest that maybe its time to reclaim the traditional concepts, terms and labels by ‘remixing’ the established marketing axioms instead of trying to develop new ones. The paper suggests employing a functionalist approach where the market is studied and ‘treated’ as system or a network of functions where “the parts are defined on the basis of their function and meaning to the system as a whole”. Even if there has been an extensive transformation of actors and activities in terms of ‘who is who’, ‘who is doing what’ and ‘how is it done’ there is still a functional structure where the established marketing axioms, terms and labels are highly relevant and passable. It is however, adding to the initial quote, “crucial that we find new functional identities in traditional labels and phrases that help us think and conceptualize afresh”. This as the generation of new, sometimes elusive and imprecise, marketing axioms, labels and phrases over time often ends up becoming somewhat of a disservice to the marketing research as a science and discipline. --------------- 1 An Axiom is here referred to and described as the foundations of which a system, or a perception of a system, is based on. An axiom is hence the basic principals, content and concepts of which a theory consists of , in marketing e.g. the meaning and purported definition of e.g. production, distribution,promotion, consumption.ISBN 978-0-9552685-

Organizing for digital servitization: A service ecosystem perspective

Harnessing digital technology is of increasing concern as product firms organize for service-led growth. Adopting a service ecosystem perspective, we analyze interfirm and intrafirm change processes taking place as firms pursue digital servitization. The study draws on in-depth interviews with 44 managers involved in organizing activities in two multinational industry leaders. Our findings identify major differences between the two focal firms in terms of digital service-led growth and associated ecosystem-related activities. The study disentangles underlying processes of organizational change in the ecosystem and suggests that within-firm centralization and integration play a key role in the capacity to organize for digital servitization. For managers, the findings highlight the need to foster service-centricity in order to take full advantage of digitalization beyond purely technological benefits.peerReviewe

Transformational shifts through digital servitization

Manufacturers increasingly look to digitalization to drive service growth. However, success is far from guaranteed, and many firms focus too much on technology. Adopting a discovery-oriented, theories-in-use approach, this study examines the strategic organizational shifts that underpin digital servitization. Notwithstanding strong managerial and academic interest, this link between digitalization and servitization is still under-investigated. Depth interviews with senior executives and managers from a global market leader revealed that to achieve digital service-led growth, a firm and its network need to make three interconnected shifts: (1) from planning to discovery, (2) from scarcity to abundance, and (3) from hierarchy to partnership. Organizational identity, dematerialization, and collaboration play a key role in this transformation. For managers, the study identifies a comprehensive set of strategic change initiatives needed to ensure successful digital servitization.nonPeerReviewe

Stakeholder engagement in intra- and inter-organizational innovation : Exploring antecedents of engagement in service ecosystems

Purpose: To further extend the understanding of multidimensional engagement of stakeholders embedded in service systems, the purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents that constitute stakeholder engagement in inter-organizational service ecosystems where stakeholders co-create innovations over time. Design/methodology/approach: An explorative, longitudinal case study design is employed to analyze stakeholders' engagement in co-innovation in an inter-organizational service system in an engineering context. Findings: The study identifies eight antecedents for stakeholder engagement in innovation in the context of a B2B environment. Building on related engagement research, the empirical data show how stakeholder engagement is influenced at both individual and organizational levels by the antecedents friendship, common experiences, self-representation, trust, a common goal, resource dependency, level in the hierarchy, institutional arrangements, and local proximity. Originality/value; The paper extends current understanding of engagement and illuminates stakeholder engagement on a micro level, addressing four key issues for stakeholder engagement in a service ecosystem. How can stakeholder engagement be maintained over time? Does stakeholder engagement at specific hierarchical levels enhance or hinder inter-organizational co-innovation? Is strong engagement necessary for innovation activities? Are the different engagement antecedents linked