¿Realmente importa la distancia? Evaluación del impacto de la proximidad de las KIBS en la capacidad de servitización de las empresas: evidencia de estudios en el País Vasco

Servitization strategy is becoming increasingly recognized as a key source of value with important competitive and economic implications across the globe. It has been proven to contribute to territorial performance through the provision of services to manufacturing businesses. However, this contribution has largely been the consequence of the configuration of local industrial structures, and most importantly, of the interconnectedness between manufacturing firms and knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) firms. Hence, the process of territorial servitization is highly conditioned by the association between manufacturing businesses and KIBS firms. To date, the literature on territorial servitization has mostly described the implications of KIBS firms for service deployment and service innovation in manufacturing, with knowledge and technological capabilities being considered the main variables in its success. Nevertheless, the literature is silent on how the geographical distance between KIBS firms and manufacturing companies may affect servitization capacity. This paper aims to raise the importance of the geographical distance of KIBS firms in manufacturers’ servitization capacity. To meet this aim, an analysis of two manufacturing companies; Alpha and Beta, is provided. They are both located in the Basque country but collaborate with KIBS firms located in different geographical areas, either “inside” or “outside” the Basque region. Through a qualitative study based on (i) measuring these firms’ capacity for servitization, and (ii) in-depth interviews, results suggest that geographical distance plays a key role in the KIBS firm-Manufacturer relationship for servitization capacity purposes, and should be regards as an important aspect for successful territorial servitization.La estrategia de servitización está siendo progresivamente reconocida a lo largo del mundo como una fuente clave de valor con importantes implicaciones competitivas y económicas. Se ha demostrado, entre otras cosas, que contribuye al desempeño territorial mediante la prestación de servicios a empresas manufactureras. No obstante, esta contribución se debe en gran parte a la configuración de las estructuras industriales locales, y lo que es más importante, a la interconexión entre empresas manufactureras y empresas de servicios empresariales intensivos en conocimiento (KIBS). En consecuencia, el proceso de servitización territorial está muy condicionado por la asociación entre empresas manufactureras y empresas KIBS. Hasta la fecha, la literatura sobre servitización territorial ha descrito principalmente las implicaciones de las empresas KIBS en el despliegue de servicios y la innovación de servicios en la manufactura, considerando el conocimiento y las capacidades tecnológicas las principales variables de su éxito. Sin embargo, la literatura es escasa o casi inexistente respecto de cómo la distancia geográfica entre las empresas KIBS y las empresas manufactureras puede afectar la capacidad de servitización. Por consiguiente, este documento tiene como objetivo plantear la importancia de la distancia geográfica de las empresas KIBS en la capacidad de servitización de los fabricantes. Para cumplir con este objetivo, proporciona el análisis de dos empresas manufactureras; Alfa y Beta. Ambas situadas en el País Vasco, pero en colaboración con firmas KIBS ubicadas en diferentes áreas geográficas, ya sea “dentro” o “fuera” del País Vasco. A través de un estudio cualitativo basado en (i) medir la capacidad de servitización de estas empresas y (ii) entrevistas en profundidad, los resultados sugieren que la distancia geográfica juega un papel clave en la relación empresa KIBS y la capacidad de servitización del fabricante, y debería ser considerada como un aspecto importante para el éxito de la servitización territorial

Treble Innovation Firms: opening innovation frontiers in manufacturing

Manufacturing firms can develop three forms of innovation: product, process, and service. Previous research has mostly analysed service innovation in isolation, whilst this study aims at comparing profit position of firms adopting simultaneously all technological innovations (treble innovation firms). Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) premises, we argue that treble innovation firms can build on innovation cross-fertilization to develop valuable, rare and inimitable resources that translates in to a higher profitability. Furthermore, consistently with RBV, we also expect treble innovation firms to benefit more from open innovation because they can save considerably more in internal R&D development whilst keeping a differentiated offer. We test our hypotheses on a random and representative survey to 423 Spanish manufacturing firms, for which 22% are treble innovators. Our results support our hypotheses. Hence, we find causal evidence supporting that treble innovation firms obtain supernormal profits. Our results also confirm that open innovation positively moderates the relationship between treble innovation firms and performance, but this moderation is significant only when internal R&D expenditures are low

Treble innovation firms:Antecedents, outcomes, and enhancing factors

Drawing on the interplay between strategic ambidexterity, resource-based view, and digital servitization, we conceptualize how the rise of digitalization and service business models in industrial settings have materialized in a distinctive category of innovation-oriented manufacturing firms, labeled as treble innovation firms. We propose that said firms are characterized by simultaneously developing the three types of technological innovation —process, product, and digital service. We use a random and representative survey of 423 Spanish manufacturing firms to analyze antecedents, outcomes, and enhancers of digital service innovation adoption in firms that already possess process and product innovations (i.e., dual innovation firms). We report several findings. First, treble innovation firms epitomize the new norm (rather than the exception), representing 21.7% of all manufacturing firms. Second, product leadership and open innovation breadth increase the probability that dual innovation firms implement digital service innovation. Third, treble innovation firms achieve considerably greater profit margins than dual innovation firms. Finally, treble innovation firms can enhance said profit advantage by adopting resource retrenchment and value migration practices.publishersversionpublishe

Global value chain breadth and firm productivity:the enhancing effect of Industry 4.0

Purpose: Global value chains (GVC) incorporate internationally fragmented sources of knowledge so as to increase global competitiveness and performance. This paper sheds light on the role of Industry 4.0 technological capabilities in facilitating knowledge access from international linkages and improving firm productivity. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on organizational learning research, the present study argues that the relationship between GVC breadth, analyzed in respect to the geographical fragmentation of production facilities and productivity follows an inverted U-shaped pattern that can be explained by the interplay between external knowledge access and the coordination costs associated with GVC breadth. We test our predictions using a purpose-built survey that was carried out among a sample of 426 Spanish manufacturing firms. Findings: Our results indicate that organizations adhering to a traditional manufacturing system are able to benefit from fewer transnational relationships (concretely 11 foreign facilities) in the search for productivity improvements. This can be largely attributed to the marginal value of the knowledge accessed and the costs of coordinating international counterparts' production and knowledge transfer. However, our study reveals that the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies has the potential to broaden optimal GVC breadth, in terms of the number of linkages to interrelate with (concretely 131 foreign facilities) so as to obtain productivity gains while mitigating the complexities associated with coordination. Originality/value: The study unveils that Industry 4.0 technologies enable management of broader GVC breadth, facilitating knowledge access and counteracting coordination costs from international counterparts. \textcopyright 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited