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Global competition and declining margins have made enterprises in diverse industries increasingly aware that assuring low cost as well as high product performance and quality is no longer sufficient for long-term success. Integrating products and services into customized solutions can help firms to gain competitive advantage. Based on 11 in-depth interviews with managers from solution providers and an exploratory survey with 45 solution providers, this paper derives a value creation process as well as a set of critical activities and pitfalls within each step. Selling solutions requires relational processes between customer and supplier comprising analysis/consulting, design/configuration, implementation/delivery, and support/operation. To better understand the relational process, this perspective was adopted on creating solutions in order to identify crucial routines and activities. Two main capabilities within this process can be identified: customer interaction and project management. Both capabilities are required in order to deliver more effective as well as efficient solutions.

Integrating products and services to customized solutions can help firms differentiate from their competitors. In practice, however, various companies fall short in extracting value from their customers. Therefore, this paper focuses on pricing aspects as central means for value appropriation in the context of solutions. Following the resource-based view of the firm, the authors adopt a process-oriented perspective on pricing practices in order to identify crucial factors and activities. Based on 15 in-depth interviews with practitioners from various industries, this paper derives six steps of a price management process for value appropriation in the context of solution selling and presents critical activities and routines within each step.

Integrating products and services to customized solutions can help firms differentiate from their competitors. In practice, however, various companies fall short in extracting value from their customers. Therefore, this paper focuses on pricing aspects as central means for value appropriation in the context of solutions. Following the resource-based view of the firm, the authors adopt a process-oriented perspective on pricing practices in order to identify crucial factors and activities. Based on 15 in-depth interviews with practitioners from various industries, this paper derives six steps of a price management process for value appropriation in the context of solution selling and presents critical activities and routines within each step.