Drivers for Smart Servitization in Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

Wireless communication technologies associated with the Internet of things (IoT) have started to be used also in manufacturing. Developing data-driven services by IoT also known as "smart services" in manufacturing business has become one of the current trends. Sensors enable IoT systems to provide intelligent and smart services during the shift towards smart production. Smart technologies have begun to be used also in agriculture by means of agricultural and farming applications. The aim of the paper is to determine why manufacturing companies have started to provide smart services with their products. A literature review presents the background of smart services in manufacturing companies as well in agriculture. For the empirical part, a qualitative multi-case study was conducted among seven Czech electrotechnical manufacturers and one Czech agricultural tractor manufacturer. All case companies have already begun with their smart service development. The findings indicate that manufactures usually decide by themselves to start with smart servitization, but the main categories of smart servitization drivers are connected to competitive advantage. The study is unique in highlighting the problems of smart services in SMEs in the Czech Republic, where the industrial sector is still dominant in comparison to other European countries.

Impact of cooperation flexibility on innovation flexibility in SMEs

“…Items 1-3 measure the use of marketing performance items and items 4-5 measure financial performance in the business performance section. The section focused on smart service provision was based on authors Grubic and Peppard (2016) and Bjerke and Johansson (2015) and on findings from previous qualitative research in seven electrotechnical companies (Kaňovská & Tomášková, 2018). Individual items of innovation and cooperation flexibility are measured on the ordinal scale, Likert scale 1-5.…”

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

“…Firms will also gain competitive advantage from providing an IoT-enabled service. This is because the fusion of technology and integrated product-service offering is difficult for competitors to imitate (Kaňovská & Tomášková, 2018;Noventum, 2016;Porter & Heppelmann, 2015). Finally, firms will be able to assess the risks of their current product or service provision.…”

Smart Services and Their Benefits for Manufacturers From a Global Perspective

“…The main driver is to gain competitive advantage according to the respondents. Usually a combination of more drivers led to smart service provision (Kanovska & Tomaskova, 2018a).…”