Organizing customer-oriented service business in manufacturing

Abstract

This study examines the organization of service business in manufacturing. Earlier literature has emphasized the positive effects of a separate service unit. Our comparative case study indicates that a separate unit as such does not guarantee success in service business. An essential issue is how customer interaction and the continuous flow of customer information have been secured. Sales personnel have often been regarded as the main actor in the creation of customer intelligence. Based on our study we argue that attention should also be paid to field technicians and other operative personnel as a channel for customer information.

Seeking competitive advantage with service infusion: a systematic literature review

“…The interest in this approach has been explained by the growing difference between the stocks of relevant resources in product-oriented and service firms (Bharadwaj et al, 1993). Additionally, service offerings have been perceived as less vulnerable to imitation (Smith, 2013;Salonen, 2011;Turunen and Toivonen, 2011;Oliva and Kallenberg, 2003) although contrary views exist (Antioco et al, 2008). Moreover, because service orientation is seen as a possible provider of totally new VRIO resources, the studies are also concerned with resource development during the manufacturer's transition toward services.…”

“…At this stage, much research has been done on understanding and conceptualizing the different types of service concepts that manufacturers could offer. However, it was soon 411 Seeking competitive advantage recognized that services were not only add-ons to products but also require a comprehensive understanding of their management and organization (Turunen and Toivonen, 2011) -the interest shifted from single services to organizations (e.g. Gebauer et al, 2010a, b).…”

“…We argue that by taking the relational view as a starting point, the servitizing companies could gain competitive advantage primarily by leveraging the inherent relationship complexity of their service networks. This would enable these companies to move away from the protection of technology-related assets, and focus directly on the relational aspects that are essential in creating value-adding processes in service contexts (Turunen and Toivonen, 2011;Brax and Jonsson, 2009). …”

Striving for network power: The perspective of solution integrators and suppliers

“…However, in the solution business, a single company rarely possesses all the resources and capabilities that are required to offer a complete solution (e.g., Davies et al, 2006;Håkansson et al, 2009;Tuli et al, 2007;Turunen and Toivonen, 2011). In addition, services require significant input from the customer (Sampson, 2000;Sampson and Froehle, 2006) with regard to the production process.…”

Overcoming Institutional and Capability Barriers to Smart Services

“…Industrial services in general are often classified into categories of maintaining (product) functionality, ensuring operational availability, maintaining and improving performance, integrating processes, and operating production [3]. Each of these categories is affected by digitalization [4].…”