Implications of product centric servitization for global distribution channels of manufacturing companies

Abstract

Purpose The ability to operate global distribution channels of products is commonly considered a critical determinant of a manufacturer’s competitiveness. Nowadays, many products are often complemented with value-added services challenging the efficacy of the status quo of distribution channels. Investigating this rather new phenomenon, the purpose of this paper is to provide an initial understanding of the implications of servitization for manufacturers’ global business-to-business (B2B) distribution. Design/methodology/approach The aim is to elaborate service-dominant logic (SDL) in the context of global B2B distribution. The study builds on case study data collected from a medium-sized European manufacturing company offering production equipment and solutions, and three of its global distributors. Findings The results indicate that the co-producing customer value, the increasing role of operant resources of both a distributor and a manufacturer, and triadic co-creation between a manufacturer, a distributor and an end customer have increasing importance in the indirect distribution network. Research limitations/implications Data are limited to data collected from a single in-depth case study. The results of this study should be investigated by collecting more data in a broader context in the form of surveys. Practical implications Several guidelines related to global distribution are developed for managers, and current distributor selection criteria are completed to meet the needs of this servitization approach. Originality/value Empirical research on servitizing manufacturers with global B2B distribution is scarce. This paper employs SDL to provide an in-depth understanding of the implications of servitization for distribution.

Servitization in global markets: role alignment in global service networks for advanced service provision

“…First, the study contributes to the emerging literature on global servitization by extending its focus to include the global service network perspective (Hakanen et al, 2017; Aminoff and Hakanen, 2018; Reim et al, 2019; Gölgeci et al, 2021). In particular, few studies have undertaken an in‐depth analysis of the dyadic transformation involved in providing advanced services (Kreye, 2017; Raddats et al, 2017; Töytäri et al, 2018; Kamalaldin et al, 2020; Sjödin et al, 2020).…”

“…First, servitization in global markets has received less research attention (cf. Hakanen et al, 2017;Aminoff and Hakanen, 2018;Gölgeci et al, 2021). Prior studies largely agree that successful servitization requires manufacturers to engage in open, joint action with partners to deliver advanced services to customers (Chesbrough, 2011;Randhawa et al, 2018;Visnjic et al, 2018;Kamalaldin et al, 2021).…”

A systematic review for organizing servitization by multi-actor collaborations: lenses, factors and outcomes

“…Building relational ties with multiple actors relate to integrating each actor's unique and critical capabilities for advanced service. Existing research have confirmed the positive role of strengthened relational ties in promoting business profitability and sustainability (Aminoff and Hakanen, 2018;Abreu et al, 2020). However, Windahl and Lakemond (2006) pointed out that the relationships can enable and obstruct the development of integrated solutions.…”

“…(2017);Wiesner and Thoben (2017);Aminoff and Hakanen (2018);Chakkol et al (2018);Vendrell-Herreroa et al (2018);Weigel and Hadwich (2018); Bustinza et al (2019); Parida et al (2019); Sjödin et al (2019); Abreu et al (2020); Yin et al (2020); Zhou et al (2020); Linde et al (2021); Access to complementary resources Improved effectiveness and efficiency of integrated solution development and delivery Decreased and costs and shared risks Strategic aspects Improved customer satisfaction Engaged in a longer-term relationship Created or enhanced sustainable competitive advantage Promotion of transformation towards sustainability Negative outcome Business aspects Increased additional costs Noori and Lee (2007); Lockett et al (2011); Jaakkola and Hakanen (2013); Chakkol et al (2014); Zhu and Zolkiewski (2015); Burton et al (2016); Lütjen et al (2017); Aminoff and Hakanen (2018); Töytäri et al (2018); Wang et al (2018); Hullova et al (2019); Reim et al (2019); Datta (2020); Korkeamäki and Kohtamäki (2020); Paiola et al (2021); Poeppelbuss et al (2021); Wagstaff et al (2021); Gölgeci et al (2021) Incurred opportunism and misalignments Strategic aspects Difficulty in controlling and coordinating the involvement of multiple actors Disruptions of the relationship between actors Constraints from the interdependence among multiple actors…”

Efficient customer relationship management systems for online retailing: The investigation of the influential factors

“…Therefore, how to connect with customers affects income, profitability, and value has become a factor for competition (Pantano, Priporas, & Dennis, 2018a;Szmigin, Canning, & Reppel, 2005;Thomas & Jadeja, 2021). Online retailing aims to achieve a growing relationship that involves more customer satisfaction and a demand for increased service volumes (Aminoff & Hakanen, 2018;Kosiba, Boateng, Okoe Amartey, Boakye, & Hinson, 2018;Richards, Hamilton, & Empen, 2016). On the other hand, innovation is associated with developing new services and products (Edvardsson et al, 2018).…”