Organization architecture configurations for successful servitization

Heirati, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7892-7082, Leischnig, A. and Henneberg, S. C. (2024) Organization architecture configurations for successful servitization. Journal of Service Research, 27 (3). pp. 307-326. ISSN 1552-7379 doi: 10.1177/10946705231180368

Abstract/Summary

Despite the growing importance of servitization as a source of competitiveness for manufacturers, limited knowledge exists about organizational issues of servitization. Drawing on transaction cost economics theory and a configuration theoretical perspective, our study illuminates different organization architectures for servitization and how firms align such architectures with servitization approaches to achieve high financial performance. We analyze qualitative data based on interviews with 22 managers and quantitative data from a survey of 161 equipment manufacturers. The results indicate that manufacturers mostly opt for one of three organization architectures for servitization: internal product business unit, internal specialized service business unit, or external service provider. In addition, they reveal equifinal configurations of servitization characteristics to achieve high financial performance for each organization architecture. The internal specialized service business unit turns out as a flexible organization architecture to successfully provide smoothing, adapting, and substituting services. The use of an external service provider is less suited for the provision of adapting and substituting services, which require more knowledge specialization and coordination. All three organization architectures can be used to provide smoothing services. In summary, the results may serve as decision-making templates for aligning organization architecture, offering characteristics, and service provider integration to pursue servitization successfully.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/128093
Identification Number/DOI	10.1177/10946705231180368
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Henley Business School > Digitalisation, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Publisher	Sage
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