1,721,349 research outputs found
Servitization in Italy: evidences from the Lazio region
No full textSince the term “servitization” was coined by Vandermerwe and Rada in 1988, it has been deeply discussed during these decades, not only among academics, but also among practitioners and policy makers all over the world. However, despite this strong interest, there is still a paucity of studies that empirically analyse this phenomenon. This is especially true if we look at the studies that analyse how manufacturing companies, located in different countries, adopt (or not) a servitization strategy (some exceptions in this sense are the studies by Baines et al. 2009, Lay et al. 2010, and Szàsz and Demeter 2011). In this respect, it is worth noting that no empirical studies regarding the Italian manufacturing firms have been produced yet. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to provide a preliminary exploration and measurement of the extent, motivations and transformations processes related to the implementation of servitization strategies by the Italian manufacturing firms. In particular, the paper describes the impacts of services growth in the development of manufacturing firms located in the Italian region of Lazio.
In order to reach the paper aim, the survey methodology has been chose (Fowler, 2013; Groves et al., 2013; Babbie, 1990). The questionnaire used for the survey has been constructed by both adopting and adapting (Bourque and Clark, 1994) the questions used in the survey by Baines et al. in 2009.
The questionnaire is a self-completed one and it has been sent by email to all the manufacturing firms belonging to the Italian business association of Unindustria Lazio.
The questionnaire consists of seven sections, which are: respondent data, company general information, service offering, service strategy, motivations, organizational changes and future perspectives. The questions were predominantly closed-ended, even though some of them were also accompanied by comment boxes.
Due to the lack of studies addressing the adoption of the servitization strategy in the Italian manufacturing firms, first of all, this work stands as a first attempt to bridge the gap in the current literature.
Although findings are preliminary, the analysis of the survey results allow us:
• to draw an overview of the Italian manufacturing firms belonging to the Lazio region, and
• to provide useful suggestions both to practitioners and researchers.
In this vein, this study has the potential to show also the positive effects generated by the adoption of the servitization strategy.
Finally, the replication of the study by Baines et al. 2009 allows to make a comparison between Italian and UK manufacturing firms with respect to their propensity to adopt a servitization strategy
Servitization e Knowledge Management: il caso della IBM Corporation
No full textObiettivi. Scopo di questo lavoro è quello di esplorare “se” e “come” strumenti e pratiche di knowledge management abbiano subito modificazioni a seguito dell’implementazione della strategia di servitizzazione all’interno di un’impresa manifatturiera.
Metodologia. In questo lavoro è adottato il single case study come metodologia di ricerca con l’intento di dimostrare le possibili connessioni tra i campi di indagine della servitization e del knowledge management, attraverso lo studio della IBM Corporation.
Risultati. I risultati di questa ricerca sono riportati attraverso l’identificazione di sette proposizioni, le quali possono essere viste come un modello che le imprese possono “adottare” ed “adattare” al fine di creare un sistema di gestione della conoscenza che possa facilitare la strategia di servitizzazione.
Limiti della ricerca. Principale limite di questo lavoro è quello di considerare un solo caso studio, anche se lo stesso è ampiamente riconosciuto in letteratura come valido quando si fa riferimento al processo di servitization.
Implicazioni pratiche. Il modello derivato dai risultati della ricerca rappresenta il principale contributo di questo articolo. Tale modello può rappresentare una preziosa guida di supporto ai manager di un’impresa manifatturiera per capire se il loro sistema di gestione della conoscenza sia o meno adeguato alla nuova strategia di servitizzazione.
Originalità del lavoro. Questo lavoro si pone come un primo tentativo di colmare, attraverso un’indagine induttiva, l’attuale divario nella letteratura riguardante le due aree di ricerca di cui sopra. Lo stesso potrebbe essere utilizzato anche come “caso pilota” per ricerche future
The role of servitization and Knowledge management in enhancing firms competitiveness
No full textIn response to the growing importance acquired by services and knowledge,
industrialized countries have increasingly based their economic
activity on the tertiary sector. In line with this renewed context, the
analysis developed in this book has shed light on the effects that Servitization
and Knowledge Management have had on the manufacturing
sector. The book also provided an overview of the possible, and different,
routes that contemporary manufacturing companies are taking.
The volume is intended not only for academics and students, but also
for practitioners interested in learning about the manufacturing organizations’
transformations in the current competitive environment
Servitization and sustainability in the Italian manufacturing firms
No full textThe following is a working paper that aims to analyse two key trends of the
modern economy: the Servitization and the Sustainability related to the
competitiveness and the survival of the manufacturing firms. Specifically,
the main research question of this work is: “What is the situation of the Italian
manufacturing firms – both individually considered and compared to
EU manufacturing firms average – respect Servitization and Sustainability
concepts?”. In order to answer the research question, the secondary data
analysis has been chosen as the research methodology
Servitization and productization: two faces of the same coin?
No full textThe companies of our time compete in what can be defined as “Customer Economy”, where it no longer makes sense to distinguish between tangible and intangible goods. Satisfying the customer is the mission and purpose of every business.
In order to survive in this new scenario, companies – both product- and service-centered – have to reinvent themselves by offering an integrated solution to the customer in order to fully satisfy his needs (i.e., a Product-Service System) through the adoption of new strategies, namely: product servitization and service productization.
Despite servitization having already been discussed in-depth by scholars, little has been said on productization. Thus, due to the ongoing convergence and integration between sectors, an integrative view of these topics seems to be necessary.
Through a thematic analysis of the relevant literature (identified by a Systematic Literature Review), the purpose of this paper is to identify potential common themes between servitization and productization in order to verify if the two topics could be considered – or not – as “two faces of the same coin”.
This study aims to systematize and analyze current literature on servitization and productization, through the application of a Systematic Literature Review.
The literature review process will follow the steps suggested by Tranfield et al. (2003); thus, a three-stage procedure will be applied (i.e., planning, conducting and reporting).
In particular, the reporting section will be divided in two sub-stages: 1) a descriptive analysis to provide, through the use of graphics, simple summaries of the relevant literature (Sandelowski, 2000), such as time-line, geographical and journal distribution of the papers in the dataset; and 2) a thematic analysis to identify key themes between papers, in order to provide the major findings of the Systematic Literature Review.
The Systematic Literature Review and the Thematic Analysis will provide an integrative framework based on the relevant articles on servitization and productization that will be retrieved.
In particular, the review will offer the possibility to understand the state-of-the-art related to the topics; while the thematic analysis will help to understand if they should be considered as “two faces of the same coin”.
The study results could be important both for scholars and practitioners. The former should see the possibility to develop a new theoretical framework, based on a holistic view of the presented topics. The latter should recognize new opportunities in order to better satisfy customers’ needs
Adding service means adding knowledge: an inductive single-case study
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how knowledge management systems can support
the adoption of the servitization strategy in a manufacturing firm.
Design/methodology/approach – In order to reach the paper aim, an inductive single-case study
has been adopted. The analysis focuses on the IBM Corporation.
Findings – In spite of the paucity of studies that simultaneously address both servitization
and knowledge management topics, the case study findings show five connections points between the
two streams of research, proving not only that they are closely connected to each other, but also
how the adoption of a good knowledge management system can facilitate the implementation of a
servitization strategy.
Research limitations/implications – As far as the adoption of a single-case study is concerned,
this could create biases that can affect the final product in terms of reliability, validity, and
generalizability. However, as stated by Erickson (1986), the general lies in the particular and, as argued
by Flyvbjerg (2006), the strength of a single example is underestimated in its contribution to
scientific progress. Thus, even though this paper is based on a single-case study, it is reasonable
to believe that it could be considered as a representative case of companies of the time and its findings
sufficiently generalizable.
Practical implications – Case study findings could guide managers towards understanding if their
knowledge management tools and practices are appropriate, or if they need to be modified in order to
successfully implement the servitization strategy adopted.
Originality/value – This study represents the first attempt to fill the paucity of studies
contemporaneously addressing both servitization and knowledge management topics, and could be
used as a pilot case for future research works
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