Christian Kowalkowski

Development of industrial service offerings: a process framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a service development process that is adapted to manufacturing companies and to discuss its implications for companies with a traditional focus on product development and product sales.Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at new service development (NSD) literature and argues for a rationale to study NSD processes in a manufacturing context. Next, a generic NSD framework for manufacturing companies is presented. Examples are given based on an explorative multiple case study (ten companies) with in‐depth interviews and focus groups. The analysis reveals organizational requirements and other critical factors related to each stage of the NSD process.Findings – A four‐stage service offering development framework is presented. Critical aspects of NSD in a manufacturing context are highlighted. The importance of considering both NSD and new product development (NPD) together is also emphasized.Research limitations/implications – The limitations are base...

Solutions offerings: a critical review and reconceptualisation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical analysis of the literature of solutions offerings; to provide a new conceptual framework, incorporating dimensions that can distinguish be ...

The evolution of service innovation research: a critical review and synthesis

The number of service innovation articles has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. By reviewing 128 articles published between 1986 and 2010, primarily in leading marketing and innovation journals, this study analyzes the progression of service innovation research according to topicality and perspective. The authors summarize prior research by clustering it into three evolutional phases and drawing parallels with the evolution of the wider services marketing field. Overall, the view of service innovation has evolved, from a complement of traditional product innovation to a multidimensional, all-encompassing notion that entails several functions, both within and outside the firm.

Service innovation in product-centric firms : a multidimensional business model perspective

Purpose – This article aims to investigate the nature and characteristics of business model elements required for successful service innovation. The authors examine which unique resources and capab ...

Dynamics of Value Propositions: Insights from Service-Dominant Logic

Purpose – This article examines the notion of value propositions (promises of reciprocal value between service providers and their customers), value-in-exchange and value-in-use, all within the co ...

Customer-focused and service-focused orientation in organizational structures

Purpose – The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the interrelatedness of customer and service orientations in the organizational structures of capital goods manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, multi‐case research design was employed using 36 European capital goods manufacturing companies.Findings – This article explored four different patterns of how companies move from being product‐focused to service‐focused, and from having an organizational structure that is geographically focused to one that is customer‐focused. The four patterns are termed as follows: emphasizing service orientation, service‐focused organizational structure, emphasizing customer orientation, and customer‐focused organizational structure.Research limitations/implications – Although the study is based on 36 case studies, the external validity (generalizability) of the findings could not be assessed accurately.Practical implications – The description of the four organizational approaches of...

The risks of providing services: Differential risk effects of the service‐development strategies of customisation, bundling, and range

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the risks for manufacturing companies of extending their traditional goods offerings by the addition of different kinds of services.Design/methodology/approach – The study develops a conceptual framework of nine propositions (and corresponding diagrammatic representations) of the relationships between: three kinds of risk (operational, strategic, and financial); and three strategies for the provision of added service (customisation, bundling, and broadening the range of offerings). This conceptual framework is examined empirically by qualitative analysis of data gathered in a three‐year longitudinal study of managerial representatives from nine multinational manufacturing firms engaged in the addition of services to their traditional goods offerings.Findings – It was found that eight of the nine propositions are fully supported, and one receives equivocal support. In addition, several contextual factors are identified as moderating influences on the relati...

Internalisation or externalisation? : Examining organisational arrangements for industrial services

Purpose - Manufacturing firms primarily organise service provision internally, externally or through a hybrid arrangement. This paper aims to analyse how firm-, offering-, and market-specific facto ...

The co-creative practice of forming a value proposition

Abstract Using practice theory and an empirical illustration of reciprocal exchange of knowledge between resource-integrating actors, this paper contributes to Service-Dominant Logic by deepening the understanding of the innate intricacies in a co-creative practice of forming a value proposition. A co-creative practice is conceptualised as reciprocal exchange of knowledge that is mediated by the practice-related script – understandings, procedures, and engagements – that each resource-integrating actor draws upon. The paper identifies and labels the activities of this exchange – applying, assessing, adapting, and adopting – using the literature on knowledge creation and management as a point of departure. A granular analysis is provided of how the script of each resource-integrating actor mediates the activities of reciprocal exchange of knowledge when forming a value proposition.

Managing industrial service offerings in global business markets

Purpose – Despite the increased focus on industrial services in manufacturing companies, little research to date has focused on understanding the roles of local and central organizations in global ...