Paola Bielli

A quantitative investigation of the role of information and communication technologies in the implementation of a product-service system

This paper reports evidence from a survey, aimed at testing whether and how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), which enable the adoption of product-service systems, can contribute to value creation. This analysis builds on previous contributions, according to which companies that are enriching their product offering through value-added services (the so-called servitisation strategy) often report lower levels of profitability, owing to the poor performance of their operating process. A wide stream of research claims that companies that invest in ICTs can enjoy valuable outcomes, since the adoption of such technologies results in processes that are more efficient and more responsive. Our hypothesis concerns the possibility of leveraging ICTs at operating process level so as to pursue a servitisation strategy. The in-field analysis presented in this paper concerns a sample of 109 companies located in Italy; data collected through the survey have been analysed using the structural equation modelling approach. The evidence presented demonstrates that ICTs can have a relevant impact on value creation because they lead to superior responsiveness of operating processes and to sound improvements in the product offering. In particular, companies that are able to embed such superior responsiveness into their product offering can further boost value creation.

Reinventing Organizations with Information and Communication Technologies

Do information and communication technologies (ICT) matter? This question has become the big issue around which managers debate the value of ICT. Carr (2003) states that the sun is setting on information technologies as a source of strategic weapons and that they are no longer the source of competitive advantage. He suggests that ICT is becoming a utility, like electricity: simply plug into a grid and source it at the lowest cost. Yet in most everyday experience, we face a huge difficulty in getting oriented in this “seamless” digital infrastructure; day by day, managers have to make decisions that have implications on ICT budgets or are constrained by the limitations of technology, regardless of the ambitious plans of marketers and visionary strategists.