The Palgrave Handbook of Servitization

Manufacturers have shifted their focus from products to smart solutions in search of higher returns and additional growth opportunities. This shift, described as servitization, or lately as a digital servitization, is not a simple process. Academic study has revealed that its issues are complex, problematic, contingent, and even paradoxical, involving multiple organizational layers, such as operations, strategic, relational, and even ecosystemic layers. Recent literature studies have called for improved theories in servitization, and even alternative narratives. In this handbook, the chapters take different perspectives towards servitization, digital servitization or Product-Service-Software systems, presenting and debating over concepts such as organizational transformation, change management, strategic management, business models, innovation and product-service operations. The handbook provides an opportunity to develop improved theoretical grounds for servitization, and thus to elaborate and develop the field further. This volume will be of great interest for the servitization community, including scholars, Ph.D. and master students, but also company managers, developers and consultants facilitating company’s servitization efforts.

Marko Kohtamäki is a Professor of Strategy, and a director of the ＂ Strategic Business Development＂ (SBD) research group at the University of Vaasa, Finland, and a visiting professor at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden and University of South-Eastern Norway, USN Business School, Norway.

Tim Baines isProfessor of Operations Strategy and Executive Director of the Advanced Services Group at Aston University, UK.

Rodrigo Rabetino is an associate professor of strategy in the School of Management and a researcher in the＂ Strategic Business Development＂ (SBD) research group at the University of Vaasa, Finland.

Ali Ziaee Bigdeli is an Associate Professor of Industrial Service Innovation at The Advanced Services Group at Aston Business School, Aston University, UK.

Christian Kowalkowski is Professor of Industrial Marketing at the Institute of Technology at Linköping University in Sweden and Research Fellow at the Department of Marketing and Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management (CERS) at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland.

Rogelio Oliva is the Bob and Kelly Jordan Professor of Business in the Department of Information and Operations Management at Mays Business School, USA, Adjunct Professor at the Zaragoza Logistics Center, Spain, and Research Affiliate at MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, USA.

Vinit Parida is a chaired professor at entrepreneurship and innovation at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and a visiting professor at University of Vaasa, Finland and University of South-Eastern Norway, USN Business School, Norway.