Independent distributors in servitization: An assessment of key internal and ecosystem-related problems

Independent distributors (IDs), just as equipment manufacturers, have the potential to initiate a transition towards the provision of advanced services. However, the internal and ecosystem-related problems experienced by IDs during servitization differ due to their distinct organizational structure. The purpose of this study is therefore to uncover problems faced by servitizing IDs during transition towards provision of advanced services, a topic which is still scarcely covered in the literature. Using an abductive research approach, we identify three overarching groups of servitization problems specific to IDs: (1) conflicting interests of key stakeholders; (2) misalignment between distribution of managerial attention and servitization strategy; and (3) ineffective knowledge management within the ecosystem. To diagnose these problems, we propose a servitization-readiness decision tree that allows IDs to pinpoint hindering factors before embarking on a servitization journey. In so doing, we provide a starting point for identifying and describing criteria for assessing IDs' servitization readiness.</p

Value Leakage in Product-Service System Provision : A Business Model Alignment Perspective

To stay competitive, manufacturing companies offer product–service systems (PSS) to avoid commoditization of their products. The potential to create value through PSS offerings lies in a company's ability to successfully implement the PSS business model. However, many companies are unable to realize the benefits because PSS represents significant changes to all the business model elements, which comprise value creation, value delivery, and value capture. This leads to misalignment among the business model elements, which is a topic of interest within PSS and business model literatures. This article aims to provide empirical insights into the business-model-element alignment problems and conceptualize their consequences, which manufacturing companies face during PSS implementation. This article utilizes an abductive multicase study of three Swedish manufacturing companies with long-term experience of PSS provision to provide novel insights by identifying six alignment problems that companies face as a consequence of the interaction among the three business model elements. Furthermore, we contribute to both the PSS and business model literature by conceptualizing the consequences of business model element alignment problems, explaining the three value leakages that occur as a result of inappropriate resource and capability utilization, unattractive offer configurations, and inefficient service network processes in PSS provision.©2022 the Authors. Published by IEEE. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Managerial and organizational challenges encountered in the development of sustainable technology: Analysis of Swedish biorefinery pilot and demonstration plants

Pilot and demonstration plants (PDPs) perform critical tasks in the development of new sustainable technology by bridging basic knowledge generation and large-scale commercialization. Significant private and public funding has therefore been allocated to PDPs addressing climate change, pollution abatement technology and/or increased resource efficiency. After technology verification, PDPs typically struggle with evolving objectives, and reports of stalled or delayed development are common. Key problems may center on technical difficulties, but challenges of a non-technical nature are equally important, not least for the development of clean technology. This paper draws on a longitudinal case study of four PDPs used for advanced biorefinery technology development in Sweden and delineates the key managerial and organizational challenges that arise in and around such plants. By taking the actor networks around PDPs as the main unit of analysis, this paper gives a detailed description of various challenges, such as the division of responsibility for the operation and ownership of the PDPs, unclear roles and objectives, and the lack of specific competences and resources in the actor networks. One important conclusion is that improved knowledge about such challenges should increase the resilience of actor networks in and around PDPs, and also help shorten the formative phase of developing sustainable technology

Product lifecycle management and distributor contribution to new product development

After the initial launch of a new product, distributors are frequently among the first to learn about product-related problems through the information they get about how it is perceived and used by customers, and how it might be improved or adapted for broader market coverage. For producers, such information, which has the potential to impact new product development (NPD) activities during the product lifecycle management (PLM) phase that follows launch, can be decisive for ensuring the continued viability of the product in the medium-to-longer term. The goal of this article is to better understand how distributors contribute to producer PLM activities by engaging in product-related information processing. A typology of four distinct scenarios is developed by integrating three conceptual themes: organizational information processing, dynamic capabilities, and task complexity. Each scenario results from the interplay of the distributor’s level (low/high) of capability—specifically, a combination of information coordination and management of inter-organization relations—and of the degree (low/high) of complexity of the product-related problem. The four scenarios are analysed and described in terms of NPD-related information processing. According to the typology, distributors act as ‘problem informers’ (low capability/high complexity), ‘solution advisors’ (low capability/low complexity), ‘solution implementers’ (high capability/low complexity) or ‘solution managers’ (high capability/high complexity). 14 in-depth interviews with distributors and producers in industrial goods provide empirical evidence for the analysis, description and support of each scenario. The article contributes to NPD by shedding light on the role of distributors in terms of incremental innovation in the context of PLM. Developers of new products can use the typology in planning for distributor involvement in PLM activities; distributors can use it to map out their current and future level of engagement in PLM-related activities

A linguistic approach to assess the dynamics of design team preference in concept selection

This paper addresses the problem of describing the decision-making process of a committee of engineers based upon their verbalized linguistic appraisals of alternatives. First, we show a way to model an individual’s evaluation of an alternative through natural language based on the Systemic-Functional Linguistics system of APPRAISAL. The linguistic model accounts for both the degree of intensity and the uncertainty of expressed evaluations. Second, this multi-dimensional linguistic model is converted into a scalar to represent the degree of intensity and a probability distribution function for the stated evaluation. Finally, we present a Markovian model to calculate the time-varying change in preferential probability, the probability that an alternative is the most preferred alternative. We further demonstrate how preferential probability toward attributes of alternatives correspond to preferential probability toward alternatives. We illustrate the method on two case studies to highlight the time-variant dynamics of preferences toward alternatives and attributes. This research contributes to process tracing in descriptive decision science to understand how engineers actually take decisions.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CMMI-0900255

Death and organization: Heidegger’s thought on death and life in organizations

Mortality has not been given the attention it deserves within organization studies. Even when it has been considered, it is not usually in terms of its implications for own lives and ethical choices. In particular, Heidegger’s writing on death has been almost entirely ignored both in writing on death and writing on organizational ethics, despite his insights into how our mortality and the ethics of existence are linked. In this paper, we seek to address this omission by arguing that a consideration of death may yield important insights about the ethics of organizational life. Most important of these is that a Heideggerian approach to death brings us up against fundamental ethical questions such as what our lives are for, how they should be lived and how we relate to others. Heideggerarian thought also reconnects ethics and politics, as it is closely concerned with how we can collectively make institutions that support our life projects rather than thwart or diminish them

Offshoring innovation: an empirical investigation of dyadic complementarity within SMEs

Despite scholarly agreement that complementary capabilities are essential to successful collaborations, little is known about how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) manage collaborative innovation through offshoring. Besides, the innovation management literature remains generally silent about when supplier joint actions could work in enhancing offshoring innovation (OI) performance. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, we aim to delineate why supplier's asset specificity and goal compatibility predict supplier's complimentary capabilities in OI. Second, we empirically explore the role of supplier joint actions in enhancing OI performance. Based on data collected from 200 SMEs having active OI relationships spanning four developed European countries, our results propose that supplier's complementary capabilities mediate the relationship between critical relational antecedents (supplier's asset specificity and goal compatibility) and OI performance. It should be noted, however, that despite their incentivising power, supplier joint actions can be a “double-edged sword” in SMEs’ OI relationships

Análise dos modelos e atividades do pré-desenvolvimento: revisão bibliográfica sistemática

Resumo Este trabalho tem como objetivo o levantamento sistemático e análise dos modelos e atividades propostos pela literatura para a condução da fase de pré-desenvolvimento de novos produtos, bem como das técnicas e ferramentas adotadas na fase. A Revisão Bibliográfica Sistemática realizada identificou a existência de 10 modelos compostos por diferentes atividades para a fase do pré-desenvolvimento. Estes modelos foram publicados entre 1988 e 2013 e buscam sistematizar o pré-desenvolvimento e orientar os gestores na condução da fase. Observou-se que, embora com nomenclaturas diferentes, atividades como identificação de oportunidades, seleção de oportunidades, geração de ideias, seleção de ideias, desenvolvimento de conceitos, seleção de conceitos e planejamento do projeto, são recorrentes em todos os modelos, concluindo-se, portanto, que estas são essenciais e devem estar presentes na fase de pré-desenvolvimento, independentemente do tipo de produto fabricado ou setor no qual a empresa atua. Também foram identificadas 57 diferentes técnicas, auxiliadas por diversas ferramentas que, segundo os autores, podem ser eficazes para a condução das atividades de pré-desenvolvimento

The Use of Social Media in Supporting the Development of Open Organizations for Innovation

Open systems theory purports to offer many benefits related to developing an innovative and sustainable organization. In this paper, we examine if collaborative tools afford a move towards a more open orientated organizational form that can support innovation capability and the issues that need to be managed in the process. Constructs that characterize open systems are identified from the literature and these are used to frame the case analyses on the nature of collaborative tools and changing organizational forms. The validity of the open systems concept is explored through an examination of three case studies. Although collaborative tools offer potential organizational benefits, issues exist in relation to its management and use that can circumscribe its impact. Collaborative tools were used in contexts where there was a weak understanding of open systems concepts and this resulted in a weak conceptual strategy. The lack of methodological guidance on how to use collaborative tools to become more open was a significant issue. The combination of these two issues created a number of implementation problems including lack of widespread participation and an inability to obtain and leverage knowledge via collaborative tools to improve innovation. The paper highlights that a tool focused collaborative systems approach produces less effective integration of collaborative tools and creates problems in moving to an a more open organizational form