Week 5 - 23/9 - 29/9

Assignment 2 - Reflection: What does service mean to your company?

In this first module we have focused on what servitization is. This first reflection will be about the current servitization stage of your company. Based on the videos, the articles and the discussions at the webinars, what does service mean to your company? Examples of questions that could be asked to help you reflect are:

  • Are you already offering services? To what extent?
  • Are you in a transition process? Where is your company in the transition process?
  • What does service mean to people in your organisation?
  • Would everybody in your organisation give the same answer?
  • Are there any problems or challenges that your customers normally have?
  • How can service create value to your customers?

Write a short reflection on the above of about 400-500 words.

You can write and hand in your introduction here.

References for module 1

Videos

What is a service?
Service infusion in manufacturing firms
Service Logic
Service strategies
Servitization as a transition process
Digitalization
Playlist with all videos of the course

Articles

Required articles

Gebauer, H. (2008). Identifying service strategies in product manufacturing companies by exploring environment–strategy configurations. Industrial marketing management, 37(3), 278-291.

Oliva, R., & Kallenberg, R. (2003). Managing the transition from products to services. International journal of service industry management, 14(2), 160-172.

Kowalkowski, C., Gebauer, H., Kamp, B., & Parry, G. (2017). Servitization and deservitization: Overview, concepts, and definitions. Industrial Marketing Management, 60, 4-1.

Additional readings

Gebauer, H., Edvardsson, B., Gustafsson, A., & Witell, L. (2010). Match or mismatch: strategy-structure configurations in the service business of manufacturing companies. Journal of Service Research, 13(2), 198-215.