Network positioning and risk perception in servitization:evidence from the UK road transport industry

Abstract

For manufacturing firms, the integration of advanced services into their customer offerings has become a crucial decision. Such commercial decisions require weighting the risks and rewards of implementing a business model based on advanced services. While academic experts acknowledge uncertainty of returns on investment despite potential advantages, research generally fails to address the challenge of calculating the actual risks involved in ‘servitization’. This paper seeks better understanding of managers’ risk perception and of servitization implications for strategic partnerships and network positioning, while considering the impact of factors such as entry barriers, technological knowledge and position in the supply chain (SC). Qualitative evidence is drawn from an industrial case study involving firms in the UK’s road transport industry: fourteen in-depth interviews with senior executives from seven companies (manufacturers, operators, technology providers). During interviews, a payment card exercise measured risk perception and willingness to take strategic ‘make-or-buy’ decisions. Results suggest that implementing advanced services is perceived as a high-risk strategy, especially when firms lack in-house technological knowledge. However, collaborative strategic partnerships within supply chain networks can mitigate this risk and prove crucial to building entry barriers against external competitors. Based on these findings, implications for network positioning are developed.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2017.1341063
Dataset DOI: https://doi.org/10.17036/researchdata.aston.ac.uk.00000257
Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School
College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School > Operations & Information Management
College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School > Advanced Services Group
Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Production Research on 16/6/17, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207543.2017.1341063 Funding: EPSRC (EP/K014064/1, EP/K014072/1 and EP/K014080/1); Spanish Government (ECO2014-58472-R); and Junta de Andalusia (P11-SEJ-7294).
Uncontrolled Keywords: servitization,risk perception,network positioning,strategic partnership,advanced services ,Strategy and Management,Management Science and Operations Research,Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Publication ISSN: 1366-588X
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2024 08:20
Date Deposited: 06 Jul 2017 10:55
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2018
Published Online Date: 2017-06-16
Accepted Date: 2017-06-06
Submitted Date: 2016-07-26
Authors: Ziaee Bigdeli, Ali (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-8128-0918)
Bustinza, Oscar F.
Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran
Baines, Tim (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-7518-2967)

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