Purpose – The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual understanding of how blockchain could serve as an enabler for servitization in the automotive industry. In doing so, we are studying what value-creating mechanisms that are associated with blockchain and how mobility providers could apply these to drive business value, while also considering prerequisites in the ecosystem.  Method – The study adopted an abductive research approach by conducting a case study of a specific business environment with firms taking part in the ongoing transformation towards mobility services. In total, ten companies participated in the study where all were involved or had experience from the prevailing context. The data collection was performed via three waves of interviews and the results were derived through a reflexive thematic analysis. Findings – This study resulted in a conceptual framework illustrating how value-creating mechanisms of blockchain could drive business value for mobility providers. Three categories of value-creating mechanisms were identified: anchor points, configuration elements and inherent qualities. In turn, these mechanisms enabled a set of mobility solutions which then could generate certain business values. For this to become a reality, five ecosystem prerequisites were identified: technology convergence, appropriate permissions, common standards, change management and value management. Theoretical implications – The study provide implications to the nascent literature at the intersection of blockchain and servitization by contributing with empirical evidence for mobility solutions underpinned by blockchain and how these drive business value. Furthermore, we also add to the existing literature by providing a holistic conceptualization of how value-creating mechanisms interrelate to enable mobility solutions.  Practical implications – The study provide managers with a conceptual understanding of how six distinctive use-cases could be solved with blockchain. Moreover, by bridging the gap between business and the technology, we contribute to reducing the knowledge gap that exist among automotive managers in this area, while also providing them with prerequisites needed to deploy blockchain at scale in the ecosystem and reach its full potential.     Limitations and future research – The study is limited by a single case study in a specific context and also by focusing on conceptualization of blockchain-enabled servitization in early stages. Hence, future studies could benefit from extending and validating our findings in other contexts as well as investigating how certain solutions may be implemented in practice. / Syfte – Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla en konceptuell förståelse för hur blockchain kan fungera som en möjliggörare av tjänstefiering inom bilindustrin. I studien studeras vilka värdeskapande mekanismer som är förknippade med blockchain och hur mobilitetsleverantörer kan tillämpa dessa mekanismer för att skapa affärsnytta, samtidigt som nödvändiga förutsättningar i ekosystemet analyseras. Metod – Studien adopterade en abduktiv forskningsansats och utfördes genom en fallstudie av en specifik affärsmiljö med företag som deltar i den pågående omställningen mot mobilitetstjänster. Sammanlagt deltog tio företag i studien, där alla var involverade eller hade erfarenhet från den rådande kontexten. Datainsamlingen genomfördes via tre faser av intervjuer och resultaten härleddes genom en reflexiv tematisk analys. Resultat – Denna studie resulterade i ett konceptuellt ramverk som illustrerar hur värdeskapande mekanismer kopplat till blockchain kan skapa affärsnytta för mobilitetsleverantörer. Tre kategorier av värdeskapande mekanismer identifierades: förankringspunkter, konfigurationselement och inneboende egenskaper. I sin tur visades att dessa mekanismer kan möjliggöra en uppsättning mobilitetslösningar som genererar olika affärsvärden. Vidare kom studien fram till fem förutsättningar som krävs i ekosystemet för att realisera lösningarna vilka var teknisk konvergens, lämpliga behörigheter, gemensamma standarder, förändringsledning och värdehantering. Teoretiska implikationer – Studien tillhandahåller implikationer för den framväxande litteraturen i skärningspunkten av blockchain och tjänstefiering genom att bidra med empiriska bevis för mobilitetslösningar som stöds av blockchain och hur dessa driver affärsvärde. Vidare bidrar studien också till den befintliga litteraturen genom att tillhandahålla en holistisk konceptualisering för hur värdeskapande mekanismer samverkar för att möjliggöra mobilitetslösningar. Praktiska implikationer – Studien ger utövare en konceptuell förståelse för hur sex distinkta applikationer kan upprättas med hjälp av blockchain. Genom att brygga gapet mellan affären och teknologin bidrar vi till att minska den kunskapslucka som finns bland utövare, samtidigt som studien redogör för de förutsättningar som krävs för att kunna använda blockchain i stor skala i ekosystemet och uppnå dess fulla potential. Begränsningar och framtida forskning – Studien är begränsad av en specifik fallstudie i en viss kontext och även genom att fokusera på konceptualisering av tjänstefiering med blockchain i tidiga faser. Därför rekommenderas framtida studier att utvidga och validera resultaten i andra kontexter samt undersöka hur olika mobilitetslösningar kan implementeras i praktiken.

Electricity retailers have difficulties to differentiate themselves from each other, dueto increased competition and political regulations. The electric energy tradingmarket is facing a paradigm shift.The purpose of this study has been to investigate how a modern electricity retailercan avoid current and forthcoming difficulties within the market and what directionsthey should choose in order to improve their profitability.The study has been conducted using a quantitative and qualitative approach. Thequantitative approached was used to systematically describe all electricity retailersthat exist today in Sweden and collect data for analyzing how profitable they are.Structured interviews were later conducted in order to gather qualitative data fromthe most interesting companies from the quantitative data collection.From the quantitative approach it was found that selling electricity from guaranteeof origin was approximately two to four times more profitable than selling nuclearand fossil produced electricity. The total profits from electricity trading alone issurprisingly low. From the quantitative data sample, it was shown that 50 per centof the electricity retailers earn less than one million SEK and their averageprofitability is approximately 0.28 million SEK.In the qualitative study it was concluded that those who had succeeded with higherprofits were working with services along with the electricity trading. Examples ofsuch services are charity and loyalty programs. It was stated in the interviews thatthe profits are still low and will remain low if solely rely on electricity trading. Ittakes at least four years for a customer to be profitable. The most promisingsolution to avoid getting stuck in the middle is to expand their business withproducts together with services, servitization. If the electricity retailers shouldexpand their businesses with selling products together with services related toelectricity, servitization, they should also position themselves with a certaincompetitive strategy (cost leadership, differentiation, focus) and target a specificgroup. Groups that have been identified together with these competitive strategiesare those who wants to save money (cost leadership), environmentally friendly /technology enthusiasts (focus) and inbetweeners (differentiation)

Title: Measuring customer satisfaction within B2B: The B2B relationship between supplierand distributor in a servitization context.  Authors: Sigrid Aronson & Lejla Cerimagic Supervisor: Ramsin Yakob Background: The importance of relationships has increased along with the servitizationprocess of many manufacturers. The servitization leads companies to include several parties in their network. The specific relationship between manufacturer and distributor is found within many of these networks. Such B2B relationships, are crucial yet complex in its nature. However, limited research has been conducted dealing with this topic. Long term relationships are generally important within the B2B context; Thus, it is important to develop and keep these relationships. Consequently, it is important to keep the B2B customer satisfied. By measuring customer satisfaction, the manufacturer obtains an image of their performance in customer satisfaction. Measuring customer satisfaction within the B2B context tends to be a complex subject yet limited research has been done on this topic.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of the relationalconsequences of servitization for customer satisfaction measurement within B2Brelationships. Methodology: The study is based on a case study of an international manufacturer. Thestudy contains several analysis units which consist of worldwide distributors, both internal and external. The study was conducted through a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews and participatory observations at the case company. Conclusion: The research findings indicate that individuals who are directly involved in the B2B relationship, from both customer and manufacturer side, are an important source of information and insight in how the customer satisfaction measure should be designed, conducted and followed up on. The customer contributes to an insight into the needs and expectations which could contribute to the design of the customer satisfaction measure as well as with information about relevant respondents. The person that works closest to the customer has also turned out to play an important role for the design of the measure as well as for the interpretation of its results. The customer satisfaction measure has also shown to be affected by frequency of the measure, follow-up, actions and anonymity (honesty); which is why these measures should be considered when measuring customer satisfaction within the B2B context. / Titel: Att mäta kundnöjdhet inom B2B kontexten: B2B relationen mellan leverantör & distributör i en tjänstefieringskontext Författare: Sigrid Aronson & Lejla Cerimagic Handledare: Ramsin Yakob Problematisering: Relationers betydelse har ökat till följd av den tjänstefieringen  som  sker hos många tillverkningsföretag. I och med tjänstefieringen inkluderar företag allt  oftare fler parter i dess nätverk. I dessa nätverk kan man återfinna den specifika  relationen mellan leverantör och distributör vilket är en avgörande men komplex B2B-  relation där forskningen tycks vara begränsad. Generellt är det viktigt med långsiktiga  relationer inom B2B där det är viktigt att arbeta för att utveckla och kvarhålla dessa  relationer. Därmed tycks det också vara viktigt att säkerställa att kunden inom B2B  kontexten är nöjd. Genom att mäta kundnöjdheten får leverantören därmed ett svar på  hur väl de presterar inom kundnöjdhet. Mätning av kundnöjdhet inom B2B kontexten  tycks dock vara nedtonad forskningsmässigt och till det hör också att det anses vara ett  komplext område.   Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för de relationsmässiga konsekvenser som tjänstefieringen medfört i mätning av kundnöjdhet inom B2B relationer. Metod: Denna studie är en enfallsstudie där fallet avser ett internationellt tillverkningsföretag. I studien ingår flertalet analysenheter vilka utgörs av distributörer världen över, både interna och externa. Studien genomförs med en kvalitativ metod och innehåller semistrukturerade intervjuer samt deltagande observationer på fallföretaget.  Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar på att de personer som är involverade i B2B relationen från både kundens och leverantörens sida utgör en viktig källa till information och insikt i hur kundnöjdhetsmätningen bör utformas, genomföras samt följas upp. Kunden bidrar till insikt i behov och förväntningar som bidrar till utformningen men även information om relevanta deltagare för mätningen. Den person som arbetar närmast kunden är viktig för mätningens utformning likväl tolkning av dess resultat. Kundnöjdhetsmätningens resultat har även visat sig kunna påverkas av sådant som frekvens, uppföljning och åtgärder samt anonymitet (ärlighet) varför även dessa bör tas i beaktande vid mätning av kundnöjdheten inom B2B kontexten.

Bakgrund: Under de senaste tio åren har världen fått uppleva en våg av innovationer och teknologier som svept över produktionsanläggningar, detta fenomen kallas industri 4.0 eller den fjärde industriella revolutionen. En av de industrier som industri 4.0 har haft en stor påverkan på är stålindustrin. Hur kommer en högre grad av digitalisering påverka ekosystemet inom en industri där många av aktörerna är anpassade till traditionella och konventionella tillvägagångssätt? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att bidra med en ökad förståelse kring hur ett ekosystem inom den svenska stålindustrin kommer förändras i takt med utvecklingen och anpassningen till industri 4.0. Genomförande: Denna studie har utgångpunkt i en abduktiv ansats och med ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt. Intervjuer har utförts med sjuföretag med koppling till den svenska stålindustrin. Slutsats: Studien har bidragit till slutsatsen att SSAB:s ekosystem kommer röra sig mot att bli mer integrerat företagen emellan och samtliga aktörer kommer agera mer för ekosystemets hälsa och det gemensamt skapade värdet. Detta kommer karaktäriseras av ett större förmedlande av data och i sin tur värde genom hela ekosystemet. Det som ligger till grund för att detta ska ske är förändringen av företagens affärsmodeller. Tjänstefiering har blivit och kommer bli allt mer vanligt bland företag inom stålindustrin. Förändringen av ekosystemet kommer kräva att företag måste leverera mer än bara stålet; det är data och tjänster kopplat till produkten som kommer bli allt mer viktigt. För att detta ska realiseras krävs det dock specifika kompetenser inom respektive företag, vilka är intern kompetens, rättledarskap och ökad transparens. Dessa tre kompetenser blir således grundstenarna till att ekosystemet slutligen kommer att förändras. / Background: Over the past 10 years, the world has experienced a wave of innovations and technologies that has swept across production facilities, this phenomenon is known as Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. One of the industries that Industry 4.0 has had a major impact on is the steel industry. How will a higher degree of digitalization affect the ecosystem of an industry where many of the players are adapted to traditional and conventional approaches? Purpose: The purpose with this study is to contribute with a higher knowledge about how an ecosystem within the Swedish steel industry will change along with the development of and adaption to industry 4.0. Completion: This study is based on an abductive perspective and with a qualitative approach. Interviews have been conducted with seven companies with links to the Swedish steel industry. Conclusion: The study has contributed to the conclusion that SSAB's ecosystem will move towards becoming more integrated between the companies and all players will act more for the health of the ecosystem and the jointly created value. This will be characterized by a greater dissemination of data and, in turn, value throughout the ecosystem. The basis for this to happen is the change in the companies' business models. Servitization have become and will become more and more common among companies in the steel industry. The change in the ecosystem will require companies to deliver more than just the steel; it is data and services linked to the product that will become increasingly important. However, in order to achieve this, specific competencies within each company are required, which are internal competence, the right leadership and increased transparency. These three competencies thus become the cornerstones for the ecosystem to eventually change.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of what enablers and risks become evident in value co-creation and how they affect value proposition development. To fulfill this research purpose, the following research questions were derived: RQ1: What are the enablers that become evident during value co-creation in an IT context?, RQ2a: What are the risks that become evident during value co-creation in an IT context?, and RQ2b: How can IT service providers mitigate these risks during value proposition development? Method – The study is an exploratory inductive single case study of a specific business environment that revolves around related services in the IT industry. In total, six organizations and one expert, all of whom have knowledge of the situation of inquiry, participated in the study. The data collection was conducted in three different waves of semi-structured interviews. In total, 27 interviews were held, and results were derived using a combination of the Gioia analysis and thematic analysis. Findings – The findings from the study is a framework illustrating the enablers, risks, and mitigating actions in value co-creation during value proposition development. The most critical antecedent enablers are transparency, goal congruence, and customer involvement. The most prominent risks are organizational transformation, measuring instruments, and juridical. The most important actions are change management and continuous evaluation. Theoretical and practical implications – The study contributes with insights into the scarce literature on value co-creation and digital servitization by empirically clarifying the key aspects that orchestrate the value co-creation process. Our framework assists practitioners to better evaluate if they have the abilities required to conduct specific value co-creation activities. Limitations and future research – The study is limited by a single case study of a specific business environment by adopting a B2B perspective. Hence, future studies are recommended to extend and validate our findings in other industrial settings. / Syfte – Syftet med denna studie är att utöka förståelsen för vilka möjliggörare och risker som blir centrala inom värdesamskapande och hur dessa påverkar framtagandet av värdeerbjudanden. För att uppfylla syftet härleddes följande forskningsfrågor: RQ1: Vilka är de möjliggörare som blir uppenbara vid gemensamt värdeskapande inom ett IT-sammanhang?, RQ2a: Vilka är de risker som blir centrala vid värdesamskapande inom ett IT-sammanhang?, och RQ2b: Hur kan IT-tjänsteleverantörer mitigera dessa risker vid framtagandet av värdeerbjudanden? Metod – Studien genomfördes som en explorativ induktiv enskild fallstudie inom en specifik affärsmiljö som kretsar kring relaterade tjänster inom IT-branschen. Totalt deltog sex organisationer och en ämnesexpert i studien, varav alla har kunskap inom det undersökta området. Datainsamlingen genomfördes i tre olika vågor av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Totalt genomfördes 27 intervjuer och resultaten analyserades med en kombination av Gioia analys och tematisk analys. Resultat – Resultatet av studien är ett ramverk som illustrerar möjliggörare, risker och mitigerande åtgärder inom kontexten av värdesamskapande under utvecklingen av värdeerbjudanden. De mest kritiska möjliggörarna är transparens, målöverensstämmelse och kundinvolvering. De mest framträdande riskerna är organisatorisk transformation, mätinstrument och juridiska. De viktigaste åtgärderna är förändringsledning och kontinuerlig utvärdering. Teoretiska och praktiska implikationer – Denna studie bidrar med insikter till den bristande litteraturen inom domänerna värdesamskapande och digital tjänstefiering genom att empiriskt klargöra de viktigaste aspekterna som utgör den värdesamskapande processen. Vårt ramverk hjälper utövare av värdesamskapande samarbeten att utvärdera om de har de förmågor som krävs för att genomföra specifika värdesamskapande aktiviteter. Begränsningar och framtida forskning – Studien är begränsad till att undersöka en specifik affärsmiljö inom ett B2B-perspektiv genom en enskild fallstudie. Därför rekommenderas framtida studier att utvidga och validera resultaten inom andra industriella kontexter.

Due to digitalization as a technology shift, many incumbent manufacturing firms face challenges to maintain their position on the market. One solution to tackle this technology shift is by servitization, which has shown great opportunities for value creation in various industries. Services are harder to imitate and have therefore potential to create competitive advantage. However, because of the limited number of studies examining the transition from one business model to another in combination with servitization and digitalization, a gap is identified in the literature. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore how an incumbent manufacturing firm can create and obtain value by implementing servitization and digital services in its current business model. The purpose of this thesis is achieved through a single case study of an incumbent manufacturing firm within the dairy farming industry. The findings suggest that implementing digital services in an incumbent manufacturing firm improves competitive advantage as they increase the barriers of adoption to competitors and third-parties; thus, improve the customer loyalty and the customer lock-in effect. When conceptualising servitization and digitalization, it is important to establish a clear framework for digital services, which should be aligned with the company’s overall strategies and processes. To meet the growing demand for more efficiency and flexibility, it is proposed to lay additional focus on the construction and development of the digital platform. Further, this study investigates how the development of digital services for predictive maintenance affects the business model of an incumbent manufacturing firm. From the conceptual framework developed in this study, it is emphasised that five business model elements are important to focus on in the era of digitalization, namely: value proposition, revenue streams, channels, customer relationships and key partner networks. The findings suggest to use adapting services such as performance-based contracting with a subscription model and add-ons. In addition, co-creation with customers in an early stage of the innovation process is deemed key to develop suitable services, while improving the customer relationship. Moreover, it is important to have in mind that digitalization enhances the transparency of information; thus, it is crucial to develop standardised frameworks to retain a trustworthy customer relationship. Consequently, it is argued as important to update the revenue model for digital services with a cohesive pricing strategy worldwide. Furthermore, this study suggests moving step by step towards direct selling, while remaining a good relationship with the external dealers. Due to the fact that not all customers have the prerequisites for implementing digital services, the degree of digitalization and direct selling must be adapted to the unique situation and service provided. By analysing how servitization as an effect of digitalization affects the business model of an incumbent manufacturing firm, this thesis contributes to extant knowledge within the fields of servitization, digitalization and business models. Furthermore, this thesis contributes to managerial knowledge with an in-depth contextualised knowledge of a possible servitization transition as a business model innovation. / På grund av digitalisering som teknologiskifte tvingas många etablerade företag att kämpa för att behålla sin position på marknaden. En lösning till detta är tjänstefiering, vilket har visat på stora möjligheter för värdeskapande i olika industrier. Dessutom är tjänster svårare att imitera, vilket leder till ökad konkurrenskraft. Idag finns det ett begränsat antal studier som undersöker övergången från en affärsmodell till en annan i kombination med tjänstefiering och digitalisering, vilket har lett till ett gap i litteraturen. Därav syftet med denna masteruppsats: att undersöka hur ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag kan skapa och förädla värde genom att integrera tjänstefiering och digitala tjänster i den nuvarande affärsmodellen. Syftet med denna studie uppnås genom en fallstudie hos ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag inom mjölkproduktionsindustrin. Rapportens resultat indikerar att en implementation av digitala tjänster i ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag förbättrar konkurrenskraften då den ökar barriärer för konkurrenter och tredjeparter, därmed ökas kundlojaliteten och förhindrar kunden från att byta leverantör. Vid konceptualisering av tjänstefiering och digitalisering är det viktigt att skapa ett tydligt ramverk, vilket även bör anpassas till företagets övergripande strategier och processer. För att möta den växande efterfrågan av ökad effektivitet och flexibilitet bör ytterligare fokus läggas på konstruktion och utveckling av den digitala plattformen. Vidare undersöker denna studie hur utvecklingen av digitala tjänster för förebyggande underhåll påverkar affärsmodellen hos ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag. Utifrån det konceptuella ramverket, skapat i denna studie, har fem affärsmodellelements valts ut som anses extra viktiga för studien: värdeerbjudandet, intäkter, kanaler, kundrelationer och partners. Studiens resultat föreslår anpassade tjänster såsom prestationsbaserade kontrakt med prenumerationsmodell och tilläggsval. Dessutom anses samverkan med kunden i ett tidigt skede av innovationsprocessen vara en nyckel till att utveckla rätt tjänster, samtidigt som kundrelationen förbättras. Det är även viktigt att tänka på att digitalisering ökar informationstransparensen och därför är det viktigt att utveckla standardiserade ramverk för att bibehålla tillförliten i kundrelationer. Således argumenterar studien för att uppdatera inkomstmodellen för digitala tjänster med en sammanhängande prissättningsstrategi över hela världen. Vidare anses det viktigt med ett stegvist skifte mot direktförsäljning, samtidigt som det är nödvändigt att bibehålla en bra relation med de externa återförsäljarna. På grund av det faktum att alla kunder inte har samma förutsättningar att erhålla digitala tjänster måste graden av digitalisering och direktförsäljning anpassas till den unika situationen och tjänsten. Genom att analysera hur tjänstefiering som en effekt av digitalisering påverkar affärsmodellen för ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag bidrar denna avhandling till existerande kunskap inom tjänstefiering, digitalisering och affärsmodeller. Vidare bidrar denna avhandling till ledningskunskap för chefer med fördjupad kontextualiserad kunskap i en fallstudie genom att föreslå en tjänstefieringsövergång som en affärsmodellsinnovation för att anpassa sig till dagens digitala värld.

Background  AI adoption is increasing, and the highest increase of AI is seen in service functions, followed by product applications. Moreover, the patent filing is rapidly increasing showing high interest in the technology. Product-based firms developing AI technology may need to develop their business model as a result of the introduction of AI. Research aim This thesis aims to explore how product-oriented companies innovate the business model based on AI development. More specifically, how these technological opportunities can, create value, deliver value, and capture value as a result.    Method This thesis follows a qualitative strategy, mainly being explorative. The thesis follows a single case study approach of Axis Communications. Data collection was mainly conducted with semi-structured interviews. Findings The value creation of AI development is described based on functions and the value-added. The value delivery explores key capabilities of the data pipeline, algorithm development and partners. The value capture described the sales model and compares AI-related solutions with competitors. Conclusions The study concludes that AI-based solutions can be an attributing factor for a product-based company to innovate the business model towards a more service and partner-oriented business model. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Internet of things, Digital servitization, Business model innovation, Business ecosystem

Competition among original equipment manufacturers are increasing and firms are looking for new ways to compete without dumping the prices. A growing approach is to move from selling traditional products into solutions with a combination of product and services by offering product service systems (PSS). This can provide business opportunities and strengthen the relationship with existing customers, but to reap the rewards there are both internal and external challenges that the firm needs to overcome, they also need to look at new ways of working to be able to handle the increased complexity of selling solutions. This master thesis has investigated how Xylem should approach servitization from a customer oriented perspective. It also discusses how the incentives and challenges for servitization for customers differ depending on segment and compared to literature. Through a combination of existing literature and qualitative interviews with Xylems customer it has been possible to identify the key components and drivers for when a customer is mature to approach servitization. It has resulted in an alternative list and ways of approaching servitization where the customer characteristics are taken into consideration. The findings from this thesis highlight a number of critical customer characteristics that need to be considered. It shows the importance of understanding a larger part of the customers business model when selling a product service system compared to when selling a product. / Konkurrensen mellan original utrustnings tillverkare tätnar och firmor letar efter nya sätt att tävla utan att dumpa priserna. Ett växande sätt att hantera det är att övergå från att sälja traditionella produkter till att sälja lösningar som består av en kombination av produkter och tjänster genom att erbjuda produkt- och tjänstesystem (PSS). Det här kan erbjuda affärsmöjligheter and stärka kundrelationen, men för att kunna skörda frukterna av detta så måste firman övervinna både interna och externa utmaningar. De behöver även titta på nya sätt att hantera den ökade komplexiteten som kommer med att sälja lösningar. Det här mastersarbetet har undersökt hur Xylem bör närma sig tjänstefiering från ett kundorienterat tilltalssätt. Det diskuterar även hur drivkrafterna och utmaningarna för tjänstefiering varierar beroende på segment and jämfört med litteraturen. Genom en combination av existerande litteratur and kvalitativa intervjuer med Xylems kunder hard et blivit möjligt att identifiera nyckelkomponenter och drivkrafter för när kunderna är mogna nog att närma sig tjänstefiering. Det här har resulterat i en alternativ lista och angreppssätt när det kommer till tjänstefiering där kundprofilen tas med i bejakande. Slutsatsen betonar ett antal kritiska kundegenskaper som behöver ta i åtanke. Den visar också hur viktigt det är att förstå en större del av kundens affärsplan när man säljer ett produkt- och tjänstesystem jämfört med när man säljer en produkt.

In highly competitive markets, product-centric businesses often seek to differentiate from competitors by including services into their core offering. In literature, this is described as servitization, and has been widely researched. Nonetheless, there is still ambiguity in when different services should be provided, and what forms the basis for these. Consequently, the authors of this thesis identified a need for clarification on when- and how servitization can be applied. Hence, this explorative study investigated how servitization could be applied by a rental company operating in the construction industry, in order to gain competitive advantage and address customer needs. This thesis used a qualitative approach, and collected primary data from two different perspectives, namely customers- and salespeople, by the use of semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Empirical findings reveal customer needs in the market, and market circumstances that constitute a paradox for servitizing rental companies in the construction industry. The conclusions drawn from this paradox contributes to understanding that market circumstances affect when- and how servitization should be applied. Additionally, the conclusions contribute to alternative ways to use services- and achieve competitive advantages for rental companies in the construction industry.

Over the last decades, studies have found that transformational drivers affect how firms innovate their business models (Chesbrough, 2010; Massa et al., 2016). In markets in which physical products become commodities, the servitization of business models is a transformational driver for firms (Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). For its part, digitalization increases the potential to reshape business models through novel use cases of technology (Yoo et al., 2010). Recently, digitalization was found to extend the opportunities from servitization through digital technologies as digital servitization (Paschou et al., 2020). Digital servitization describes a firm’s shift from product-centric offerings to service-centric offerings with the help of novel IT assets (Naik et al., 2020). The manufacturing industry provides promising examples of firms with portfolios of physical offerings that might undergo such a transformational shift (Baines et al., 2017). So far, digital servitization research focuses primarily on four topics: re-defining the notion of servitization in the context of digitalization, identifying digital servitization value drivers, linking the transformation to specific technologies, and deriving how novel service offerings arise (Paschou et al., 2020; Zhou & Song, 2021). Despite the breadth of digital servitization research, how firms can shift to service-centric offerings remains unclear (Kohtamäki et al., 2019). Specifically, research lacks studies on the prerequisites and mechanisms that link theory with evidence on achieving IT-enabled service innovation (Paschou et al., 2020). Further, how firms must organize to build and operate IT-enabled services around these technologies remains unclear (Paschou et al., 2020). In a recent report on the manufacturing industry, practitioners confirm these gaps and associate them with a lack of managerial and technical knowledge (Illner et al., 2020). A theoretical lens that helps to address these shortcomings is the knowledge-based theory. It suggests that knowledge is the primary rationale, so that a firm benefits from its assets (Grant, 1996b; Nonaka, 1994). The knowledge-based theory understands a capability as a directed application of knowledge in a firm’s activities (Grant, 1996b; Nonaka, 1994). In the context of digitalization, firms require IT capabilities based on knowledge of how to capitalize on IT assets (Lee et al., 2015). Digital servitization research finds that IT capabilities are critical for identifying, adapting, and exploiting IT-enabled service innovations (Johansson et al., 2019). Still, little extant research informs firms that undergo digital servitization about which IT capabilities can help to strengthen their competitive advantage (Coreynen et al., 2017). Even though IT capabilities may be necessary for success in innovating IT-enabled services, the required knowledge needs to be disseminated effectively throughout an organization (Foss et al., 2014; Grant, 1996a; Nonaka, 1994). The organizational control theory offers a theoretical perspective about knowledge dissemination mechanisms, which can be horizontal or vertical (Ouchi, 1979). Horizontal knowledge dissemination mechanisms depend on codifying processes in rules or measuring process outputs through indicators, while the locus of exerting these rules and indicators determines the vertical knowledge dissemination. The IT innovation and IT governance literature refers to these knowledge dissemination mechanisms as formalization of IT activities and centralization of IT decision-making (Weill, 2004; Winkler & Brown, 2013; Zmud, 1982). However, how to orchestrate knowledge, particularly for IT capabilities, in firms that undergo digital servitization is not yet clear (Kohtamäki et al., 2019; Münch et al., 2022; Sjödin et al., 2020). Against this background, this dissertation addresses how manufacturers organize their IT capabilities while encountering the transformational drivers of digital servitization by answering the following overarching research question: How can manufacturers organize their IT capabilities to capitalize on digital servitization? (References to be found in the full text):List of abbreviations in synopsis............................................................................................................V Part I: Synopsis of the dissertation..........................................................................................................11 Motivation.......................................................................................................................................12 Research design...............................................................................................................................22. 1Conceptual approach and research objectives....................................................................22. 2Research methodologies and methods................................................................................4 3Structure of the dissertation.............................................................................................................5 3.1Systematization of the papers.............................................................................................5 3.2Paper1: Revisiting the concept of IT capabilities in the era of digitalization....................7 3.3Paper2: Short and sweet –Multiple mini case studies as a form of rigorous case studyresearch...............................................................................................................................9 3.4Paper3: Linking IT capabilities and competitive advantage of servitized business models..........................................................................................................................................11 3.5Paper4: From selling machinery to hybrid offerings –Organizational impact of digitalservitization on manufacturing firms................................................................................11 3.6Paper5: Manufacturers’ IT-enabled service innovation success as a multifacetedphenomenon: A configurational study..............................................................................13 3.7Paper6: The missing piece –Calibration of qualitative data for qualitative comparativeanalyses in IS research......................................................................................................14 3.8Paper7: Prerequisites and causal recipes for manufacturers’ success in innovating ITenabled services................................................................................................................16 4Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19 4.1Resultssummary...............................................................................................................19 4.2Contributions....................................................................................................................20 4.2.1Theoretical contributions......................................................................................20 4.2.2Methodological contribution................................................................................21 4.2.3Practical contribution............................................................................................21 4.3Limitations and future research........................................................................................22 5References.....................................................................................................................................24 Part II: Papers of the dissertation...........................................................................................................29 Paper1: Revisiting the concept of IT capabilities in the era of digitalization.......................................30 Paper2: Short and sweet –Multiple mini case studies as a form of rigorous case study research.......41 Paper3: Linking IT capabilities and competitive advantage of servitized business model..................64 Paper4: From selling machinery to hybrid offerings –Organizational impact of digital servitization on manufacturing firms......................................................................................................................80 Paper5: Manufacturers’ IT-enabled service innovation success as a multifaceted phenomenon: A configurational study...................................................................................................................108 Paper6: The missing piece –Calibration of qualitative data for qualitative comparative analyses in IS research........................................................................................................................................119 Paper7: Prerequisites and causal recipes for manufacturers’ success in innovating IT-enabled services.....................................................................................................................................................136 Overview of the digital appendix on CD.............................................................................................174