Collaborative servitization in service-oriented company: The case study of telco company

Area of Science:

• Business Management
• Service Innovation
• Operations Management

Background:

• Growing academic and industry interest in product-service systems (PSS) and collaborative servitization.
• Limited research on service companies' growth through PSS, particularly in the telecommunications (telco) sector.
• Telco companies increasingly offer complex product-service bundles.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate Product-Service Systems (PSS) within service companies.
• Analyze the role of collaboration in PSS development phases: idea generation, development, and go-to-market.
• Examine collaborative servitization strategies in the telco industry.

Main Methods:

• Case-based research methodology.
• Conducted within an international telecommunications organization.
• Analysis of PSS creation, commercialization, partnerships, and customer collaboration.

Main Results:

• Demonstrates how a service company creates and commercializes integrated product-service offerings.
• Identifies key partners and analyzes the benefits and challenges of cooperation.
• Classifies customers into five profiles based on their PSS development participation.
• Highlights the critical importance of collaboration models, customer involvement, and strategic focus.

Conclusions:

• Successful collaborative servitization hinges on effective collaboration models, deep customer involvement, and a clear strategic direction.
• Findings offer practical insights for service companies to optimize business organization, leverage partnerships, and achieve market advantage.
• Complements existing literature on collaborative servitization with a focus on service-centric PSS development.