Servitization in Manufacturing Firms: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Purpose – The servitization of manufacturing is a wider and complex field of research interest. A trend in which manufacturing firms adopt service components in their offerings is defined as the servitization. The purpose of this paper is to report the literature in the servitization and related constructs.Design/methodology/approach – Authors have conducted a systematic review of the research literature in the area of servitization of manufacturing. 115 articles central and relevant to the servitization were initially selected using SSRN, JSTOR, Emerald, Taylor & Francis, Wiley online, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate based on higher citation and relevance to the study. Out of 115 articles 40 publications relevant to the key themes identified were selected to further study. Selected articles were deeply studied and Thematic Analysis was conducted. Key themes of Servitization were reported in this paper.Findings- Servitization is the strategy of service integration into the core business in manufacturing organizations in order to enhance the competitive position of the organization. Servitization of manufacturing tend to emphasize the potential to maintain business growth, customer relationship, and competitive advantage. Supply chain networking and customer relationships are closely linked to the servitization process.Practical implications – This study creates the awareness about servitization to enhance customer relationship, business growth , competitive advantage, differentiation and customer value creation in manufacturing companies through servitization.