The link between advanced servitization, global distribution channels and the longitudinal performance of sales in international markets

Abstract

PurposeThe research presented in this paper has been conducted to understand the impact of advanced-servitized-products on the longitudinal sales performance of manufacturing companies across international markets. The research strives to understand how the onsite presence leverages this impact.Design/methodology/approachTo reach this objective, an empirical sample of more than 4,000 sales transactions covering the period 2010–2019 in 74 foreign markets was collected from a single high-tech manufacturer producing and selling servitized solutions. The authors use a time fixed-effects model to test the authors' theoretically deduced hypotheses.FindingsThe authors' find the proportion of advanced-servitized products to positively impact sales performance over time and that this relation is moderated by the choice of international distribution channel. As compared to direct exports, onsite presence and intermediaries present a positive and negative moderating effect, respectively.Originality/valueThe paper offers a rare look into the international sales performance of advance-servitized-products. This paper does so using a service-dominant logic, which is still scarcely used within the servitization literature, despite the logic's adequacy for the study of the market behavior of service-augmented products.