Suppatvech, Chutikarn (2020) An exploration of how product-based firms transition to IoT-enabled servitized firms. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The current trend of Industry 4.0 involves the use of digitalisation and smart technologies in product manufacturing. This has enabled product-based manufacturing firms to make the radical shift in their traditional business model towards the service-oriented business model in order to respond to the disruption of digital technologies. This corresponds to the concept of servitization which refers to the shift from selling pure products to the integration of product-service offerings. It is also expected that by leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) technology as part of the emerging Industry 4.0 disruptive technologies, product-based firms can fundamentally transform their business model and help to facilitate and enable the novel servitized business models. The existing literature discusses the concept of IoT-enabled servitization under the terms of “digital servitization” and “smart servitization” which can be considered as the transformation of firms’ processes and capabilities to shift from a product-centric business model towards smart product-service software systems in enabling value creation. Although the knowledge of the servitization concept has been advanced in both theory and practice, the existing knowledge of the emerging concept of IoT and servitization is still in its infancy and the literature is fragmented. Therefore, the research on this emerging concept provides an opportunity for further investigation.

The adoption of IoT in implementing servitized business models is associated with the introduction of new service offerings to meet the new market needs in the volatile market, as discussed in the strategic management literature. The importance of renewal and reconfiguration of firms’ resources and capabilities in order to implement a new business model has been emphasised in the theories of dynamic capabilities view and resource-based view (RBV). In this context, the opportunity exists to carry out empirical research that identifies all associated characteristics, resources, capabilities and related factors that lead to the successful implementation of IoT-enabled servitized business models. To explore this research prospect, the purpose of this thesis is to identify firms’ resources and capabilities and the associated processes which are necessary to implement IoT-enabled servitized business models.

In line with the abductive research logic which was underlined by the author’s critical realism, the research design developed to address this research opportunity includes two phases: theoretical and empirical. The former aims to explore the extant literature related to the emerging concept and develop a conceptual framework to serve as a guide for empirical study. The latter is a case-based research method which is adopted to empirically test the conceptual framework and emerge the new findings. Two case studies comprised of six embedded units of analysis are selected to provide an opportunity for the literal replication of the guiding principles that underline the capabilities the product-based firms can adopt in order to transition to an IoT-enabled servitized business model.

The research findings concluded that there are four types of IoT-enabled servitized business model which have different associated characteristics. It was also illustrated that firm resources, operational capabilities and firm’s network configurations vary by different IoT-enabled servitized business model strategy, and product-based firms require a particular set of dynamic capabilities (DC) to manage those resources and capabilities. This research highlights the understandings of the transformation process from product-based to IoT-enabled servitized firms. Subsequently, the thesis provides the theoretical and practical contributions by developing a conceptual framework that can be used by academic research in order to further empirically investigate and broaden the knowledge of the emerging concept of IoT and servitization, and by practitioners to evaluate their existing (product-based) firm resources and capabilities, and renew or adjust those resources and capabilities as appropriate in order to implement IoT-enabled servitized business models. Finally, the limitations and future research avenues are highlighted.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Manufacturing industries -- Management, Organizational change, Industrial management, Production management, Industry 4.0, Internet of things, Strategic planning
Official Date:	October 2020
Dates:	Date Event October 2020 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Warwick Manufacturing Group
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Godsell, Janet
Sponsors:	Thailand
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	xiii, 287 leaves : illustrations (some colour)
Language:	eng

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