Alvizos, Emmanouil N. (2012) Servitization strategies & firm boundary decisions. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This PhD thesis focuses on a particular manifestation of the servitization of manufacturing
phenomenon, namely the offering of advanced asset management services for mature capital
equipment in a business to business context. In contrast to past research in the field, the study
approaches the issue from the often neglected point of view of the offerings’ intended customers
and assumes a strategic perspective to shed light on the considerations that affect the customers’
propensity to accept or reject them.
Upon conceptually analysing what the acceptance of such offerings actually requires of customers
at an operational level, the study reveals that the latter are in most cases required to outsource a
number of activities that have traditionally been handled in‐house. Thus, the issue of accepting
servitized offerings of this nature is treated as a make‐or‐buy, or otherwise a firm boundary
decision dilemma on behalf of customers.
In adopting this treatment, the study then engages with the firm boundary/outsourcing literature
and considers the state‐of‐the–art in four contemporary theoretical frameworks of make‐or‐buy
decisions that reflect a customer firm’s efficiency, dependence, competence and identity related
strategic considerations. In particular, insights are drawn respectively from Transaction Cost
Economics, Resource Dependency Theory, a strand of the Resource‐Based View of the firm as
well as the tenet of Identity Coherence.
Augmented with a number of novel propositions, the collective body of considerations is then
empirically explored through a quasi‐experimental cross‐sectional survey of deep‐sea dry and wet
cargo shipping firms (considered as customers of servitization) that focuses on six key
maintenance activities related to a ship’s main propulsion engine (considered as the object of
servitization).
In performing a two tier statistical analysis of the empirical data through logistic and multiple
regression techniques, the study finds that alternative considerations affect a customer firm’s
decision of whether to outsource an activity or not and the decision of how much of an activity to
outsource once the first‐tier dilemma is answered positively. Furthermore, the study finds that
combined theoretical perspective approaches offer better explanations of the phenomenon in
question.
With its conclusion, the thesis offers a number of implications directed at the literature streams
involved as well as the practice of outsourcing and pursuing a servitization strategy.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Contracting out, Manufacturing industries, Service industries
Official Date:	October 2012
Dates:	Date Event October 2012 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Warwick Business School
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Angelis, Jannis; Johnston, Robert, 1953-; Brammer, Stephen
Extent:	xvi, 340 leaves : charts.
Language:	eng

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