The August 2012 paper on 'Organising Servitization: an in-depth case study' by Taija Turunen and Andy Neely

Transitioning towards service provision has been suggested as an advisable strategy for manufacturers responding to price competition. Servitization refers to the transition process of adding services into a goods-based offering, where the importance lies in the relationship between the corporation and the customer. Instead of viewing services and goods from a traditional point of view, servitizing companies offer bundles of products and services. This paper identifies the structural changes that are needed when a manufacturer seeks to increase its service provision. Using a longitudinal case study design, we explored the organisational changes that took place as a manufacturer shifted to service provision. The paper illustrates how different organisational tensions emerged during the shift to services and how the service teams self-organised in response to these tensions, in advance of management’s decision to re-organise.

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