Competitive advantage through service differentiation by manufacturing companies
Journal
Journal of Business Research
ISSN
0148-2963
ISSN-Digital
1873-7978
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2011-04-01
Author(s)
Gebauer, Heiko
;
Gustafsson, Anders
;
Witell, Lars
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship among the complexity of customer needs, customer centricity, innovativeness, service differentiation, and business performance within the context of companies that have made a service transition from pure goods providers to service providers. A survey of 332 manufacturing companies provides the basis for the empirical investigation. One key finding is that a strong emphasis on service differentiation can lead to a manufacturing firm's strategies for customer centricity being less sensitive to increasingly complex customer needs, which can increase a firm's payoff for customer centricity. In contrast, the payoff from innovativeness appears to be higher if the firm focuses its resources on either product or service innovation; that is, a dual focus does not work well. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for researchers and managers
Language
English
Keywords
Service infusion in manufacturing companies
Customer centricity
Innovation
Service differentiation
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher place
New York
Volume
64
Number
12
Start page
1270
End page
1280
Pages
11
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
87659