Christian Kowalkowski | Linköping University (original) (raw)

Papers by Christian Kowalkowski

Industrial Marketing Management, 2019

Servitization describes the addition of services to manufacturers' core product offerings to crea... more Servitization describes the addition of services to manufacturers' core product offerings to create additional customer value. This study aims to identify the key themes and research priorities in this body of literature over thirteen years from 2005 and 2017, based on four major research streams (general management, marketing, operations, and service management). Prior multi-theme literature reviews have focused on operations journals, overlooking important work in other streams, particularly marketing. Informed by a systematic literature review of 219 papers, the study identifies five main themes: service offerings; strategy and structure; motivations and performance; resources and capabilities; service development, sales, and delivery. Within each theme, gaps in the literature are identified and eleven research priorities presented. The review shows that the literature has evolved significantly in recent years, becoming increasingly diverse. A recent noteworthy topic is the use of digital technologies, which indicates the increasing relevance of technological developments to manufacturers' service activities. Our review highlights that there are still some fundamental aspects of servitization that warrant further research, primarily the need to replace the focal-manufacturer perspective with a multi-actor perspective that highlights the important role of relationships with existing and potentially new actors as a result of technological developments.

Journal of Marketing Management, 2019

As digitalisation increasingly encompasses entire service ecosystems , it modifies resource integ... more As digitalisation increasingly encompasses entire service ecosystems , it modifies resource integration patterns that connect ecosystem actors through strong and weak ties. To clarify how technological development contributes to this change, and how resource integration transforms the service ecosystem, this qualitative case study explores the digitalisation strategy of a market-leading systems integrator in the maritime industry. Based on 40 depth interviews with managers, the findings show how technology increasingly serves as a key operant resource in the transformation of resource integration patterns. The study contributes to ecosystem dynamics research by identifying major differences between the pre-digitalised and digitalised states of a service ecosystem, and demonstrates the dual role of technology in both increasing pattern complexity and facilitating coordination of that complexity. ARTICLE HISTORY

Journal of Business Research, 2019

Harnessing digital technology is of increasing concern as product firms organize for service-led ... more Harnessing digital technology is of increasing concern as product firms organize for service-led growth. Adopting a service ecosystem perspective, we analyze interfirm and intrafirm change processes taking place as firms pursue digital servitization. The study draws on in-depth interviews with 44 managers involved in organizing activities in two multinational industry leaders. Our findings identify major differences between the two focal firms in terms of digital service-led growth and associated ecosystem-related activities. The study disentangles underlying processes of organizational change in the ecosystem and suggests that within-firm centralization and integration play a key role in the capacity to organize for digital servitization. For managers, the findings highlight the need to foster service-centricity in order to take full advantage of digitalization beyond purely technological benefits.

Purpose: In a time when relationships have become recognized as an integral part of contemporary ... more Purpose: In a time when relationships have become recognized as an integral part of contemporary marketing theory and practice, what role can the sub-discipline of relationship marketing play? The aim with this special issue is to critically assess the state of relationship marketing and call for new ideas to take the field forward. Design/methodology/approach: We had an open call for papers with an original perspective and advanced thinking on relationship marketing, resulting in 50 originally submitted manuscripts that were subjected to double-blind review. Of these, this issue presents five articles. In addition, we invited well-renowned thought leaders who have contributed to theory development within relationship marketing. This issue starts with their four thoughtful, forward-orientated contributions. Findings: Several thought-provoking reflections and research findings are presented that urge relationship marketing researchers to explore novel avenues for the future of this area. A prominent way forward may be looking for a common ground in relationship marketing thinking, assessing the extent to which the different literature streams add to marketing research and when they do not, and testing/deploying the learnings in new settings. Research limitations/implications: This special issue does not address all areas of relationship marketing research. Potential areas for future relationship marketing research are identified. Originality/value: To assess existent knowledge of relationship marketing is needed to take the field forward.

The topic of servitization has generated a considerable body of research and many conferences, as... more The topic of servitization has generated a considerable body of research and many conferences, as well as industry engagement. Yet, despite the extensive literature associated with this now-mature discipline, there is no broad-based consensus on the core concepts and definitions deployed by servitization scholars, and both terminology and usage often seem ambiguous. This paper examines challenges related to service growth strategies, as well as strategies involving deservitization or a retreat from service offers. Showing that these strategies have been pursued for more than fifty years, clarification is sought here by framing the corresponding processes and proposing definitions for four core terms: servitization, service infusion, deservitization and service dilution. It becomes clear that in focusing on the organizational change entailed by these processes, future research must elucidate “softer” issues such as leadership and business logic.

Service growth in product firms is one of the most active service research domains and is open to... more Service growth in product firms is one of the most active service research domains and is open to a variety of conceptualizations. This article provides a critical inquiry into the past, present, and future of the research domain. The evolution of the research on service growth is discussed in two phases: (1) setting the boundaries of the research domain, and (2) emergence of the conceptual foundation. We find that while research in this area has a well-established tradition in terms of output, theoretically it is still largely in a ‘nascent’ phase. Next, we highlight the contributions of the papers in this special section, emphasizing their challenges to prevailing assumptions in the research domain. We conclude by identifying, from the contributions to this special section, suggested themes for further research on service growth: the assessment of empirical evidence of the impact of service growth on firm performance, the role of merger & acquisitions in the service growth strategy, the exploration of single/multiple positions along the transition line, the process of adding or removing services, and expanding the context of service growth beyond product manufacturing firms.

Value propositions are reciprocal resource-integration promises and value alignment mechanisms, o... more Value propositions are reciprocal resource-integration promises and value alignment mechanisms, operating to and from actors seeking an equitable exchange. In a business triad, any change in the relationship between two actors also affects relationships with the third actor, influencing resource integration and value creation at the value constellation level. This study of the development of a triadic value proposition analyzes how the discontinuous effects of a new service initiative alter the relationships among actors in a manufacturer–dealer–user triad. A qualitative empirical inquiry examines a ten-year process, in which a leading industry incumbent enters the service business by crafting a triadic value proposition. As the value proposition evolves over time, the network ties—and thus the interdependence among manufacturer, dealer, and user—strengthen. The findings offer firms a better understanding of how to involve and collaborate with key actors to initiate discontinuous changes at the firm and network levels. These insights are particularly timely in light of the difficulties that product firms face when intermediaries are decisive for the success of their service-led growth initiatives.

Both academics and practitioners emphasize the importance for product firms of pursuing service i... more Both academics and practitioners emphasize the importance for product firms of pursuing service innovation. Despite a strategic focus on service-led growth, however, many firms struggle to succeed with their service innovation initiatives. In order to increase our understanding of the nature of service innovation in product firms, this chapter discusses the specificities in, and dynamics of, service offerings, service processes, and business models in industrial contexts. First, it outlines key differences between new product development and new service development, and highlights issues like sales and delivery, which firms frequently fail to accomplish. While product development is generally ‘back heavy’ with many resources required for prototyping and technology development, service development is more ‘front heavy’ with more weight placed on market introduction, pilot testing, and securing the skills, systems, and infrastructures for sales and delivery. In terms of service offering innovation, a taxonomy based on service focus and revenue model is presented. In order to better understand service process innovation, Larsson and Bowen’s (1989) service design typology is then revisited. Finally, common service business model archetypes are introduced and discussed.

Many businesses today recognize the increased significance of service and the transition toward s... more Many businesses today recognize the increased significance of service and the transition toward service orientation. Nonetheless, organizational practitioners frequently encounter problems managing this shift and seizing service-related business opportunities. This practical relevance, together with many still-unanswered service research questions, has inspired the preparation of this special section that advances the extant literatures on business services. We finish by providing a research agenda. First, more research is needed on the buyer perspective. Second, researchers need to keep in mind financial issues related to business services. Third, more researchers could tap into management, leadership, and decision-making in business service companies. Finally, sustainability, social responsibility, and environmental considerations are important topics for further exploration.

A broad, dynamic network perspective on solution processes remains scarce. This article presents ... more A broad, dynamic network perspective on solution processes remains scarce. This article presents the process of developing and implementing customer solutions and its effects on the wider business environment by investi- gating customers and suppliers in the global mining industry (Australia, Chile, and Sweden), analyzing the de- ployment of a new customer solution, and assessing the changes to the competitive environment and focal firms' relationships with other customers and suppliers. It shows that the forces that drive customer and supplier interests and motivation to co-develop customer solutions may change over time, thus redefining the aim and scope of solutions and creating failure risks. Customers present problems; suppliers respond, on the basis of not only the feasibility of the customer-specific solution but also of their evaluation of future solutions in a broader market; then suppliers aim to standardize successful solutions across markets. Customers want close supplier relationships and unique solutions but also like standardized and repeatable solutions, so they can share development costs with competitors and expose the supplier to competition to avoid lock-in effects. From a network perspective, a novel solution can have a market-shaping effect and evoke reactions from other actors who want to enhance their market position. However, these changes are not necessarily deliberate, and the dynamics that market introductions of solutions trigger may be difficult to predict.

Purpose The aim of the article is to analyze the rationale for choice of suppliers and the influe... more Purpose
The aim of the article is to analyze the rationale for choice of suppliers and the influence these decisions have on the firm’s capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach
We examine the choice of in-house operations versus buying maintenance in the Swedish mining industry through a qualitative case study approach.

Findings
The findings reveal a strong tendency to outsource maintenance.

Research limitations/implications
This in turn has a strong influence on the firm’s capabilities and long-term competitive advantage and sustainability.

Practical implications
Based on the empirical findings, we comment on the strength and weaknesses of the different outsourcing and attempt to find practical solutions that assist the firm in creating competitive advantage.

Originality/value
The unique contribution of this study is that it extends prior firm capabilities studies by investigating the impact of capability loss specifically in complex, intricate maintenance processes in a dynamic industry.

The Nordic School: Service Marketing and Management for the Future, 2015

Too much research in marketing focuses on narrow methodological issues and esoteric phenomena det... more Too much research in marketing focuses on narrow methodological issues and esoteric phenomena detached from the reality of the business world. The critique is frequently advanced by both scholars and practitioners that the marketing discipline has developed in an incremental manner without challenging or de-constructing its established, underlying concepts and assumptions. As MacInnis (2011) observes, “empirical advances (in methods, statistics) and empirically focused PhD coursework have outpaced conceptual advances and courses. Empirical methods are essential, but unless they are accompanied by good and interesting ideas, their value diminishes” (p. 151). The Nordic School of marketing thought has, in the spirit of free enquiry, offered research characterised by theory generation, inductive reasoning and case-study method. While conceptually novel and innovative, it has been firmly anchored in the reality of the business world. For example, managerially relevant phenomena have been addressed through in-depth case studies and action research, helping to generate managerial insight and clarify the complexity and ambiguity of the world around us. From my point of view as business marketing researcher, the Nordic School’s perspective on marketing is intellectually interesting, rhetorically appealing, and managerially applicable. In this short piece, I hope to share my thoughts about its relevance to business marketing, its methodological and philosophical position, and how it might help to increase marketing impact.

Journal of Service Management, Apr 30, 2015

Purpose: The objective of this research is to explore the implications for the sales function of... more Purpose:
The objective of this research is to explore the implications for the sales function of the infusion of services by formerly product-based firms. In particular, it aims at identifying the changes that need to be made at the sales-function level if the services are to be successfully sold.
Design/Methodology:
This research is an exploratory qualitative case study. Data were collected by focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with relevant managers in three large multinational companies based in Northern Europe, which were pursuing service-led growth.
Findings:
The effects of service infusion processes on the sales function could be seen with respect to the three parts of the analytical framework: organization, roles, and competences. The results illustrate the need for a changed perspective with respect to all three parts, if a product-based firm is to be successful in the infusing of associated services into its portfolio of offerings. Analysis of the results identifies key operational initiatives that management needs to understand and implement when corporate and marketing strategies increasingly focus on service-led growth.
Research limitations:
The study was exploratory and vendor centric, which means that it did not quantitatively assess the results or directly involve the customers at whom the services were directed. Also, the choice of business-to-business firms limits the capacity to generalize the findings.
Originality/Value:
Whereas relationship-based and value-based selling are approaches more geared to the sales-force level, the study reported in this paper set out to understand fundamental differences at the sales-function level when firms pursue service-led growth. The findings suggest that the realignment of corporate strategy towards an increased focus on services may have far-reaching implications for the sales function.

Industrial Marketing Management, 2015

Both academics and practitioners emphasize the importance for product firms of implementing servi... more Both academics and practitioners emphasize the importance for product firms of implementing service-led growth strategies. The service transition concept is well established, namely a unidirectional repositioning along a product-service continuum—from basic, product-oriented services towards more customized, process-oriented ones—ultimately leading to the provision of solutions. We challenge this service transition assumption and develop alternative ones regarding how product firms should pursue service-led growth. Using ‘problematization methodology’, and drawing on findings from thirteen system suppliers, we identify three service-led growth trajectories: (1) becoming an availability provider, which is the focus of most transition literature; (2) becoming a performance provider, which resembles project-based sales and implies an even greater differentiation of what customers are offered; and, (3) becoming an ‘industrializer’, which is about standardizing previously customized solutions to promote repeatability and scalability. Based on our critical inquiry, we develop two alternative assumptions: (a) firms need to constantly balance business expansion and standardization activities; and (b) manage the co-existence of different system supplier roles. Finally, we consider the implications for implementing service-led growth strategies of the alternative assumptions.

Industrial Marketing Management

A central question in industrial marketing is whether the form in which the external environment ... more A central question in industrial marketing is whether the form in which the external environment of a firm is represented influences the marketing strategy. This influence has been studied generally through case study research, and quantitative evidence is limited. In response to this limitation, this paper reports on a quasi-experiment investigating whether market representations have a constructive aspect in business. Empirically, this study compares two types of ostensive and performative market representations—service focus and product differentiation—in order to test for influence exacted by industrial marketing on strategies. Results indicate that service focus is selected when market representations rely on agency in firms (i.e., performative), and product strategies are selected when structures are emphasized (i.e., ostensive). This paper contributes to methodology development by expanding the link between a case study approach and quasi-experiments explaining how quasi-experiments can replicate findings in industrial marketing.

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical analysis of the literature of solutions ... more Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical analysis of the literature of solutions offerings; to provide a new conceptual framework, incorporating dimensions that can distinguish between different kinds of solutions and connect their different characteristics. Design/methodology/approach–The paper takes a critical review of the relevant literature, 28 contributions being identified in a search of three major databases and a range of other published work for the broader perspective, illustrated by real-world examples.

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 2012

Purpose – The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the interrelatedness of customer an... more Purpose – The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the interrelatedness of customer and service orientations in the organizational structures of capital goods manufacturing companies.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, multi-case research design was employed using 36 European capital goods manufacturing companies.
Findings – This article explored four different patterns of how companies move from being product-focused to service-focused, and from having an organizational structure that is geographically focused to one that is customer-focused. The four patterns are termed as follows: emphasizing service orientation, service-focused organizational structure, emphasizing customer orientation, and customer-focused organizational structure.
Research limitations/implications – Although the study is based on 36 case studies, the external validity (generalizability) of the findings could not be assessed accurately.
Practical implications – The description of the four organizational approaches offers guidance for managers to restructure their companies towards service and customer orientations.
Originality/value – The article links the relatively independent discussions of service and customer orientations in the context of organizational structures. The four patterns provide a better understanding of how capital goods manufacturers integrate increased customer and service focuses in their organizational structures.

Journal of business market management

Journal of Business Research, 2012

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing

Purpose: This study aims to extend understanding of business-to-business relationship dynamics ... more Purpose:
This study aims to extend understanding of business-to-business relationship dynamics by introducing and discussing the phenomenon of a ‘negative critical wave’ (NCW), defined as a disturbance in a relationship that emerges and develops within or beyond individual working relationships.
Design/methodology/approach:
The dynamics of working relationships in two manufacturing firms in Finland and Sweden were studied by analysing the narratives of unstructured personal interviews with 16 middle managers and 14 operational executives, who recalled experiences of relevant situations over three years, with emphasis on unexpected disturbances, challenges and problems.
Findings:
Respondents discussed 77 NCWs, the development and effect of which proved to depend upon the original ‘locus’, ‘magnitude’ and ‘amplitude’, and embedded ‘energy’. Waves could be distinguished as: ‘silent compact’, ‘silent extensive’, ‘intense compact’ or ‘intense extensive’.
Research limitations/implications:
The wave metaphor for relationships dynamics, consistent with but distinct from established notions of ‘critical time’ and ‘critical incidents’ and the associated classification system are a useful starting point for further research into the phenomenon. Though the qualitative methodology achieved richness, the small sample and restricted scope place limits on the objectivity and generalisability of the findings.
Practical implications:
The NCW framework offers strategists and managers a holistic understanding of the dynamic process of criticality, synthesising the complexities of relationship dynamics and pointing to ways in which to absorb the energy of negative waves.
Originality/value of the paper:
More is now known about the domino effects of critical incidents in internal and external business-to-business relationships.

Keywords: Business-to-business, working relationships, critical incidents, relationship dynamics, verbatim narratives.

Industrial Marketing Management, 2019

Journal of Marketing Management, 2019

Journal of Business Research, 2019

Design/methodology/approach
We examine the choice of in-house operations versus buying maintenance in the Swedish mining industry through a qualitative case study approach.

Findings
The findings reveal a strong tendency to outsource maintenance.

Research limitations/implications
This in turn has a strong influence on the firm’s capabilities and long-term competitive advantage and sustainability.

The Nordic School: Service Marketing and Management for the Future, 2015

Journal of Service Management, Apr 30, 2015

Industrial Marketing Management, 2015

Industrial Marketing Management

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 2012

Journal of business market management

Journal of Business Research, 2012

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing

Keywords: Business-to-business, working relationships, critical incidents, relationship dynamics, verbatim narratives.

In this chapter, the authors examine business model innovation driven by increased service focus.... more In this chapter, the authors examine business model innovation driven by increased service focus. In their chapter, the authors discuss the external drivers and organizational implications of shifting towards service-based business models. Driven both by competition and by new customer demands, many firms find themselves moving from their traditional business models based on, primarily, product sales towards business models based on services. As business success in this setting depends as much on such organizational rearrangements (including business model redesign) as it does on new service development, examining the organizational implications of this shift becomes crucial. Hence, the authors discuss how firms can approach and understand this change to their business models, and also how their organization can become more service-oriented in order to take advantage of the emergent opportunities inherent in this shift.