Unfolding the digital servitization path from products to product-service-software systems : Practicing change through intentional narratives

Abstract

Manufacturers are increasingly struggling with the transition from products to product-service-software systems. Our study takes stock of the current research on servitization and digital servitization to investigate the challenging transition process from product to more complex product-service-software systems. We examine how does the digital servitization journey unfold as sayings and doings, and how do intentional narratives guide digital servitization. The present in-depth single case study spanning 8 years reveals the emergent process during the transition of a leading solution provider from servitization to digital servitization. The study uses social practices, such as managers' sayings and doings, to map the change process that unfolds first as servitization and, in a second stage, as digital servitization. Even more importantly, this study unpacks the role of intentional narratives in shaping digital servitization as a lengthy change process. For managers, this study provides a detailed depiction of the servitization and digital servitization processes, and some intentional narratives for guiding the process. Thus, the process may be challenging but perhaps manageable by using intentional narratives as a strategic practice.