As product markets mature, firms are increasingly offering industrial services, in order to differentiate themselves and remain competitive. The general strategic view emerging from the services literature is that service infusion in manufacturing industries takes a somewhat unidirectional path...

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the rationale for choice of suppliers and the influence these decisions have on the firm's capabilities.Design/methodology/approach– The authors examine the choice of in-house operations vs buying maintenance in the Swedish mining industry...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the rationale for choice of suppliers and the influence these decisions have on the firm’s capabilities. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the choice of in-house operations vs buying maintenance in the Swedish mining...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper 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....

Purpose – Despite the increased focus on industrial services in manufacturing companies, little research to date has focused on understanding the roles of local and central organizations in global service management. In order to address this research gap, the paper aims to investigate how...

Purpose – Information and communication technology (ICT) is a key enabler for new product‐ and process‐oriented services. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how ICT can enable service differentiation and, in doing so, act as a catalyst for a service business orientation....