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Competitive advantage through service differentiation by manufacturing companies

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  • 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Gebauer, Heiko & Gustafsson, Anders & Witell, Lars, 2011. "Competitive advantage through service differentiation by manufacturing companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1270-1280.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:64:y:2011:i:12:p:1270-1280
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.01.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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