How small manufacturers can profit from going digital
Manufacturing SMEs pursuing digital services need to overhaul three areas simultaneously: technology investments, workforce skills, and partnerships with service providers. A new study identifies a roadmap for navigating this transition—and warns that misalignment in any one area will undermine value creation and competitive advantage.
Originaltitel: Navigating digital servitization in manufacturing SMEs through value propositions
<p>PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can navigate digital servitization to cocreate value propositions.Design/methodology/approachThe present exploratory study interviewed managers from 18 manufacturing SMEs holding managerial positions. The analysis started with a Gioia-inspired approach consisting of first establishing inductive first-order in vivo codes, followed by an abductive coding process based on current literature about cocreating value propositions.FindingsThe study identified three dimensions of digital servitization that manufacturing SMEs must undergo to transition to digital servitization and create value: (1) value-driven digitalization, (2) workforce-driven digitalization and (3) collaborative-driven digitalization. In these dimensions, entangled drivers and challenges related to customer demand, investments, employees and service platform providers must be addressed. A conceptual framework was developed for how manufacturing SMEs can navigate digital servitization and create value propositions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's manager-focused interviews may limit insights from an employee perspective. As employees play crucial roles as drivers and challenges in digital servitization, future research should incorporate employee interviews to gain a holistic understanding. While interviews within 18 manufacturing SMEs provide a broader perspective on navigating digital servitization to provide value propositions, they lack the depth that a single case study could offer.Originality/valueThis research advances the literature by offering insights into how manufacturing SMEs can use value propositions to navigate the three dimensions of digital servitization, including its drivers and challenges.</p>