Digital Servitization Business Model Innovation Practices for Corporate Decarbonization in Manufacturing Enterprises: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The global shift toward decarbonization and the rise of the digital economy are compelling manufacturing firms to undergo a complex twin transformation across their structures, operations, and value chains. Business model innovation (BMI), especially in digital servitization (DSBMI), emerges as a crucial catalyst in facilitating this change. However, there is a lack of systematic exploration of how DSBMI influences corporate decarbonization (CD). To fill this knowledge gap, a comprehensive qualitative meta-analysis of 27 case studies was conducted, identifying multiple DSBMI practices for CD employed by industrial firms. These practices can be summarized into three main types: efficiency DSBMI, novelty DSBMI, and convergent DSBMI. A system has at least two of these, while all three may coexist. Based on dynamic capabilities theory, this study also introduces six roles for the three types of DSBMI practices, which interact to help firms sense opportunities, seize them through BMI, and transform their operations and ecosystems—collectively enabling decarbonization through internal optimization (efficiency DSBMI), downstream innovation (novelty DSBMI), and value chain-wide cooperation (convergent DSBMI). The findings offer a comprehensive theoretical framework that guides companies to achieve economic benefits while advancing their CD goals through multi-level BMI strategies. Finally, the study discusses its limitations and proposes directions for future research.