Servitization Process Analysis: A Case Study of Automotive Headrest Manufacturing

Abstract

Few papers have dealt with the process of servitization at the firm level. There has been a particular lack of research in manufacturing. Business model innovation through convergence between products and services is an indispensable aspect of a firm’s sustainable strategy. The current paper analyzes servitization as a process innovation by performing a single case study of a manufacturing firm. Extending product value, or servitization, is an archetype of business model innovation. To investigate and identify the real problem through so-called service development in a product-service system, we utilized a single case of a headrest in a car seat. Based on study findings, this paper proposes that a product-service system could be classified into three steps: (1) understanding and discovering the service; (2) discovering service conceptualization and developing a scenario phase; and (3) service prototyping and marketization using an infusion of technological utilities. We argue that the process of servitization can be regarded as one of the processes of service design, which is a process of value creation that comes from the synchronization of customer empathy.