Business models along supply chain position and servitisation: An empirical investigation of European manufacturers

Abstract

Competitive pressures of the world economy are continuously reshaping the global supply chains of manufacturing firms. At the same time, global competition is altering the nature of output offered by manufacturers, shifting it towards a higher share of service elements. The goal of this paper is to investigate how these two factors are combined, using a sample of manufacturing companies from 13 European countries belonging to the assembly industries of fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment. The results indicate that different business models became dominant in the less developed Eastern European and the developed Western European region. Involving measures of business performance and reasons for plant location, this study also argues that in terms of service offerings and supply chain position, other types of business models can coexist and successfully prevail in the two regions.