Pathways of development of dynamic capabilities for servitization transformation: A longitudinal multi-case study

Servitization is a transformation process requiring manufacturers to develop dynamic capabilities to support the change process and overcome emerging challenges over time. In this paper, we study pathways of development of dynamic capabilities for servitization transformation (the sequence of the development of capabilities and how they work together over time) and how they relate to servitization transformation outcomes. We do so based on six longitudinal in-depth case studies of manufacturing firms which, having departed from similar servitization maturity starting points, followed different capability development pathways in their transformation processes and achieved different outcomes. We found that successful pathways of development of capabilities for servitization transformation are associated with (1) developing (first-order) dynamic service provision capabilities sequentially, following a specific order over time and (2) developing (second-order) dynamic reconfiguring capabilities to overcome challenges and sustain the development of service provision capabilities and the transformation process. Our study contributes to the literature by providing an in-depth understanding of how the pathways of development of dynamic capabilities over time influence the outcomes of the servitization transformation process. It is one of the first studies to unveil in detail mechanisms by which different reconfiguring and service provision capabilities work together over time to facilitate the servitization transformation process.