Internet of Equipment : Enhancing customer value and experience

Abstract: Background: Organizations are continuously challenged to create differentiated customer value and experience to increase profitability and gain competitive advantage. At the same time, the fast-paced advancement of technologies provides the opportunity to the organizations to create a differentiated customer value by offering innovative products and services. Internet of things (IoTs) is one such emerging technology that brings within itself opportunities and challenges to be addressed. However, so far research has not sufficiently followed how the utilization of IoTs can enhance customer value and experience. Purpose: The purpose of conducting this study is to explore how the utilization of IoTs enhance customer value and experience in an equipment manufacturers context and what are the associated opportunities and challenges. The study also aims to contribute to gap identified in the literature about how organizations can utilize IoTs to enhance customer value and experience. Method: The qualitative study utilized a single instrumental case study to explore the research questions. The data is collected by conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews. Conclusion: The study reveals that the utilization of IoTs can significantly improve customer value and experience in many ways. This may involve enabling user to monitor, control and optimally use the equipment, sharing useful information, allowing value co-creation and synergistic values and finally by providing autonomous equipment’s or solutions. However, the study also reveals that the utilization of IoTs also pose certain challenges along with the opportunities which must be carefully evaluated.