Servitization Challenges : exploring the business-to-consumer context

Abstract: Many firms are transitioning from being a classic goods-focused company to becoming a solutions provider, a phenomenon called servitization. Evolving towards a service focus entails several challenges that need to be addressed in order to benefit from the opportunities that servitization entails. As most servitization research has focused on business-to- business contexts, this thesis applies servitization literature in a business-to- consumer context. By examining the challenges in a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews and observations within three automobile dealerships selling premium brands, this thesis aims to further enrich the understanding of the phenomenon servitization by comparing the collected data with previously researched challenges. The thesis concludes that many of the challenges, such as creating integrated solutions, adequately charging for services and manage internal resistance, could be viable in a business-to- consumer context.