Abstract
How to turn a traditional product into a service? How to equip the existing
physical medium with differentiating features? Why do we need complementary
services to an already seemingly efficient product? These and many more are the
questions that concern the area of Technology-Service Management - the field, that
primarily deals with the idea of developing and implementing technology for the sake
of creating a service-shaped value out of it.
In this chapter, we will become familiar with the ever-evolving definition of
servitization and understand why innovative firms are interested in pursuing this
strategy. Subsequently, the chapter will introduce two necessary frameworks for
identifying the need for servitization - namely, the Gap Model of Service Quality and
ServQual. Finally, we will explore three types of Product-Service Systems (PSS)
through the case studies of the recent servitization trends.