Using a business game concept to enhance servitization: a longitudinal case study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential benefits of a business game on customers' business in enhancing servitization. The concept is proposed to be helpful in the phases of defining the servitization initiative and gaining shared understanding about it at a manufacturer. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on a longitudinal case study at a manufacturer (2003-2008), with a focus on the business game concept on customers' business. The researchers and approximately 140 company representatives contributed to both early and later phases of the development of the concept. Findings - The business game concept appeared to serve the purpose of generating and sharing ideas about the customers' business and the desired role of the OEM in it, as a potential outcome of servitization. The concept synthesizes the previously fragmented customer awareness across the business units and,provides useful information for various stakeholders. The presence of personnel across the different business units and from a key customer company in the game events enabled new types of discussion related to the servitization initiative. Research limitations/implications - The concept presented in this paper represents a potential tool for enhancing a servitization initiative. Due to the limitations of the case, the findings are tentative and primarily transferrable to contexts where a manufacturer provides machinery for industrial production. Moreover, the ability of the concept to capture real-life customer values is critical for success and thus should be carefully examined. Originality/value - The case study enables an in-depth view of the phenomena under examination. Moreover, due to the researchers' interventions in developing and using the concept, they observed actual processes of overcoming the challenges of servitization.