Place leadership in emerging product-service systems

Abstract

Some manufacturing systems are entering trajectories of territorial servitisation. In such cases, traditional business actors might be replaced by new ones, such as the providers of knowledge intensive business services. The dis-alignment of interests between traditional firms and the new entrants increases the risks of high transaction costs. Here, an appropriate place leadership would play an important role and trigger territorial servitisation trajectories. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that seeks to unveil how different types of place leadership could support territorial servitisation processes and contribute to achieve sustainable (effective) product-service system configurations. An open place leadership would support strong territorial servitisation opportunities and coordinated solutions among conflictual views and interests. If instead place leadership is weak or based on a closed club of private interests, weak or unstable trajectories amid lock-ins and impending decline become more probable.