What's in it for the Provider? The Case of a Telecom Vendor's Value Capturing from the Transition to Product-Service Systems

Abstract

In adopting highly integrated Product-Service Systems (PSS), incentive structures change and the value attainable for providers throughout the lifecycle becomes an issue of growing complexity. Nonetheless, value for PSS providers has up to now not been considered in a multidimensional fashion. In an effort to move towards a characterization of provider's value, an offering in the information communication technology sector was examined through an investigation with ten staff-members of Ericsson, Sweden. This led to a value-categorization, which can be utilized in the PSS design process to enhance the value captured throughout the lifecycle beyond immediate monetary benefit. In an effort to provide general learnings, the results are discussed with a focus on PSS business models, PSS design and management communication. Overall, the results presented provide a more comprehensive picture of what a provider has to gain from a PSS offering throughout its entire lifecycle.