Product-Service System Model Research Articles

PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEMS AS SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES TO MOBILITY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO BIKE-SHARING SYSTEMS

Product-Service Systems (PSS) have been discussed as promising business models to redirect the contemporary production and consumption patterns towards sustainability. However, the research on PSS is mostly dictated by theoretical works and more empirical investigations are needed. Additionally, empirical studies that compare PSS solutions situated in different contextual conditions are required. This paper aims at analyzing two use-oriented bike-sharing systems with sustainability potential in order to contribute to PSS empirical body of knowledge. A PSS located in a developed country and another one available in an emerging economy were selected to be investigated. A qualitative analysis was carried out considering the contextual conditions of each solution: PSS elements, sustainable business models components, and sustainability potential, based mainly on secondary data. The results confirmed that these PSS models can provide environmental, economic, and social benefits. The analysis and comparison between the solutions also demonstrated differences in both systems such as integration with other transportation modes and renewable energy usage that may affect customer acceptance and PSS sustainability performance. Customer behavior, acceptance and satisfaction need further study. Understanding the real factors that motivate customers to use a bike-sharing system in different contexts can be useful in efforts to spread its future adoption.

A conceptual framework for product service system design for machine tools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for product service system (PSS) design for machine tools and discuss the PSS implementation issues focusing on the Indian machine tool business sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for an exploratory survey conducted in the Indian machine tool sector including 39 in-depth interviews with employees of different organizations representing middle and senior management having decision-making authority. It also involves proposing a framework to address the stakeholder’s requirements for services that offers foundation for PSS designers. Findings – The paper helps get an insights about key issues for PSS implementation by the Indian machine tool sector. The hybrid PSS model proposed in the paper can address the stakeholder’s requirements for flexibility in business models through different business phases. Practical implications – The paper offers suggestions for the development of PSS for machine tools for designers and identify issues to be considered particularly in Indian machine tools business context. Originality/value – This paper provides an insight to judge the feasibility of PSS concept for machine tools in Indian context and offers framework for PSS designers.

An evaluation scheme for product–service system models: development of evaluation criteria and case studies

A product–service system (PSS) integrates products and services to fulfill customer needs and create sustainability. PSS evaluation requires the use of diverse criteria because PSSs are complex systems with multiple stakeholders and perspectives. This paper proposes an evaluation scheme for PSS models that consists of a set of 94 evaluation criteria and an evaluation procedure. The proposed set of criteria encompasses both provider and customer perspectives, all of the 3P (profitability, planet, and people) values and various PSS lifecycle phases, whereas existing studies only partially cover these aspects of PSS. The proposed set serves as an evaluation criterion repository, and users can easily identify the criteria relevant to the evaluation targets. Using the proposed set is more efficient than starting from scratch. The proposed evaluation scheme can be used either to compare different PSS models or to evaluate a single model. Case studies show that the proposed scheme can sufficiently evaluate both existing and newly launched PSS models as well as models under development. The proposed scheme is expected to serve as an efficient and effective aid for practitioners in PSS development.

Cultural Barriers to the Transition from Product to Product Service in the Medical Device Industry

Manufacturing companies are increasingly moving up the value chain by expanding their value offering to include service components, namely Product Service Systems (PSS). Due to the fundamental differences between the provision of products and services, many struggle to effectively integrate the two into a single cohesive offering. This is particularly true of companies operating in the medical device field as, due to the high level of regulatory requirements and controls, implementation of the ‘soft' components of service provision is difficult. The aim of the research is to facilitate companies to move up the value chain from product to product-service provision. Once identified, barriers can then be directly addressed and overcome, thereby allowing the development of a cohesive PSS offering. This will be achieved by identifying existing cultural barriers in relation to the application of PSS strategy within a product-orientated business. This information can be used to facilitate the application of PSS models with produc-orientated companies. This paper details qualitative research, undertaken with eight product-orientated medical device companies and two service practitioners, which establishes, details and analyses the primary cultural barriers in relation to product to product-service transition. These cultural barriers are further extrapolated through a supporting literature research.

Assessing the after-sales performance of an IT product- service company

A product-service system (PSS) can be perceived as an extension of the functionality of a physical good to which specialised services are added. IT (Information Technology) companies have operated with a PSS model in a business-to-business (B2B) context and are referred to as IT PSSs in this paper. In addition to software and hardware products, IT PSSs provide after-sales services to clients such as system operation, installation, maintenance, support, and customisation. The objective of this paper is to identify and assess the after-sales performance of an IT PSS. A medium-sized IT company located in an emerging economy facing global competition was studied. The Analytic Hierarchy Method (AHP) was used to assess the relative importance of after-sales dimensions. The company develops and sells IT management software. Some services are associated with the software offerings: system maintenance, management of the client company’s IT management software, and customisations. The after-sales performance was 54.5%. The dimensions ‘Installation’, ‘Training’ and ‘Support for use’ have the highest relative importance and highest gaps. These results suggest that initial improvement actions should focus on these dimensions. The proposed method of assessing after-sales performance may be adapted to other companies and applications. Key words: After-sales, product-service system, IT companies.

Five Models of Platform-type Product Service Systems in Manufacturing

This study proposes five kinds of game theoretic models of platform-type product service systems considering manufacturing viewpoints. Recently, manufacturing industries face a strong trend towards servicizing. One possible solution to manufacturer's servicizing is a fusional framework incorporating products and services. Such a fusional product service system is able to enhance product functionality and consumers’ satisfaction by constructing appropriate formation of them. Along with this background, our preceding study presented categorization of actual business and three basic models, especially focusing on platform-type business like smart phones, online music stores and electronic books (Nishino et al., 2012). The current study presents an extension of the models and conducts its game-theoretic analysis. Constructing five kinds of platform-type product service system models, the present study derives the theoretical equilibrium of each model. Then we discuss the characteristics of each model and manufacturers’ strategy in platform-type business.

An Investigation of Product Service System Models

With an increasingly competitive global market, cost, quality, and technology leadership are no longer sufficient for businesses to secure competitive advantage. Customers are increasingly demanding product and service combinations which can be tailored to their specific needs. This is known as Product Service Systems (PSS). PSS allows companies to move up the value chain and focus on delivering knowledge intensive products and services and provide highly customizable product/ service bundles. Due to the inherent differences between products and services, many companies fail to integrate the two effectively and didn’t successfully exploit the potential of an extended service business model. This paper discusses two research based PSS models and PSS models developed through industrial application and feedback. Similarities and differences will be explored, discussed and rationalised in order to gain an understanding of the variations in PSS design approaches.

Towards product-service systems modelling: a quest for dynamic behaviour and model parameters

The product-service system (PSS) is an emerging manufacturing paradigm embracing the increased value of offering through the integration of products and services as a basis of competitive strategy. The PSS has various characteristics beyond the traditional product-selling businesses as a result of intense customer interactions and increased service levels. These interactions can further trigger the dynamic behaviour of the system and consequently can cause uncertainties across the whole network of manufacturers and customers. The work described in this paper is part of a research project whose overall goal is to provide the manufacturing system designers with better decision making capabilities to effectively shift their manufacturing businesses from product selling to PSS offering. In particular, this paper aims to capture typical characteristics exhibited by manufacturers who have adopted PSS, to better understand their dynamic behaviour, to have appreciation of the existing techniques and tools for modelling PSS, and ultimately to search for PSS model parameters. The main contribution of this paper is the collation of key model parameters that should be considered for an effective PSS modelling. The paper also identifies strengths and weaknesses within the existing PSS modelling work, and highlights the opportunities for future research agenda.

Barrier analysis for product service system using interpretive structural model

Product service system (PSS) has recently been proposed as a business model. The PSS model requires adjustments of not only internal company technology but also maintenance, service, and supply chain management of up- and downstream suppliers. The implementation of PSS faces a number of challenges. This paper focuses on the challenges in maintenance and remanufacturing. Implementation barriers were identified through a comprehensive literature review followed by expert confirmation. The complex relationships among these barriers were determined through expert panel discussion. Interpretive structural modeling is then used to partition the barriers into a hierarchical structure to facilitate strategic analysis. Results of the analysis were summarized to provide guidelines for PSS implementation.