When digital servitization pays off for manufacturing SMEs
A configurational approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21404010 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Antonios Karatzas (0000-0002-6271-9753, University of East Anglia, corresponding author), Dimitrios Dousios (University of East Anglia), Marko Bastl (0000-0003-2490-551X, Marquette University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 231 |
| Pages | 124781 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Technological Forecasting and Social Change (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0040-1625 • E-ISSN: 1873-5509 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.techfore.2026.124781 |
| OpenAlex | W7164498210 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 93 |
Servitization and digital servitization offer manufacturers fresh revenue opportunities, yet financial payoffs remain uneven, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Grounded in contingency theory, this study asks under what conditions different digital servitization business models lead to SME financial benefits, compared to more ‘traditional’ ones where digital technologies play a diminished role. We survey 361 UK manufacturing SMEs, and, using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we uncover 15 configurations of organizational factors (product and process complexity, digital maturity, service-oriented employee culture) and environmental contingencies (competitive intensity, technological turbulence, demand unpredictability) that are sufficient for superior financial performance across six business model archetypes. The findings reject a single “best” route to profitability, but demonstrate the comparative advantage of digital servitization. In line with extant literature, this study supports the idea that financial success of SMEs arises from the alignment among business model, environmental conditions, and organizational factors. Moreover, it offers actionable guidance to SME managers by emphasizing organizational levers, and suggests that policymakers should go beyond technology-focused funding, towards fostering the development of service-oriented skills and providing demand diagnostic support, thereby de-risking the digital servitization journey for SMEs
Business model · Business process · Contingency · Contingency theory · Extant taxon · Organizational structure · Process (computing) · Revenue · AI in Service Interactions · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Service and Product Innovation
Market Orientation
The impact of supply chain integration on performance
Servitization and Industry 4.0 convergence in the digital transformation of product firms
Digital servitization business models in ecosystems
Autonomous vehicle solutions and their digital servitization business models
Impact of digitalization on technological innovations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
The digital divide
Servitization and product service system
Paths toward advanced service-oriented business models
Technological orientation and organizational resilience to Covid-19
Consolidating digital servitization research
Capabilities of digital servitization
Configurational theory in business and management research
Assigning Membership in a Fuzzy Set Analysis
| Highly cited | No |
|---|