Exploring the interrelationship among patterns of service strategy changes and organizational design elements

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the patterns of service strategy changes in manufacturing firms and indicates how each pattern is interrelated with modifications in organizational design elements. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a longitudinal study using a survey of 97 manufacturers of capital goods. In addition, 15 case studies have been conducted. Survey and qualitative data are obtained in 1997, 2001, and 2004. Findings – The findings highlight four patterns of service strategy changes: from customer service strategy to after‐sales service provider, from after‐sales service provider to customer‐support service provider, from customer‐support service provider to development partner, and from customer‐support service provider to the outsourcing partner. Evidence of specific alignment between service strategy and organizational design elements is provided. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this paper is the purposive sample. Practical implications – Managers should follow the patterns of service strategy changes by extending the service offerings and modifying the organizational design elements. Originality/value – Previous studies investigate service strategies and organizational design elements only at a specific time, which leads to a static perspective. This paper offers insights into interrelations among service strategy changes and organizational design elements.