Towards solution based thinking : characteristics of servitization at Hungarian manufacturing companies

The main purpose of the article is to describe the servitization process of Hungarian manufacturing companies based on data of the Hungarian Competitiveness research. Servitization aims at supplying a bundle of products and services that offers complete solutions for customers. In this paper we analyze to what extent characteristics of servitization in developed countries are also applicable in a developing macro-environment, i.e. in Hungary. Results of our analysis show that, generally, Hungarian manufacturing companies do not place strategic emphasis on services. Nevertheless, our sample contains a number of manufacturing companies that have taken actions to servitize both on strategic and operational level. However, in case of these companies financial benefits attributable to higher levels of servitization do not yet seem to materialize.