Outcome-based contracts (OBCs) are frequently seen as the most advanced level of service offering that product firms offer. To deliver OBCs, product firms have to shift from the traditional product business model (PBM) to adopting an outcome business model (OBM). This constitutes a major change...

Commentators suggest that to survive in developed economies manufacturing firms have to move up the value chain, innovating and creating ever more sophisticated products and services, so they do not have to compete on the basis of cost. While this strategy is proving increasingly popular with...