Failed culture change aimed at more service provision: a test of three agentic factors

Exploring the root causes of servitization challenges: an organisational boundary perspective

Purpose

This paper explains how servitization disrupts long-established internal and external boundaries of product-focused manufacturers and investigates the root causes of servitization challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw from the collective experiences of 20 senior executives from ten multinational manufacturers involved in servitization, using a multiple case study approach, and employ a codebook thematic analysis technique.

Findings

The authors develop an integrative framework based on the theoretical notions of power, competency and identity boundaries to offer insights into the root causes of various servitization-related challenges.

Research limitations/implications

Although the extant literature discusses servitization challenges, it does not examine the underlying root causes that create them in the first place. This study contributes to the extant research by establishing rational links between organisational boundaries (internal and external) and servitization challenges in the interest of building a coherent and systematically integrated body of theory that can be successfully applied and built upon by future research.

Practical implications

This study provides a foundation for managers to recognise, anticipate and systematically manage various boundary-related challenges triggered by servitization.

Originality/value

It is one of the first studies to employ the concept of organisational boundary to understand the challenges created by servitization and to account for both internal (between different functions of the same organisation) and external boundaries (between an organisation and its external stakeholders) to establish a holistic understanding of the impacts of servitization on manufacturers.

Testing the readiness of an organisational culture profile to a TQM implementation

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply an existing theoretical model of organisational culture contextualised for total quality management (TQM) as a means of assessing the readiness for implementing TQM in the workplace. The “Amalgamated Model” is a hybrid that encapsulates organisational culture traits and their relative contribution as indictors of effective TQM implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire that would test the theoretical model was devised and administered to a sample population in a production facility located in Central Europe, Organisation X.

Findings

A profile of the organisation was derived which revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation in relation to the cultural traits of the theoretical model.

Research limitations/implications

The research population comprised management/supervisory staff only and thus provides a partial view of Organisation X.

Practical implications

For practitioners, particularly those who specialise in quality management, the practical implications of this research are twofold: first, it provides insights into aspects of organisational culture and TQM implementation; and second, it demonstrates how a theoretical framework may be applied in the workplace to assess readiness for TQM implementation.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the subject area body of knowledge by applying a recent theoretical model to assess readiness for implementing TQM.