| Popis: |
In highly competitive markets, product-centric businesses often seek to differentiate from competitors by including services into their core offering. In literature, this is described as servitization, and has been widely researched. Nonetheless, there is still ambiguity in when different services should be provided, and what forms the basis for these. Consequently, the authors of this thesis identified a need for clarification on when- and how servitization can be applied. Hence, this explorative study investigated how servitization could be applied by a rental company operating in the construction industry, in order to gain competitive advantage and address customer needs. This thesis used a qualitative approach, and collected primary data from two different perspectives, namely customers- and salespeople, by the use of semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Empirical findings reveal customer needs in the market, and market circumstances that constitute a paradox for servitizing rental companies in the construction industry. The conclusions drawn from this paradox contributes to understanding that market circumstances affect when- and how servitization should be applied. Additionally, the conclusions contribute to alternative ways to use services- and achieve competitive advantages for rental companies in the construction industry. |
