This study draws on an extensive survey and interview data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were executives of industrials firms whose factories, warehouses, and headquarters are located in Northern Italy. This is undoubtedly the European region first and most extensively affected by the pandemic, and the government implemented radical lockdown measures, banning nonessential travel and mandating the shutdown of all nonessential businesses. Several major effects on both product and service businesses are highlighted, including the disruption of field-service operations and supply networks. This study also highlights the increased importance of servitization business models and the acceleration of digital transformation and advanced services. To help firms navigate through the crisis and be better positioned after the pandemic, the authors present a four-stage crisis management model (calamity, quick & dirty, restart, and adapt), which provides insights and critical actions that should be taken to cope with the expected short and long-term implications of the crisis. Finally, this study discusses how servitization can enhance resilience for future crises—providing a set of indicators on the presumed role of, and impact on, service operations in relation to what executives expect to be the “next normal.”

The paper proposes a model for assessing the maturity of new service development (NSD) processes in manufacturing companies that offer product-services. The model adopts a five-stage scale on which key elements are evaluated according to the following dimensions: (1) the approach used to manage processes and projects (2) the use of specific resources, skills and tools (3) the involvement of customers, suppliers and other stakeholders and (4) the adoption of performance management systems. An empirical application of the model was carried out based on an inter-company workshop and in-depth interviews. Such a model allows not only to describe the maturity of NSD processes of a company but also to identify the main gaps and to prioritize improvement actions.

This paper presents the strategies used by manufacturing companies to price service offerings. After reviewing the extant literature on this subject, the paper forwards propositions that are relevant to illustrate the relationships between servitization, pricing strategies, bundling options, revenue models and pricing capabilities. Using multiple case-based research, this study makes three contributions to the literature on servitization of manufacturing firms. It extensively explores the relationship between servitization and pricing practices, it suggests which factors can moderate this relationship and it examines the capabilities demanded to the firm to introduce innovative pricing practices.

Purpose: This paper presents a model aiming to identify the factors influencing the adoption of augmented reality (AR) for industrial services.Design/methodology/approach: The study combines a literature analysis with an empirical study conducted exploring how five large industrial companies are introducing AR for supporting the provision of technical assistance and industrial services to their installed base.Findings: The authors identify four categories (task, workforce, context and technology) that combine 18 factors that manufacturing companies should consider when introducing AR technology to support industrial services.Originality/value: This paper systematises the fragmented literature on technology adoption and in particular those works related to the factors affecting the adoption of AR in industrial services. Based on literature and empirical evidence, the authors propose a novel framework that can help companies in the selection of AR solution based on their specific applications and situations. This study therefore contributes also to the existing literature on the adoption of I4.0 and digital technologies in industrial services.