Configuring Capabilitites for Integrated Solutions: Evidence from the IT Sector


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Abstract

In an increasing number of industrial sectors, there is an emerging trend towards integrated solutions: the provision of bundled services and products sold together (Galbraith, 2002; Oliva and Kallenberg, 2003). Firms that offer integrated solutions shift their core capabilities from manufacturing to new capabilities to provide services previously carried out by business users.  They also develop coordinative capabilities required to manage new types of long-term relationships with suppliers and customers, and develop embedded service technologies required to support integrated solutions provision.

 

The aim of this paper is to explore the capabilities required to offer integrated solutions and to identify which factors drive capability configuration in the information technology (IT) sector. The contributions of this paper are two: (a) the development of a preliminary taxonomy of capabilities required to offer integrated solutions in the IT sector and (b) analysis of the factors that lead to differences in capabilities configuration across firms.  An analysis of a set of 10 cases, analysed trough two theoretical lenses: resource based view and contingency approach, allows us to identify clusters of firms that present similarities in the configuration of capabilities developed to offer integrated solutions.

 

Contact information:  

Dr.ir. J.C.M. van den Ende

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