Exploring the managerial dilemmas encountered by advanced analytical equipment providers in developing service-led growth strategies

This paper examines the dilemmas encountered by manufacturers of advanced analytical equipment in developing service-led growth strategies to expand their business in pursuit of more attractive revenue models. It does so by adopting a case-based research approach. The findings detail the challenges faced in providing advanced services to customers’ R&D functions, while simultaneously attempting to scale up these services for a production context. The emergent complexities of operating in multiple arenas in order to explore and exploit technologies in different contexts—along the three trajectories of serviceability, scalability and solutions—with a view to expanding markets and developing solution-based business models, are discussed. It is argued that manufacturers of analytical equipment encounter certain dilemmas, as managing the different trajectories involves different needs in the technological sophistication of equipment. This does not necessarily mean that one context is less complex than the other, but rather suggests that the role of integration is qualitatively different and that the relationship between product and service varies when developing solutions in these different arenas.