Beyond efficiency: Revisiting AI platforms, servitization and power relations from a critical perspective

This study examines the evolving power dynamics within servitization ecosystems, and especially the role of AI platform providers in them. Drawing on French and Raven's (1959) bases of power, as well as resource dependence theory, we propose a conceptual model that shows how AI providers centralize control and reshape power relations. As AI integrates into servitization, providers leverage informational and expert power through data management and algorithmic expertise, alongside legitimate and referent power, to influence behaviours, promote risk-taking, foster dependency, and establish themselves as central authorities setting standards and norms. They further exploit coercive and reward power to impose conditions and offer incentives that deepen platform reliance, ultimately dominating the ecosystem and establishing a quasi-monopolistic position. We enrich the servitization literature by challenging the prevailing view that AI adoption benefits downstream manufacturers.