IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rej/journl/v23y2020i75p38-69.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Creating Effective Customer Solutions – a Global Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Alina Neamtu (Idorasi)
  • Stelian Stancu
  • Gheorghe Hurduzeu

Abstract

Globalization is changing the rules of how to achieve long-term success by companies in their pursuit to meet growing customer requirements spanning various industries from manufacturing and retail to public sector. Traditional focus on simple stand-alone products or services aiming for low cost or product performance is over-ruled by the increasing demand for designing and offering customer solutions. They are defined in the extant literature as a combination of goods and services designed to satisfy the business needs of a customer. To consider the shift towards developing, selling and implementing effective customer solutions, the firms must transform many aspects of their business. The challenges they are facing are discussed in this paper by conducting an empirical research study within the Romanian IT industry and concluding that the contextual dimension must be considered in order to capture the complexity of integrated solutions agenda for both scholars and practitioners.

Suggested Citation

  • Alina Neamtu (Idorasi) & Stelian Stancu & Gheorghe Hurduzeu, 2020. "Creating Effective Customer Solutions – a Global Perspective," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 23(75), pages 38-69, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:rej:journl:v:23:y:2020:i:75:p:38-69
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.rejournal.eu/sites/rejournal.versatech.ro/files/articole/2020-04-03/3594/3stancu.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vandermerwe, Sandra & Rada, Juan, 1988. "Servitization of business: Adding value by adding services," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 314-324, December.
    2. Paul C. Godfrey & Charles W. L. Hill, 1995. "The problem of unobservables in strategic management research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(7), pages 519-533.
    3. Miller, Danny & Hope, Quentin & Eisenstat, Russell & Foote, Nathaniel & Galbraith, Jay, 2002. "The problem of solutions: Balancing clients and capabilities," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 3-12.
    4. Coyne, Kevin P., 1986. "Sustainable competitive advantage--What it is, what it isn't," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 54-61.
    5. Ferdinand Burianek & Sebastian Bonnemeier & Ralf Reichwald, 2011. "Creating Effective Customer Solutions: A Process-Oriented Perspective," International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology (IJSSMET), IGI Global, vol. 2(1), pages 15-29, January.
    6. Spiller, Pablo T & Zelner, Bennet A, 1997. "Product Complementarities, Capabilities and Governance: A Dynamic Transaction Cost Perspective," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 6(3), pages 561-594, September.
    7. Arnold Tukker, 2004. "Eight types of product–service system: eight ways to sustainability? Experiences from SusProNet," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 246-260, July.
    8. Andrea Masini & Frederica Ceci, 2011. "Balancing specialized and generic capabilities in the provision of integrated solutions," Post-Print hal-00575630, HAL.
    9. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    10. Federica Ceci & Andrea Masini, 2011. "Balancing specialized and generic capabilities in the provision of integrated solutions," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 20(1), pages 91-131, February.
    11. Sheth, Jagdish N. & Parvatiyar, Atul, 1995. "The evolution of relationship marketing," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 397-418.
    12. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    13. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    14. S.A. Lippman & R.P. Rumelt, 1982. "Uncertain Imitability: An Analysis of Interfirm Differences in Efficiency under Competition," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 418-438, Autumn.
    15. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    16. Lee Cronbach, 1951. "Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 16(3), pages 297-334, September.
    17. Masini, Andrea & Ceci , Federica, 2013. "Specialized Capabilities in Integrated Solutions: The Role of Fit," HEC Research Papers Series 1071, HEC Paris.
    18. Michael J. Rouse & Urs S. Daellenbach, 1999. "Rethinking research methods for the resource‐based perspective: isolating sources of sustainable competitive advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(5), pages 487-494, May.
    19. Davies, Andrew & Brady, Tim, 2000. "Organisational capabilities and learning in complex product systems: towards repeatable solutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 931-953, August.
    20. Christine Oliver, 1997. "Sustainable competitive advantage: combining institutional and resource‐based views," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(9), pages 697-713, October.
    21. Scott L. Newbert, 2007. "Empirical research on the resource‐based view of the firm: an assessment and suggestions for future research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 121-146, February.
    22. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    23. Wolfgang Ulaga & Werner Reinartz, 2011. "Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully," Post-Print hal-00642039, HAL.
    24. Andrew Davies, 2004. "Moving base into high-value integrated solutions: a value stream approach," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(5), pages 727-756, October.
    25. Ceci , Federica & Masini , Andrea, 2013. "Balancing Specialized and Generic Capabilities in the Provision of Integrated Solutions," HEC Research Papers Series 972, HEC Paris.
    26. Federica Ceci & Andrea Masini, 2013. "Specialised capabilities in integrated solutions: the role of fit," International Journal of Business and Systems Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(4), pages 395-411.
    27. Ng, Irene C.L. & Maull, Roger & Yip, Nick, 2009. "Outcome-based contracts as a driver for systems thinking and service-dominant logic in service science: Evidence from the defence industry," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 377-387, December.
    28. Federica Ceci & Andrea Prencipe, 2008. "Configuring Capabilities for Integrated Solutions: Evidence from the IT Sector," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 277-296.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alina Neamtu Idorasi & Stelian Stancu & Oana Madalina Popescu & Ionut Constantin, 2019. "The customer perspective – an effective and efficient way to differentiate for companies in the globalization era," Manager Journal, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 30(1), pages 31-51, December.
    2. Oana Madalina Popescu & Stelian Stancu & Alina Neamtu Idorasi & Paul Marinescu, 2019. "Customer solutions – new sources of sustainable competitive advantage in times of global economic crisis," Manager Journal, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 30(1), pages 7-30, December.
    3. Li, Ai Qiang & Kumar, Maneesh & Claes, Björn & Found, Pauline, 2020. "The state-of-the-art of the theory on Product-Service Systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    4. Siri Jagstedt & Magnus Persson, 2019. "Using Platform Strategies In The Development Of Integrated Product-Service Solutions," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(04), pages 1-36, May.
    5. Aurélien Acquier & Cédric Dalmasso, 2009. "Vers une approche dynamique de la théorie des ressources. Le cas de l'internationalisation des ressources d'ingénierie chez un constructeur automobile," Post-Print hal-03698877, HAL.
    6. Chirumalla, Koteshwar & Leoni, Luna & Oghazi, Pejvak, 2023. "Moving from servitization to digital servitization: Identifying the required dynamic capabilities and related microfoundations to facilitate the transition," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    7. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    8. Nayak, Bishwajit & Bhattacharyya, Som Sekhar & Krishnamoorthy, Bala, 2022. "Exploring the black box of competitive advantage – An integrated bibliometric and chronological literature review approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 964-982.
    9. Dannenbaum, Judith & Edinger-Schons, Laura Marie & Rese, Mario & Plötner, Olaf & Wieseke, Jan, 2020. "What Does it Take to Successfully Implement a Hybrid Offering Strategy? A Contingency Perspective," SMR - Journal of Service Management Research, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 4(2-3), pages 100-120.
    10. Zhang, Yucheng & Hou, Zhongwei & Yang, Feifei & Yang, Miles M. & Wang, Zhiling, 2021. "Discovering the evolution of resource-based theory: Science mapping based on bibliometric analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 500-516.
    11. Patnaik, Swetketu & Munjal, Surender & Varma, Arup & Sinha, Sujay, 2022. "Extending the resource-based view through the lens of the institution-based view: A longitudinal case study of an Indian higher educational institution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 124-141.
    12. Aurélien Acquier & Cedric Dalmasso, 2013. "Combining Strategic Agility and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: the need for Resource Sensitivity," Post-Print hal-01487685, HAL.
    13. Ornella Benedettini, 2022. "Structuring Servitization-Related Capabilities: A Data-Driven Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, May.
    14. Mohamed Mansouri & Cheklekbire Malainine & Hayat Souti & Ikram Cadimi, 2022. "Dynamic capabilities, competitiveness and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises: a systematic literature review [Capacités dynamiques, compétitivité et performance des petites et moyenn," Post-Print hal-03794567, HAL.
    15. Reuter, Ute, 2011. "Der ressourcenbasierte Ansatz als theoretischer Bezugsrahmen: Grundlagen, Theoriebausteine und Prozessorientierung," Research Papers on Innovation, Services and Technology 3/2011, University of Stuttgart, Institute of Business Administration, Department I - Institute of Research & Development and Innovation Management.
    16. Jovanovic, Marin & Raja, Jawwad Z. & Visnjic, Ivanka & Wiengarten, Frank, 2019. "Paths to service capability development for servitization: Examining an internal service ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 472-485.
    17. Busby, J.S., 2019. "The co-evolution of competition and parasitism in the resource-based view: A risk model of product counterfeiting," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(1), pages 300-313.
    18. Wu, Lei-Yu, 2010. "Applicability of the resource-based and dynamic-capability views under environmental volatility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 27-31, January.
    19. Wójcik Piotr, 2015. "Exploring Links Between Dynamic Capabilities Perspective and Resource-Based View: A Literature Overview," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 45(1), pages 83-107, March.
    20. Dixit, M. R. & Sharma, Sunil & Karna, Amit, 2007. "Role of ‘corporate persistence’ and ‘environmental support’ in building breakthrough capability: Empirical investigation of Samsung’s initiatives in memory and microwave oven business," IIMA Working Papers WP2007-10-04, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    customer solutions; value co-creation;

    JEL classification:

    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rej:journl:v:23:y:2020:i:75:p:38-69. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Radu Lupu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/frasero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.