The role of service design practices in enabling and embedding the servitization transition

An increasing number of companies are embracing the transition from a product focus to a service focus in their offering in order to face the challenges of the experience economy. However such transition (i.e., servitization) is challenging, since it requires companies to change both their processes and their mindset. In this paper we propose service design practices as an effective approach for overcoming the challenges of servitization and for achieving such a multi-layered transformation. By means of expert interviews, ethnography and multiple case studies, we empirically show how service design professionals guide companies towards a sustainable adoption of service orientation and successful implementation of service innovations. Specifically, we describe and exemplify a set of practices through which service design professionals establish a service-oriented mindset, introduce a service-specific development process, and a create widespread commitment to the servitization transition.