ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors argue that, in the absence of a clear management focus on how data will create value for customers, the incumbent firm’s digital servitization journey will fail. What is required is a purposeful and coordinated effort to manage the firm’s strong and weak business relationships. Hence, it is a journey that goes beyond the individual firm and encompasses integration of resources among actors embedded within a larger structure, the service ecosystem. Incumbent firms need to recognise that going digital does not mean they can cut all of their strong “analogue” links; they need to investigate which ones will continue to be important to create value for their customers. Otherwise, the firm risks becoming data-driven but lacking any contextual competences, knowledge or skills related to solving customers’ problems. A digital servitization transformation requires maintenance of a balance between weak and strong relationships linked to creating value for – and with – customers.
