Table 3 Summary of the potential... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Summary of the potential research questions for the application of fsQCA and experiments in future servitization research

	fsQCA	Experiments (FER = field experiment with true randomization, NFE = natural (quasi-) field experiment without randomization SER = scenario-based laboratory/online experiment with true randomization)
Service offerings	Are there specific organizational, relationship, network or industry conditions that make the adoption or delivery of specific service offering types more effective? Are there specific internal or external conditions under which different service offering types become more challenging, risky or unprofitable to develop or deliver?	Does the range or diversity of service offerings have differential performance, cost, and/or risk implications, or does a focus on one specific service offering type improve efficiency, profitability and reputation (NFE) Are there differences between customer perceptions of customized versus modular service offerings or internally vs externally integrated service offerings (FER, SER)?
Strategy and structure	What are the conditions that make internal or external servitization strategies superior, and do similar conditions hold true in developed and developing countries or in mature and emerging industries? What are the key internal and external conditions that favor different organizational structures for servitization?	Does the adoption of incremental vs radical or internal versus external service growth strategies elicit different customer risk perceptions (NFE)? Does integrating vs separating service and product units influence customer perceptions in terms of reputation, credibility, or trust or does the use of service specialists versus generalists improve customer satisfaction or other customer outcomes (NFE, SER)?
Motivations and performance	Under what conditions is service bundling or de-bundling a superior pricing strategy? Which individual and organizational conditions are necessary to facilitate the profitability and customer acceptance of new service pricing?	Does customer willingness-to-pay or price fairness perceptions differ between different service offerings or pricing models and, if so, what are the key drivers and potential thresholds for different pricing levels (FER, SER)? How do specific service pricing communication or framing strategies influence customer acceptance and/or fairness perceptions of different service offerings (FER, SE)?
Resources and capabilities	What are the different supplier, customer, and network resource and capability configurations that drive successful servitization efforts in different situations? Are there specific conditions that drive the choice of “make or buy” decisions for different resources and capabilities at different firm boundaries?	Does the internal development or external acquisition of specific resources or capabilities improve servitization outcomes and, if so, are there differences between various service offering types (NFE)? Do specific customer or network resources and capabilities facilitate or hinder servitization and, if so, are they dependent on a specific customer resource integration style, effort or network position (NFE)?
Service development, sales, and delivery	Under what conditions do service-centered innovation, sales and delivery processes lead to superior outcomes? Which internal and external conditions make vendor and customer organizations more (or less) receptive to value-based service selling approaches? Which supplier, customer, or network conditions influence the success of service delivery and deployment over products?	Do product and service customers react differently to specific types of sales arguments and/or do specific sales arguments resonate differently to customer decision-makers in different functional roles or departments (FER, SER)? Do specific service delivery styles improve customer satisfaction, perceived value, and/or contract renewal (FER, SER)? Does the automation or digitalization of service delivery improve operational and relational outcomes equally well, or are there potential tradeoffs (FER, SER)?

	fsQCA	Experiments (FER = field experiment with true randomization, NFE = natural (quasi-) field experiment without randomization SER = scenario-based laboratory/online experiment with true randomization)
Service offerings	Are there specific organizational, relationship, network or industry conditions that make the adoption or delivery of specific service offering types more effective? Are there specific internal or external conditions under which different service offering types become more challenging, risky or unprofitable to develop or deliver?	Does the range or diversity of service offerings have differential performance, cost, and/or risk implications, or does a focus on one specific service offering type improve efficiency, profitability and reputation (NFE) Are there differences between customer perceptions of customized versus modular service offerings or internally vs externally integrated service offerings (FER, SER)?
Strategy and structure	What are the conditions that make internal or external servitization strategies superior, and do similar conditions hold true in developed and developing countries or in mature and emerging industries? What are the key internal and external conditions that favor different organizational structures for servitization?	Does the adoption of incremental vs radical or internal versus external service growth strategies elicit different customer risk perceptions (NFE)? Does integrating vs separating service and product units influence customer perceptions in terms of reputation, credibility, or trust or does the use of service specialists versus generalists improve customer satisfaction or other customer outcomes (NFE, SER)?
Motivations and performance	Under what conditions is service bundling or de-bundling a superior pricing strategy? Which individual and organizational conditions are necessary to facilitate the profitability and customer acceptance of new service pricing?	Does customer willingness-to-pay or price fairness perceptions differ between different service offerings or pricing models and, if so, what are the key drivers and potential thresholds for different pricing levels (FER, SER)? How do specific service pricing communication or framing strategies influence customer acceptance and/or fairness perceptions of different service offerings (FER, SE)?
Resources and capabilities	What are the different supplier, customer, and network resource and capability configurations that drive successful servitization efforts in different situations? Are there specific conditions that drive the choice of “make or buy” decisions for different resources and capabilities at different firm boundaries?	Does the internal development or external acquisition of specific resources or capabilities improve servitization outcomes and, if so, are there differences between various service offering types (NFE)? Do specific customer or network resources and capabilities facilitate or hinder servitization and, if so, are they dependent on a specific customer resource integration style, effort or network position (NFE)?
Service development, sales, and delivery	Under what conditions do service-centered innovation, sales and delivery processes lead to superior outcomes? Which internal and external conditions make vendor and customer organizations more (or less) receptive to value-based service selling approaches? Which supplier, customer, or network conditions influence the success of service delivery and deployment over products?	Do product and service customers react differently to specific types of sales arguments and/or do specific sales arguments resonate differently to customer decision-makers in different functional roles or departments (FER, SER)? Do specific service delivery styles improve customer satisfaction, perceived value, and/or contract renewal (FER, SER)? Does the automation or digitalization of service delivery improve operational and relational outcomes equally well, or are there potential tradeoffs (FER, SER)?