Product–service innovation and performance: the role of collaborative partnerships and R&D intensity

Treating the intersection of the strategic partnerships, R&D intensity and servitization literatures, this study explores empirically whether external collaborative service development and provision, and industrial R&D intensity help to unpack the complex relation between product-service innovation (servitization) and performance. We argue that manufacturing firms implementing services benefit from strategic partnerships with Knowledge-Intensive Business Service (KIBS) firms. KIBS partnering provides opportunities for downsizing, externalising risks and sharing knowledge. Additionally, manufacturers in R&D-intensive industries are more likely to benefit from implementing service provision than firms in other sectors because of industry dynamics and reduced customer uncertainty. The study surveys executives in 370 large manufacturers worldwide. Results reinforce the importance of concentric strategic partnerships to successful product-service innovation in high-R&D industries.This research was supported by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project MAKERS: Smart Manufacturing for EU Growth and Prosperity, the Spanish Government under Grant ECO2014-58472-R, and the Junta de Andalusia under Grant P11-SEJ-7294