Equipment users’ experiences of a manufacturer’s smart services

Purpose: The use of a manufacturers’ equipment and industrial services is dependent on the users’ readiness and capabilities. In a business-to-business context, different users may have different experiences with intelligent product features and related smart services, and the experiences need to be understood, when a manufacturer develops and delivers its industrial services. The goal of this study is to identify user experience patterns concerning intelligent product features and related smart services for industrial equipment. The focus is on the early phases of adopting the intelligent product features and related smart services.
Design/Methodology/Approach: A qualitative case study was implemented with two customers of a machine manufacturer. Data were collected through interviews, and user experiences were analysed concerning intelligent features, services, and the service supplier.
Findings: The cross-case analysis reveals that all users do not experience benefits from intelligent features and related smart services. Four different user experience patterns are reported: feature-centric, competence-centric, development-oriented, and decision-oriented.
Originality/Value: The study adopts a users’ perspective to industrial services, thereby offering a more nuanced idea of customer experiences and potentially explaining why digital servitization proceeds slowly within customer firms.