Servitized business model innovation for sustainable transportation: Case study of failure to bridge the design-implementation gap

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2018-01, Vol.170, p.1219-1230
• Main Authors: Naor, Michael, Druehl, Cheryl, Bernardes, Ednilson S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case study; Cross-industry innovation; Design-implementation gap; Servitized business model; Sustainable transportation
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.221

The goal of this study is to assess whether servitized business models, may potentially be emulated to overcome similar technological challenges between industries. To address this gap in the literature, the case study empirically investigates a company that attempted to apply a pay-per-use model to sustainable transportation, based on its success in the telecommunications industry. Information collected from the interviews and from secondary external data is used to juxtapose between the industries. The Cambridge business model innovation process provides a framework to analyze the company's development stages. Results indicate that the company didn't succeed to bridge the design-implementation gap because it failed to acknowledge key marketing differences between industries. While cross-industry innovation offers entrepreneurial opportunities, organizations should consider the constraints imposed by the scale of investment required to build supportive infrastructure before emulating servitized business models. The study concludes with implications which may provide useful lessons to other sustainable transportation projects in-progress, such as Tesla and Riversimple, in terms of business model, technology, and prospects for commercialization. Finally, fruitful avenue for future research that can build on and extend this discussion is the investigation of servitized business models for the self-driving cars industry. •Case study to investigate servitized business model.•Cross-industry innovation from cellular telecommunications to sustainable transportation.•Institutional theory serves as lens to comprehend emulation process.•Failure to bridge the design-implementation gap.•Entrepreneurs should consider marketing constraints.