DYNA JOURNAL ENGINEERING

Key words:

digital transformation, digital servitization, manufacturing servitization, service breadth, service depth, commoditization, manufacturing firms.

Article type:

ARTICULO DE INVESTIGACION / RESEARCH ARTICLE

Section:

RESEARCH ARTICLES

Manufacturing firms increasingly face product commoditization as modular architectures, standardized technologies and global supply chains make technical advantages easier to imitate. Servitization is a common response, but many firms fail to obtain proportional returns from service expansion. This study argues that digital transformation supports servitization when it helps manufacturers build complementary assets around services. It distinguishes two dimensions of servitization: service breadth, the range of services offered, and service depth, the sophistication and customer embeddedness of those services. Using an unbalanced panel of Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2016 to 2024, we measure digital transformation by mining annual reports and estimate fixed effects models for direct, mediating and moderating effects. The results show that digital transformation is positively and significantly associated with both dimensions, and the coefficient for service depth is roughly four times that for service breadth. Bootstrap tests indicate that dynamic capabilities carry a significant indirect effect only for service depth, although its magnitude is modest, and environmental uncertainty strengthens both associations. The two dimensions therefore follow different mechanisms. Breadth is mainly associated with a direct digital infrastructure pathway, while dynamic capabilities provide an additional but modest pathway for service depth. Manufacturing firms need to build digital systems, service processes and capabilities at the same time, so that they compete on something other than products.

Keywords: digital transformation; digital servitization; manufacturing servitization; service breadth; service depth; commoditization; manufacturing firms.