Strategic Alignment in Servitization Transformation: A Retrospective Case Study

Abstract

Problem Despite the extensive body of servitization research, there remains a limited understanding of how transformation processes unfold over time within firms. Prior studies have primarily emphasised the importance of deliberate strategic efforts for enabling successful servitization. More recent research, however, increasingly suggests that servitization also unfolds through emergent organisational adaptation over time. Nevertheless, how deliberate and emergent strategy interact in practice, and how this interplay shapes strategic alignment throughout the transformation process, remains insufficiently understood in the literature. Aim The aim of this study is to explore how deliberate and emergent strategy interact over time within a servitization transformation, and how associated alignment processes shape the transformation trajectory. In doing so, the study seeks to address the identified research gap regarding processual dynamics of servitization transformation. Theoretical framework This study draws on servitization literature and a strategy process perspective, where transformation is understood as the interplay between deliberate and emergent strategies and where strategic alignment constitutes a central mechanism. It further applies dynamic capabilities theory to explain how organisations adapt over time through sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring activities. These perspectives are integrated into an adapted theoretical framework illustrating how the strategy process unfolds in a servitization transformation. Method The study adopts a qualitative and exploratory research design, conducted as a single-case study of a division within a manufacturing firm. Data was primarily collected through semi structured interviews with respondents from multiple organisational levels and functions, complemented by secondary data. The findings were first analysed using an adjusted thematic analysis and subsequently interpreted through the adapted theoretical framework, following an abductive process where theory and empirical data are iteratively linked. Results and implications The study shows that the servitization transformation unfolded through an ongoing interplay between deliberate and emergent strategy, where the relative influence of each varied depending on contextual conditions. Emergent developments, particularly driven by customer demand, played a central role in shaping the realised strategy throughout the transformation. At the same time, deliberate strategy remained important for enabling coordinated reconfiguring and sustaining strategic alignment between intended and realised strategy over time. Rather than developing through stable implementation processes, alignment evolves unevenly through periods of disruption, partial alignment and broader realignment. The study contributes to existing servitization literature by providing a more process-oriented understanding of how deliberate and emergent developments interact over time and shape strategic alignment throughout the transformation process. The findings further suggest that a high degree of customer involvement may intensify the role of emergent strategy within servitization contexts. From a managerial perspective, the study highlights the importance of enabling continuous organisational adaptation and developing reconfiguring capabilities.