Understanding collaboration in servitization literature: A meta-synthesis of qualitative research

Abstract

This study investigates how multi-actor collaboration unfolds over time in servitization, where manufacturers increasingly rely on networks of customers, suppliers, and technology partners. Although significant research has examined collaboration in the context of servitization, we still know little about how multi-actor collaboration evolves in this context. Through a qualitative meta-synthesis study of 57 qualitative case studies, our analysis identifies preconditions and three phases – initiation, routinization, and learning and adaptation – each shaped by shifting structural, relational, and cognitive mechanisms. The study contributes by developing a process model of multi-actor collaboration in servitization, showing how mechanisms generate consequences that reshape collaboration over time. It further advances a temporal view of collaboration governance by explaining how structural, relational, and cognitive mechanisms are repeatedly recombined as actor roles, dependencies, and value logics change. For managers, the findings suggest the need to clarify roles, value-sharing agreements, data access, and governance arrangements as servitization networks expand and mature.