A reliability diagnosis to support servitization decision-making process

Abstract

Purpose

Servitization of manufacturing is characterized by very complex decision processes within strongly unstable and uncertain decision contexts. Decision-makers are face situations of lack of internal and external information. The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision aid approach to support the management of servitization decision-making processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The scientific orientation of this research consists in working at improving the efficiency of the servitization decision-making process, by identifying factors of non-reliability, in order to propose remediation actions for the whole process. Improving the final decisions taken by the managers is considered as a consequence of the improvement of the decision-making process reliability. The method, based on modeling and evaluation, requires the specification of a decision process model for servitization, used as a basis to assess decision process reliability and diagnose the enterprise’s servitization decision system. Improving the final decisions made by the managers is considered as a consequence of the improvement of the decision-making process reliability.

Findings

Key added values: first, to formalize a servitization decision-making reference model; second, to specify a reliability assessment applied to the decision system; and third, to define a decision process reliability diagnosis procedure for servitization, illustrated in a case study.

Research limitations/implications

A direct perspective is to complete the focus on procedural reliability, by taking into consideration the subjective rationality of decision-makers in the reliability assessment procedure. Additionally, this reliability assessment method and diagnosis could become the basis of a larger risk management approach for servitization.

Practical implications

The diagnosis procedure proposed in the paper is dedicated to generating practical results for enterprise decision-makers, consisting in recommendations for decision process improvements, in the context of servitization. The approach is illustrated through an industrial SME case study. The practical implications are highly contextualized.

Originality/value

The key originality of this research is to tackle servitization complexity with a decision system modeling and diagnosis orientation, including the formalization of the notion of “decision process reliability,” and the specification and implementation of a quantitative assessment procedure.

Citation

Dahmani, S., Boucher, X., Peillon, S. and Besombes, B. (2016), "A reliability diagnosis to support servitization decision-making process", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 502-534. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-06-2015-0044