What comes first the chicken or the egg? Uncovering how digital servitization unfolds

This article examines two potential pathways for digital servitization, namely standardization and adaptation. The standardization pathway argues that digital transformation allows servitized firms to standardize their service-based business models, leading to scalability. Conversely, the adaptation pathway suggests that highly digitalized firms can customize their digital offerings to cater to diverse customer needs. The study investigates the effectiveness of these pathways and their long-term viability. Through a survey of 127 Spanish companies using Partial Least Squares Structural Equations Modeling (PLS-SEM) and single- and multi-mediation models, the results indicate the existence of both pathways. However, the standardization pathway contributes more to performance than the adaptation pathway. The findings underscore the importance of standardization and challenge the notion of extensive customization in digital servitization.