Developing the concept of life-cycle service offering Rodrigo Rabetino a, ⁎, Marko Kohtamäki a,b , Heini Lehtonen c , Hanna Kostama c a University of Vaasa, Department of Management, PO Box 700, FI-65101 Vaasa, Finland b Luleå University of Technology, Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, SE-97187, Luleå, Sweden c Aalto University School of Science, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, PO Box 15500, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland abstract article info Article history: Received 30 October 2014 Received in revised form 15 May 2015 Accepted 17 May 2015 Available online 30 May 2015 Keywords: Life-cycle service offering Industrial service business Service-dominant logic Service infusion Service business models To extend the previous literature on industrial services, this study develops the concept of the life-cycle service offering by reviewing previous studies and collecting empirical data from seven cases. In particular, the present study develops a framework for life-cycle service offering by synthesizing 11 main categories of services based on an empirical categorization of 1638 services. These categories include administrative services, basic (installed base) services, consulting services, customer services, financial services, maintenance services, operational/outsourcing services, optimization services, research and development services, recycling services, and supply management and warehousing services. The concepts, dimensions and services developed in this study may enable managers of manufacturing firms to better analyze, benchmark, and develop their firms' life-cycle offerings to facilitate value creation and appropriation. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the search for new sources of profits, manufacturers have been shifting from stand-alone products to bundled solutions (Cova & Salle, 2008; Matthyssens & Vandenbempt, 2008; Sawhney, 2006). During this transition, known as servitization (Vandermerwe & Rada, 1988), the strategies applied by companies can be pooled into two groups (Windahl & Lakemond, 2010). In the first group, servitization is de- scribed as a step-by-step pathway on a products-to-services continuum in which manufacturers provide extended service portfolios for their installed bases throughout their operative lives (Kumar & Kumar, 2004; Oliva & Kallenberg, 2003; Stremersch, Wuyts, & Frambach, 2001). In the second group, servitization is conceived of as an exten- sive strategic change in which customized life-cycle solutions are offered (Davies, 2004; Penttinen & Palmer, 2007; Windahl, Andersson, Berggren, & Nehler, 2004). By following either strategy, manufacturers are redefining their service offerings, which have been defined as the manner in which a manufacturer emphasizes the sales and marketing of industrial services (Homburg, Fassnacht, & Guenther, 2003). As part of servitization, companies must strengthen their service emphasis and add services to their core product offerings (Raddats, Burton, & Ashman, 2015) to align product-based service offerings with customers' operational activities throughout the product life cycle (Raddats, 2011). In this manner, manufacturers can capture long-term revenue streams, reduce costs, and secure economies of scale by standardizing service operations (Evans, 2007; Ulaga & Reinartz, 2011). Servitization research has grown significantly in recent decades (Lightfoot, Baines, & Smart, 2013). Since Vandermerwe and Rada (1988), studies from many related but frequently detached research communities (e.g., product–service systems, service management, service marketing, service science, operations management, and service engineering) have used classifications to map the transformation of industrial firms' service offerings. Whereas previous studies suggest the need for adopting a life-cycle perspective, they frequently downplay time when classifying industrial service offerings. Moreover, with few exceptions (see Artto, Wikström, Hellström, & Kujala, 2008; Raddats, 2011), researchers typically offer only a few examples to illustrate ser- vice offerings without describing in detail the services those offerings include at each stage of the life cycle. In addition, the multidisciplinary theoretical base has caused confusion due to the overlapping concepts and mixed terminology used in diverse research communities (Sakao, Sandström, & Matzen, 2009; Windahl & Lakemond, 2010). Therefore, there is a need to stress the role of the time dimension in service classifications while accurately specifying both the concept of life- cycle service offering and the type of services that manufacturers typically include in these offerings. To advance our understanding, the present study aims to clarify the meaning and role of the life-cycle service offering by answering two complementary research questions. First, how does previous research conceptualize life-cycle service offerings and under what main definitional dimensions? In addition, from a practical standpoint, what types of services do life-cycle service offerings typically include in the context of industrial manufacturers? We address these questions Industrial Marketing Management 49 (2015) 53–66 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: rodrigo.rabetino@uva.fi (R. Rabetino), marko.kohtamaki@uva.fi (M. Kohtamäki), heini.lehtonen@aalto.fi (H. Lehtonen), hanna.kostama@aalto.fi (H. Kostama). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.05.033 0019-8501/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Marketing Management