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  • 2008
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Contracting for Servicizing

By: Michael W. Toffel
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:32
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Abstract

Servicizing, a novel business practice that sells product functionality rather than products, has been touted as an environmentally beneficial business practice. This paper describes how servicizing transactions mitigate some problems associated with sales transactions, but creates several others. The success of servicizing—or product service systems—requires manufacturers to develop contracts that attract customers while protecting their interests. Several propositions are offered to facilitate empirical testing of the concepts discussed.

Keywords

Customer Focus And Relationships; Contracts; Market Transactions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Sales

Citation

Toffel, Michael W. "Contracting for Servicizing." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-063, February 2008. (February 2008.)
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About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

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  • Manage the Suppliers That Could Harm Your Brand: Know When to Avoid, Engage, or Drop Them By: Jodi L Short and Michael W. Toffel
  • Assessing Prediction Accuracy of Machine Learning Models By: Michael Toffel and Natalie Epstein
  • T-tests: Theory and Practice By: Michael Parzen, Natalie Epstein, Chiara Farronato and Michael Toffel
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