Call for Paper for a Special Issue of Technological Forecasting and Social Change.
Servitization, Digitalization and Scalability
Guest Editors: Vendrell-Herrero F, Kowalkowski C, Wirtz J & Gebauer H
Deadline: 31 May 2026
How can industrial firms scale service-led growth in the digital era? While digital-native firms scale effortlessly, manufacturers often struggle. This special issue seeks to unpack the interplay between servitization, digitalization, and scalability.
The issue explores how digital technologies and service strategies can be orchestrated to enable scalable, sustainable growth in industrial contexts. It invites contributions that bridge theory and practice, offering insights into organizational, technological, and industry-level enablers of scalability:
– Despite digital advances, many manufacturers fail to scale service-led models like their digital-native counterparts.
– The order in which firms implement digital and service strategies significantly affects scalability outcomes.
– AI, IoT, cloud, and additive manufacturing each shape scalability differently.
– Internal routines, leadership, and governance structures are key to scaling service operations.
– External dynamics, including regulation and ecosystem collaboration, influence scalability trajectories.
Guest editors:
– Ferran Vendrell-Herrero, University of Edinburgh (fvendrel@ed.ac.uk)
– Christian Kowalkowski, Linköping University (christian.kowalkowski@liu.se)
– Jochen Wirtz, National University of Singapore (jochen@nus.edu.sg)
– Heiko Gebauer, Linköping University (heiko.gebauer@liu.se)
More info here.
