Digital servitization of SMEs: the role of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS)

The research on digital servitization is a topic largely debated in marketing and operations management literature but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), although crucial for most economies, are usually excluded from mainstream research. This paper fits into this gap and in particular aims to investigate the impact and role of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) to facilitate their digital servitization. Following a case-based investigation, the results confirm that KIBS can greatly facilitate the process but their involvement can be triggered and driven by numerous factors that may not be part of a deliberate strategy to this end.