Servitization practices in healthcare

: the case of Royal Philips

Abstract

This research considers to what extent servitization in the healthcare industry has evolved and transformed in this sector. As healthcare costs have risen over the last few decades, significant attention has been directed to purchasing within this sector. Servitization is a promising business model for healthcare since it can reduce costs and risks when obtaining products and services. This study has the main objective to understand if healthcare manufacturers are already implementing this business model, if they do, which practices are they implementing, understand how the transformation process was and which changes were made. In addition, this study aims to understand the challenges the company faced and the benefits servitization can bring. A single case study in the form of research has been performed as a qualitative investigation on Royal Philips, a Dutch product manufacturing company operating in the global market that manufactures medical equipment. Besides that, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the second data was available on the Philips website. In addition, this study has an objective to contribute to the academic literature on servitization and the healthcare manufacturing industry since it is a topic that lacks data and research. The findings of this study were that Royal Philips is still in the initial phase of shifting to a more services-oriented business, and they are already implementing servitization strategies in some departments. The company faced some challenges during the implementation, but at the same time, this business model will bring many benefits. Still, the company intends to improve their business model in the coming years.

Date of Award	12 Oct 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rita Ribeiro (Supervisor)