Understanding how servitization can impact UK economic productivity and environmental performance

Lead Research Organisation: Aston University
Department Name: College of Business and Social Sciences

Abstract

This programme will establish evidence on how servitization impacts both economic productivity and environmental performance (i.e., net-zero and the green economy), and use these insights to influence industrial policy and practice in the UK. It will explain whether, when, and how to encourage the adoption of servitization to maximise the economic and societal impact. The programme will begin by (i) developing a strong theoretical foundation based on prior research on business model innovation and value networks, then (ii) engage in theory building through collaborations with a range of industrial partners that are adopting servitization. These insights will (iii) enable econometric models to quantify impacts on productivity and environmental performances, and through experimentations with these (iv) identify a range of scenarios to maximise the benefits to the UK. Deliverables will include (i) an open-access repository for the scientific, policy, and practice communities, (ii) a set of reference models which will allow firms to translate our findings quickly to shape industrial best practices, and (iii) a series of policy and practice papers and associated workshops and events to influence decisions around industrial policy associated with productivity and de-carbonisation.
 
Description ESRC Project Engagement and Impact Advisory Board 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact On 20 September, Paul Jennings, former MD of JCB Finance, chaired the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Board for the Advanced Services Group's new £1.85 million, ESRC-funded research project understanding how servitization can impact UK economic productivity and environmental performance. Members of the Board in attendance included executives from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Scottish Enterprise, Rolls-Royce, TES Council, BDR Thermea and representatives from research project partner companies Domino Printing Sciences, Delta EE, Koolmill and UV Light Technology. The three-year project is led by Professor Tim Baines of the Advanced Services Group in ABS with co-investigators from Warwick Business School and Aston University colleagues from EBRI and the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. The meeting helped inform the ambitions and expected outcomes of the project.
Board members include Prof Paul Jennings (Chair); Chris White, MTC; Prof Roger Maull, University of Exeter; Karen Boswell, BDR Thermea; Stephen Gregson, Rolls Royce and Co-Chair TES Council; Jamie Butterworth, Circularity Capital, Elaine Morrison, Scottish Enterprise; Nigel Timperley Delta EE, Amanda Penistone BEIS and Nicola Pike, The Productivity Institute. Project Business Partner representatives include Sam Tilley, Omron; Lee Cassidy, Tactile Technology; Alec Anderson, Koolmill; Will Edwards, Domino Printing; Dr Paul Jackson UV Light Technology,

The second advisory board meeting for the project took place on the 7 February 2023. The meeting was chaired by Paul Jennings and covered key insights, progress and exciting research outputs. We showcased our first significant milestone in the form of the reference framework. Key inputs and recommendations were suggested by the panel, including Board members from the Productivity Institute and ESRC, Scottish Enterprise and Circularity Capital. The session concluded with a tour of the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute. Looking forward to how this research can contribute to improving UK's productivity and help achieve the net zero target.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023
URL https://www.advancedservicesgroup.co.uk/servitization-impact/advisory-board/
 
Description Inaugural lecture of ASG Visiting Professor Paul Jennings 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact On 20 September, Professor Tim Baines chaired the inaugural lecture of ASG Visiting Professor Paul Jennings at Aston Business School. Professor Jennings, formerly Managing Director of JCB Finance, delivered a presentation entitled: 'Finance, Servitization and the Path to NetZero', looking at the future relationship between company carbon neutrality and the securing of asset finance. The programme also comprised Dr Andreas Schroeder's presentation entitled 'Servitization as Driver for Economic Productivity and Sustainability Finance, Servitization and the Path to Net Zero'. In addition to Aston University staff, the audience was drawn from the business community, including JCB, Rolls-Royce and related stakeholder organisations such as BEIS.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.advancedservicesgroup.co.uk/events/finance-servitization-netzero/
 
Description Servitization Doctoral Symposium 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Dr Ali Bigdeli, Professor Tim Baines and Jill Forrest organised and hosted the first Servitization Doctoral Symposium on 7 and 8 December. On day one, students from across the UK, Italy, Spain and Switzerland presented and discussed their research with a team of specialist academic discussants from Aston University and Loughborough and Manchester universities. Day two was hosted at the Digital Servitization Demonstrator room at Baxi in Warwick, where the students participated in a hackathon-style workshop to develop solutions to real-world business challenges set and assessed by Baxi. Building on this year's success, the symposium will become an annual international event to foster a community of early career researchers in the field of servitization, which could become a forum for exchanging ideas and building research collaboration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.advancedservicesgroup.co.uk/events/sds2022/
 
Description Servitization Live Webinars 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Suite of servitization based webinar discussion presentations and Q&A sessions with leading academics and industry leaders.
This includes webinar on 15 November 2022 'Servitization Improving Manufacturing Productivity'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021,2022,2023
URL https://www.advancedservicesgroup.co.uk/watch-on-demand-archive/