Value-in-use management - Measures and Effects in Solution Business
(A2019-9458)

AUTHORS

Katharina Prohl, Freie Universität Berlin; Michael Kleinaltenkamp, Freie Universität Berlin

KEYWORDS

solution business; value-in-use monitoring; value-in-use enhancement

ABSTRACT

In order to stay competitive, suppliers in business-to-business settings increasingly offer solutions to promote long-term relationships with their customers. Solutions comprise customer-supplier relational processes and are thus more than just the sum of their product and service components. Within such processes, suppliers may also perform activities of value monitoring and enhancement, which we refer to as ‘value-in-use management’. However, up to date, little is known about the effects of such measures on customers' value in use and the resulting relational outcomes like satisfaction and commitment. By using a qualitative inductive approach, the study investigates the status quo of value-in-use management processes in practice from a supplier's perspective. The findings from 21 interviews show that the companies’ effort regarding value monitoring and enhancement vary a lot. While most suppliers in the sample quantify and communicate the offering’s value during the sales process, a subsequent proof that the promised value has actually been achieved is not always carried out.