Product service system transition method: building firm’s core competence of enterprise

Product service system (PSS), applicable in numerous fields, is an innovative business model integrating products, services, and supporting infrastructure. It has been known as a promising approach to realise sustainable development of both enterprises and environment. However, only a few studies were addressed to support the PSS transition of enterprises. Thus the aim of this study is to develop a PSS transition methodology, comprising a quantitative PSS classification framework and transformation procedures. In order to classify PSS typology, rough set theory is applied, and as a result, a set of classification rules is derived from the analysis of 40 contemporary PSS service providers based on their attributes and the decision rules. In addition, this study also proposes a PSS transformation process that considers firms’ core competencies and current PSS types. Moreover, the result also demonstrates the discovery of a new PSS type, platform-oriented PSS. The discovery and definition of this new type extend the current PSS typology. Finally, the proposed transition methodology is applied to an automotive company as a case study, illustrating the advantages and possibilities of this research.