Unlocking solution provision competence in knowledge-intensive business service firms

O'Cass, Aron, Siahtiri, Vida and Heirati, Nima (2020) Unlocking solution provision competence in knowledge-intensive business service firms Industrial Marketing Management.

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Abstract

Business services markets are very competitive and a key challenge for knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) firms is delivering effective solutions for business customers. As solution providers, KIBS firms need to invest competencies that supports their capacity to solve customers’ problems. We examine how KIBS firms address this challenge by investigating how solution-provision competence (SPC), as a firm-level competence, contributes to the delivery of effective solutions, and how and when KIBS firms leverage SPC to transform knowledge gained from various search paths into effective solutions for customers. The results show that distal search enriches knowledge diversity, which helps foster solution-provision competence but only up to a point, after which the relationship turns negative, with distal search showing a diminishing effect on solution-provision competence. In addressing the diminishing returns of distal search to solution-provision competence, we show that higher levels of proximal search and strategic flexibility reverse the diminishing effect of high levels of distal search on solution-provision competence; however, employee collaboration did not help counter the diminishing returns (e.g., marginal benefits). Finally, we demonstrate that solutionprovision competence helps KIBS firms offer effective solutions tailored to business customers’ specific needs.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions :	Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Surrey Business School
Authors :	Name Email ORCID O'Cass, Aron Siahtiri, Vida Heirati, Nima n.heirati@surrey.ac.uk
Date :	12 February 2020
Uncontrolled Keywords :	solution competence; knowledge-intensive business services; knowledge search; strategic flexibility; employee collaboration
Depositing User :	James Marshall
Date Deposited :	18 Feb 2020 09:49
Last Modified :	18 Feb 2020 09:49
URI:	http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/853767

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