From a service-dominant logic to a good-dominant logic: Consequences for the buyer-seller relationships of a corporate bank

Productization, defined as the standardization of the production and delivery processes of services, is an approach that many service companies undertake, moving from relationship-intensive customer projects toward selling specific standardized offerings. In contrast to research on servitization, little in-depth research is available on the effects of this change of approach on the buyer-seller relationship. The purpose of this paper is to narrow this gap by providing evidence of the outcomes of productization in a corporate bank which has been serving Tier 1 customers for more than 15 years.

Using the IMP Group approach, this research identifies how productization affects buyer-seller relationships. In total, 37 key informant interviews were conducted on both sides of the buyer-seller relationship.

This research identified direct effects of productization relevant to buyer-seller relationships, and as many indirect effects through internal organizational processes. Productized service companies should develop their relationships with customers, by separating the standardization of the internal productization processes from the external relationship-based activities.

This paper contribute to the literature, exploring the long-term consequences of productization of services for the buyer-seller relationships.