Servicification and internationalisation of manufacturing

The manufacturing industry accounts for a major share of Swedish foreign trade and approximately a third of value-added and employment in private business in Sweden. However, the industry is increasingly connecting to global value-chains and it is subject to an increasing competition from abroad. One dimension in its renewal is its servicification or servitization. Servicification means an increasing focus on services in manufacturing, in terms of purchases, imports, own production, sales and exports of services. In our research, we analyse both the development of servicification as such and its drivers and effects. A particular research focus is on how servicification and globalization in the form of global value-chains interact.