Product-service portfolio configuration vs. economic and financial results: an empirical analysis in the Italian truck industry

Based on an extensive survey involving Italian heavy truck workshops, this paper introduces an empirically-based typology. The research aims at identifying the main features that characterise heavy truck assistance workshops offering similar product-service portfolios and having a comparable service attitude. The developed typology allows a better understanding of the relationship between workshop types and their economic and financial results. The analysis shows that the attitude towards the proposal of comprehensive product-service portfolios supports workshops to prosper in this market, that is affected by weak demand, hard competition and decreasing margins.