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Selling and sales management for successful servitization: A systematic review and research agenda
Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Industrial Economics. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. CBMI—Centre for Business Model Innovation, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University; CERS—Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management, Department of Marketing, Hanken School of Economics.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4081-9737
Chair of Marketing Management, Marketing Center Münster, University of Münster.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4306-2418
Chair of Marketing Management, Marketing Center Münster, University of Münster.ORCID iD: 0009-0006-6920-8637
School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3404-8304
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2025 (English)In: Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, ISSN 0885-3134, E-ISSN 1557-7813, Vol. 45, no 4, p. 319-345Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Servitization—the shift from product to service-centric business models—has attracted widespread attention, yet best practices for selling services and transforming the salesforce remain unclear. In response, this study systematically reviews the literature on selling and sales management for servitization. Analyzing 66 articles across 21 journals, we identify three key themes: customer engagement throughout the purchase journey, skills and abilities of selling actors, and sales management support. Our integrative framework highlights how the selling of services and solutions necessitates a collaborative, cross-functional process of customer engagement across various stages of the journey. Ideally, this engagement fosters recurring cycles with loyalty loops, driven by proactive customer success management. We also present a comprehensive research agenda with four key themes bridging critical gaps in current knowledge. From a managerial perspective, our review underscores that servitization necessitates extensive organizational changes beyond the sales function, affecting not only what firms sell but also how they sell. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis , 2025. Vol. 45, no 4, p. 319-345
Keywords [en]
Servitization;Solution selling;B2B services; Sales management;Salesforce transformation; Customer success
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-214497DOI: 10.1080/08853134.2025.2502168ISI: 001498176900001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105006994943OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-214497DiVA, id: diva2:1965692
Funder
Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, 2023.0053
Note

Funding Agencies|Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation [MMW 2023.0053]

Available from: 2025-06-09 Created: 2025-06-09 Last updated: 2026-04-30Bibliographically approved

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Kowalkowski, Christian

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