A preliminary investigation of the reserve service continuum

The paradigm of the organisation as service provider dominates current research. Most work focuses on the adoption of services by product-centred organisations, promoting the concept of a service continuum. This paper explores whether alternatives are possible, documenting a case study which apparently ‘reverses’ this continuum – a service-based SME which has developed in-house manufacturing capability to improve the customer solution. The findings suggest that this could develop the current understanding of servitisation, however further work is outlined to test this.