Customer-pulled and provider-pushed pathways for product-service system: The contingent effect of the business ecosystems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate distinctive pathways for product-service system (PSS) development. Moreover, it investigates the contingent effect of the business ecosystem (BE) in terms of being provider-pushed or customer-pulled.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a case-based research, performed in the Brazilian and Danish healthcare industries in order to explore the subject.FindingsThe results reveal that the capital available for investments influences the pathway. The customer-pulled PSS fast evolved to become result-oriented and connected to a complex resource-dependent network in the BE. The provider-pushed PSS showed a slow evolutionary pathway, limited to product-oriented offerings with low dependence among actors in the BE.Originality/valueThe research offers various managerial implications for PSS providers, policymakers and customers of the healthcare industry.