Are IPS2 always a Solution? Obstacles towards Buying Industrial Product Service Systems

Nowadays manufacturing companies, that traditionally sell stand-alone products or services, shift towards selling industrial product service systems (IPS2). These offerings are mainly discussed as a chance for both; suppliers as well as customers. Customers profit for example by gaining access to expert knowledge or by outsourcing operations. Nevertheless, customers’ actual responses towards IPS2 offerings have not been subject to research yet. By empirically analyzing reasons why customers step back from buying IPS2 this paper contributes to existing knowledge. Results show that customers perceive higher risk when buying IPS2, feel more dependent on the IPS2 supplier and fear to loose know-how.