Title: From a traditional steel producer towards an industrial product-service systems provider in the German offshore wind market - a system-oriented practical case study

Authors: Evgenija Ries; Lisa Grandjean; Marion Steven

Addresses: Chair of Production Management Ruhr-University of Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany ' Chair of Production Management Ruhr-University of Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany ' Chair of Production Management Ruhr-University of Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany

Abstract: Globalisation and overcapacities lead to increasing competition within the steel market. Hence, steel producers are forced to enter promising markets like the offshore wind market. Moreover, they have to offer innovative products like industrial product-service systems (IPS²). Both entering the offshore wind market and offering IPS² are challenging (each aspect per se is ambitious and above all the combination) since these two aspects demand for a shift of the steel producer's existing business model. Especially, the adaption of the key resources within the business model is challenging. In particular, the steel producer needs to acquire new competencies. Against this background, there is an urgent need for an integrative analysis of the decision-making problem concerning the acquisition of these competencies. For this purpose, the system-oriented and holistic approach of system dynamics is used within a practical case study.

Keywords: steel producers; steel market; German offshore wind market; new markets; industrial product-service systems; holistic solutions; business models; business strategy; requirement of competencies; system dynamics approach; practical case study.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMABS.2017.088077

International Journal of Markets and Business Systems, 2017 Vol.3 No.1, pp.18 - 38

Received: 24 Dec 2016
Accepted: 25 Mar 2017
Published online: 21 Nov 2017 *