Title: Managing interdisciplinary collaboration in product-service systems engineering: insights from a mixed-method analysis of a student project

Authors: Lucas Hüer; Simon Hagen; Hans-Jürgen Pfisterer; Oliver Thomas

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrueck, Albrechtstraße 30, Osnabrueck 49076, Germany ' Smart Enterprise Engineering, DFKI Affiliation, Parkstr 40, 49080 Osnabrueck, Germany ' Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrueck, Albrechtstraße 30, Osnabrueck 49076, Germany ' Smart Enterprise Engineering, DFKI Affiliation, Parkstr. 40, Osnabrueck 49080, Germany; Chair of Information Management and Information System, University of Osnabrueck, Parkstraße 40, Osnabrueck 49080, Germany

Abstract: In recent years, a growing number of companies recognised that a large proportion of customers neglect the "classic" purchase of products and, instead, favour the acquisition of functions or solutions. As a result, multiple companies offer a mix of products and services designed to provide individual solutions. However, due to the complexity of integrated bundles of products and services, new approaches for developing such systems are required and a framework for companies for an efficient interdisciplinary collaboration is needed. By observing and analysing an interdisciplinary student project in which a product-service system was developed, insights regarding interdisciplinary work are obtained and guidelines for collaboration are derived. The results will serve as a basis for organising collaboration in other interdisciplinary projects. In order to obtain knowledge about relevant factors in the development of product-service systems, various methods of empirically quantitative and qualitative research were selected and integrated within a mixed method approach.

Keywords: interdisciplinary collaboration; product-service system; engineering; managerial guideline; mixed-method research; project management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2020.113167

International Journal of Product Development, 2020 Vol.24 No.4, pp.320 - 345

Received: 29 Feb 2020
Accepted: 19 Jan 2021
Published online: 22 Feb 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article