Customer-focused and service-focused orientation in organizational structures

Purpose - The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the interrelatedness of customer and service orientations in the organizational structures of capital goods manufacturing companies. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative, multi-case research design was employed using 36 European capital goods manufacturing companies. Findings - This article explored four different patterns of how companies move from being product-focused to service-focused, and from having an organizational structure that is geographically focused to one that is customer-focused. The four patterns are termed as follows: emphasizing service orientation, service-focused organizational structure, emphasizing customer orientation, and customer-focused organizational structure. Research limitations/implications - Although the study is based on 36 case studies, the external validity (generalizability) of the findings could not be assessed accurately. Practical implications - The description of the four organizational approaches offers guidance for managers to restructure their companies towards service and customer orientations. Originality/value - The article links the relatively independent discussions of service and customer orientations in the context of organizational structures. The four patterns provide a better understanding of how capital goods manufacturers integrate increased customer and service focuses in their organizational structures.