| dc.description.abstract | This thesis identifies the unique capabilities that characterise product-oriented vs.
service-oriented firms in the software industry. Firms in the software industry have very
different business models from other industries. Some firms rely entirely on earning
revenue from services provided on an hourly basis, while others build and sell software
once and earn revenue from it for years to come. There are even successful firms in the
industry with a variety of revenue sources and models resulting from planned or
unplanned transitions across orientations. The unique characteristics of this industry offer
an opportunity to study the development of organisational capabilities that support
contrasting strategic orientations.
There is substantial literature on strategic orientations (e.g., Roberts 1990; Lynn et
al. 2000; Pelham 2000; Voss and Voss 2000). There is also substantial literature on
organisational capabilities (e.g., Nelson and Winter 1982; Leonard-Barton 1992; Day
1994; Teece et al. 1997; Winter 2003; Ethiraj et al. 2005). However, few studies
empirically identify organisational capabilities that are developed to support an
orientation. This study identifies the capabilities that enable product orientations and
service orientations in the software industry. Moreover, the research tests the hypothesis
that product orientations and services orientations are distinguished by different
organisational capabilities.
The study tests this hypothesis by eliciting capabilities and measuring the
maturity of these capabilities in different firms. The findings of this study make unique
contributions to the literature pertaining to strategic orientations and capabilities through
further definition of both constructs. This research also utilises a previously untested
approach for identifying capabilities. The method approaches the research problem using
a two-step approach. The first phase focuses on eliciting the capabilities that characterise
both service and product orientations. Interviews with key informants support the
elicitation of capabilities. The second phase of the research study involved the collection
of data using a survey to validate the existence of and identify the maturity of the
capabilities from the first phase.
The findings indicate that there are significant differences between productoriented
and service-oriented firms, the capabilities that distinguish them and their
perspectives on transition between orientations. The key result of the research is the
identification of the capabilities that distinguish between software firms of three different
orientations: product orientation, service orientation and a hybrid orientation.
This research study contributes to advancement in the literature pertaining to
strategic orientations and capabilities (e.g., Morgan and Strong 2003; Venkatraman 1989;
Duhan et al. 2005; Winter 2000; Teece 2007). The results of the study further define what
it means for software firms to have product, service and hybrid orientations, resulting in
advancement of these constructs. The approach used to elicit and capture capabilities is
novel and contributes to advancement in the literature pertaining to capabilities by
applying a previously untested methodology. The results of this research are of particular
interest to software firms that aspire to build or strengthen a product, service or hybrid
orientation. | en |
