Research in the Servitization of Manufacturing has become focused more on cases than concepts over the past decade. This is because governments have emphasized some practical research with policies to support their industries. Manufacturers need differentiated strategies to gain competitiveness by servitization in the global market. They should examine how common servitization has become in the same industries and markets. They should also make sure how it works and for what purpose it is done since it is necessary to make the best decision to be able to distribute the limited resources most effectively to defeat the global competitors. South Korea has the sixth largest trade volume in the world, but Korean SMEs’ marketing capabilities fall short compared to that of major global companies. This paper seeks to develop the proper model and its application for the servitization with global cases which are recommended for Korean SMEs. They need to check the urgency in servitization according to their products, industries and target markets. In addition, factors such as purposes, time and types of the servitization are examined to see how they are related each other. The most significant implication of this study is that the processes for early-stage companies in servitazation are modeled to help them make the best choices.

Introduction The concentration of manufacturing factories in China signals a significant change in the global economy. Manufacturers in countries that are not price competitive feel a sense of crisis and use servitization in the manufacturing industry as a countermeasure. In particular, with the recent rapid development of IoT and AI, service methods are becoming faster and more diverse resulting in increased research on servitization. Vandermerwe and Rada (1988), who first mentioned the term servitization, define it as providing customer-focused products, services, support, self-service, and knowledge, all bundled together. Despite numerous studies on servitization few consider the customer’s perspective, although many consider the producer’s point of view. So far existing research only explored on how consumers accept value-in-use based on an accurate understanding of consumers' needs from the consumer perspective in servitization, based on expectation-confirmation theory. This study examines how customers accept servitization and links it to customer satisfaction. Literature review Servitization Ren and Gregory (2007) defined servitization as a strategic change in which manufacturing companies develop service-oriented or better services to satisfy customers, gain competitive advantage, and improve corporate performance. Raja et al. (2013) examined servitization to find the most important attributes of value-in-use for customers using servitized products and classified them into seven attributes. This study is based on the seven attributes identified by Raja et al. (2013). Perceived Usefulness, Confirmation, and Customer Satisfaction Bhattacharjee developed the Continuance Use Model based on the expectation-confirmation theory and conducted empirical studies for verification (2001b). Our study analyzes the correlation between customer acceptance process and customer satisfaction based on the Expectation-Confirmation model by Bhattacharjee (2001b). Research method We conducted surveys and analyzed the data of 50 Korean university students and members of the public using Smart Pay (Samsung Pay, Apple Pay etc.). The reliability of the questionnaire was verified by using the Cronbach’s alpha values and exploratory factor analysis. The seven variables of the value-in-use attributes of servitization identified by Raja et al. are as follows: relational dynamic, accessibility, range of product and service offering, knowledge, price, delivery, and locality. We measured three additional variables: perceived usefulness, confirmation, and customer satisfaction. Contributions Academic contribution This study provides a theoretical basis for examining the relationship between variables and the influence of the value-in-use attributes of servitization on customer acceptance and satisfaction. Practical contribution We present implications for customer satisfaction in the servitization process of manufacturing companies by explaining how customers accept the value-in-use attributes of servitization.