Can Market Segmentation Support the Creation of Digitally-Enabled Product-Service Systems?

Research increasingly covers digitalization as a driver of servitization
towards digitally-enabled product-service systems (PSS). These systems call for
new business models and value co-creation for the development and delivery of
value propositions. However, the success of a PSS strategy is dependent on the
involved actors. Market segmentation is a process of examining and grouping
customers and targeting them with specific value propositions. Companies can
then benefit from a better understanding of customer needs and a differentiated
marketing strategy that leads to competitive advantages. It seems that market segmentation could support the creation of digitally-enabled PSS. However, there
seems to be only scarce literature that builds a connection between the two research fields. Therefore, this paper uses a semi-systematic literature review to
identify and apprise the state of knowledge. Of the ten papers found to be relevant, only one paper can answer the research question fully. The results show a
clear research gap. Nonetheless, the analysis indicates that the topic of market
segmentation is often discussed in combination with value co-creation. Examining segmentation in this context could further the understanding of how a digitally-enabled PSS architecture based on market segmentation can improve an industrial business-to-business (B2B) company's competitive position.