THE ROLE OF VALUE CREATION IN SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION: A CASE STUDY ON LYNK & CO’S SUBSCRIPTION MODEL

Abstract

This study contributes to the research field of strategic management by increasing the understanding of how value creation motives impact sustainable outcomes of PSS in the automotive industry, through a case study of Lynk & Co’s Product Strategy Team and their subscription model. The study has been conducted with a grounded theory approach, focusing on the exploratory nature of inductive reasoning. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with four strategy managers and moreover Lynk & Co’s sustainability report from 2022. Thereafter, the analysis was made iteratively, based on grounded theory coding, which enabled the construction of a core category that manifests the essential finding of the study. The Product Strategy Team’s dual motives of creating a financially sustainable business model simultaneously with external stakeholder value is found to have implications for the sustainable outcomes of Lynk & Co’s PSS model. The strategy managers’ perception of a causal relationship between financial performance and environmental protection illustrates that the value creation motives are hierarchal. Strategy managers are therefore interpreted to prioritise certain values, which can be concluded to impose risks on the company’s means and ends – the expressed value creation motives and the outcomes of their business model.