Theory of Qualitative Structure as a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Servitization

This chapter is devoted to an introduction to the qualitative structure theory (Kalinauskas in Najedine s mirom. Kiev, Oktiabrj, 1991; Kalinauskas and Reinin in Method of qualitative structures (MQS). Moscow Aviation Institute Information Bulletin, Issue 4, 1995; Melnikienė and Vidickienė in Public Policy and Administration 18:52–67, 2019; Vidickienė in Evolution of manufacturer’s strategic thinking based on the qualitative structure method. Working paper No. 13-1, Naujos ekonomikos institutas, 2013) as a theoretical background to understanding servitization phenomena. The chapter introduces the potential of the qualitative structure method to be used as a tool for understanding the basic strategies of a producer and its step-by-step evolution to a more complex self-management model. The concept of qualitative structure, presented in the monograph, is a response to the increasing specialization and eclecticism in the organization and management sciences and puts forward new ways of thinking about evolutionary processes in the context of the post-industrial paradigm. The concept of qualitative structure is based on holistic and evolutionary approaches and opens an original and promising method for research and action in the service economy. Moreover, the qualitative structure method is a universal tool for any qualitative research. It offers a genuine way to understand the self-management model for any representative of species and helps to design guidelines for their evolutionary pathway.