https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/11305

The purpose of this thesis is to explore sources of future competitive advantage for self-propelled construction equipment (SPCE) dealers in Germany, who are challenged by significant change driven mainly by intensifying competition. This forces them to redefine their future market positioning. For that they need to learn about future customer value preferences to adjust organisations and business models accordingly. As research has not yet provided deep enough insight on customer value anticipation in the German SPCE industry, this thesis examines anticipation approaches and applies lead customer analysis to a dealer case. For that, an exploratory, inductive cases study research strategy is applied that takes a constructivist perspective on reality. For the case under study it was found that: (1) Competitive advantage develops from superior customer value. (2) Customer trust is a key aspect in superior customer value generation and results from trustworthiness. (3) Continuous customer value anticipation is essential to competitive advantage sustainability. (4) Lead customer analysis is apt for customer value anticipation. (5) Trust and digitalisation are promising future competitive advantage sources. The study’s knowledge contribution lies in the scientific mapping of the interaction of the elements leading from customer value to loyalty and trust in the German SPCE sector, supporting the generation of competitive advantage and business profitability. Furthermore, the study creates a deeper understanding on how customer value anticipation is linked into that process, how it can practically be applied and how it contributes to business profitability, hence closing a conceptual knowledge gap. Finally, through identifying trust and digitalisation as promising sources for future competitive advantage generation, the study informs dealers on the definition of their future market positioning and on the generation of impactful competitive advantage positions.