Digital servitization transforms value creation processes and subsequently affects relationships and power structures in supply chains. Yet, previous studies present insightful but incomplete views on how digital servitization changes power balances between supply chain actors. Specifically, little attention has been paid to upstream firms, although they are particularly vulnerable to becoming disadvantaged participants in a digitally servitized supply chain, as they are positioned far away from end-users. Addressing this research need, we performed an explorative single case study of an industrial supplier – using the resource dependence theory as theoretical framework – to investigate (1) the effects of digital servitization on the power balance between the supplier and its OEM customers and (2) the strategic responses of the supplier to these effects. We find that for an industrial supplier, the successful deployment of digitalized product-service systems (DPSS) depends not only on the development of digital capabilities, but also on the ability to establish close end-user connections, continuous access to product usage data, and a trustful relationship with OEM customers. In addition, we show that digital servitization shifts power towards the actor who is more dominant prior to its advent, refining the common notion that digital servitization favors per se downstream firms. We enrich existing literature by outlining five specific strategies that industrial suppliers can pursue to maintain critical resource access and regain power in a digitally servitized supply chain. Finally, we offer managers guidance in establishing DPSS offerings by providing a comprehensive picture of the industrial supplier's digital servitization journey.

数字服务化改变了价值创造过程，并随后影响了供应链中的关系和权力结构。然而，先前的研究提出了关于数字化服务如何改变供应链参与者之间的力量平衡的有见地但不完整的观点。具体来说，尽管上游公司距离最终用户的位置很远，但它们特别容易成为数字化服务化供应链中的弱势参与者，因此几乎没有对上游公司给予任何关注。满足这项研究需求，我们使用资源依赖理论作为理论框架，对一家工业供应商进行了探索性的单案例研究，以研究（1）数字服务化对供应商与其OEM客户之间的权力平衡的影响，以及（2）企业的战略响应供应商应对这些影响。我们发现，对于工业供应商而言，数字化产品服务系统（DPSS）的成功部署不仅取决于数字功能的发展，还取决于建立紧密的最终用户连接，持续访问产品使用数据，以及与OEM客户的信任关系。此外，我们证明了数字服务化将权力转移给在其出现之前占主导地位的参与者，从而完善了数字服务化本身就有利于下游企业的普遍观念。我们通过概述五种特定策略来丰富现有文献，工业供应商可以采用五种策略来维持关键的资源访问并在数字服务化的供应链中重新获得权力。最后，我们通过全面了解工业供应商的数字化服务历程，为经理提供建立DPSS产品的指导。