Durch den Austausch von Daten aus verschiedenen Objekten ermöglicht das Internet der Dinge (Internet of Things/IoT) neue Formen der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Unternehmen aus verschiedenen Bereichen. Diese Kooperationen von Unternehmen werden als IoT-Ökosysteme (Wertschöpfungsnetzwerke) bezeichnet. Durch die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen den Partnern innerhalb des IoT-Ökosystems können diese Unternehmen zusätzliche Geschäftspotenziale realisieren. In unserem Artikel identifizieren wir Geschäftspotenziale und Ökosystemanforderungen basierend auf den Wechselbeziehungen zwischen den Partnern in einem IoT-Ökosystem. Grundlage unseres Beitrags ist eine Fallstudie mit verschiedenen Unternehmen, welche unter realen Bedingungen durchgeführte wurde. Im Rahmen der Fallstudie wurde ein neues Wertschöpfungssystem geschaffen, das auf Basis je gefertigtem Gutteil vergütet wird (Pay-per-Part) und der bisherige Produzent nicht mehr Eigentümer des realen Objekts ist.

As a part of the German Mittelstand and one essential link in the supply chain of many national and international industries German, wholesale plays an important role in the German economy with a total revenue of 1,300 bn. € in the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019 (Statistisches Bundesamt 2022). Traditionally, a wholesaler purchases and resells products in large numbers in a B2B context (Ausschuss für Definitionen 2006). Entrepreneurial activities – the identification and exploitation of business opportunities by individuals and organizations (Schumpeter 1939) – in wholesale focus on adapting to changes in the supply situation or complementing the products via services. However, recent crises (COVID-19, and the war in the Ukraine) as well as market developments driven by digital technologies to the disadvantages of wholesaler, for example new B2B competition via platforms like Amazon or direct sales by original equipment manufacturers (Gassmann and Sutter 2019) will have consequences in the entrepreneurial intentions and actions of wholesale companies. In 2018 and 2019 we conducted a series of interviews with wholesalers from different economic sectors (Weber et al. 2019). These interviews were the core of a study focusing the business capabilities and value creation in networks. The 13 interviewees were all members of a wholesale association in south-western Germany. Due to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) by the European Union, the interviewees were selected by the association under several conditions provided by the study management for a high variance of wholesaling companies (for example, number of employees, annually revenue and economic sector). The interviews were partly structured with a partly standardized guideline. In the interviews the interviewees were confronted by a statement of a painter quoted from an interview of a newspaper’s online edition. The painter was quoted that his business will change and, analogously, the wholesale business will also change. This quote by a wholesale customer enabled the opportunity for an affective answer on the entrepreneurial intentions of the interviewed wholesale CEOs and board members. The aim of the hermeneutical analysis of the interviews was to identify different transformation directions of wholesalers. In the process of forming the transformation directions, it became clear that they can be structured on the basis of the dimensions market and cooperation.