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Managing digital business platforms: A continued exercise in balancing renewal and refinement
Abstract
Central to the evolution of a digital business platform is the organization’s ability to balance exploration (renewal) and exploitation (refinement) simultaneously. Drawing on prior research—including digital platforms, contradictory tensions, and organizational ambidexterity—and our own experience investigating digital business platforms in organizations, this article provides insights into how executives can manage this evolution successfully. More specifically, we present a framework recognizing three pairs of organizational capabilities (i.e., identifying-nourishing, expanding-legitimating, and augmenting-embedding) that enable balancing renewal and refinement of the platform over time. We close by providing critical managerial practices that executives can use in anticipating, adjusting, and evaluating the evolution of a digital business platform over time, including its initiation, development, and growth.
... This premise states that there is a great paradox that surrounds digital transformation processes (Purvanova & Kenda, 2018), requiring managers to deal with tensions resulting from conflicting demands such as free exploration to complement exploitative processes of business as usual (Ellström et al., 2021). Managing competing demands is becoming necessary for effective digital transformation to occur (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021). Competing demands at the individual level often are studied using the construct of individual ambidexterity, defined as a capacity of a manager (or another employee) to exhibit seemingly incompatible behaviors (Birkinshaw & Gibson, 2004) of performing both explorative and exploitative activities, which lead to innovation and job performance Rosing & Zacher, 2017). ...
... Companies also can use digital technologies to change their business models incrementally, i.e., "to extend, revise, or terminate existing activities in an evolutionary manner" (Cavalcante et al., 2011;Foss & Saebi, 2018;Kim & Min, 2015). Given the strategic nature of change, the efforts that digitalization efforts require, and the challenges that these efforts face, it becomes apparent that the managerial role is critical (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021). ...
... Recognizing the value of ambidexterity research, Montealegre and Iyengar (2021) argued that central to successfully managing a digital business platform is the organizational ability to balance renewal (i.e., exploration) and refinement (i.e., exploitation). 2 We build on the premises of their study and focus on the role of the individual level of ambidexterity in digital transformation change process. ...
This paper integrates individual ambidexterity, digital transformation, and dynamic capabilities literatures to develop a framework that helps to understand the role of managerial ambidextrous learning in building the digital transformation capability of an organization. Specifically, based on a comprehensive literature review, it identifies competing demands in terms of managerial learning orientation serving as microfoundations of different dynamic organizational capabilities underpinning digital transformation. We adopt an ambidextrous perspective to learning and propose that managers need to balance between explorative and exploitative learning to aid with building digital transformation capabilities. This paper contributes to ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities theoretical perspectives by its distinctive focus on the role of learning in the context of organizational-level digital transformation. It aims to enhance understanding of how firms may support digital efforts by becoming sensitive to and supporting managerial ambidexterity as a critical factor in a successful digital transformation journey. We suggest future research efforts to empirically investigate the role of managerial ambidextrous behaviour in digital efforts.
... Responsible persons and managers need to be aware of this and able to introduce the importance and value of digital platforms for their (business). But, it has to be highlighted, that the fast skip to using of digital platforms without enclosing company's uniqueness would be very irresponsible and risky (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021). ...
... These systems can connect several groups of stakeholders and enable their collaboration in regard of wide beneficial results for every involved business entity, organization or individual . In connection with this, digital platforms were considered most influential changes in business environment, since they are creating new models and methods which shape internal ecosystems and culture of organizations (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021). ...
... Also, this system based Fig. 10.3 The portfolio of the digital service (Note Own processing based on Schreckling and Steiger (2017)) on the existence of three pairs of key features (identification-nourishing, expansionlegitimizing and increasing embolism) that help balance the renewal and refinement of a digital platform over time (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021) (Fig. 10.3). ...
Digital transition can influence the transformation of the economy and increase prosperity. Decision-makers have also recognized the potential of digital technologies, which is one of the reasons why it is reflected in an increasing number of different sectoral development strategies on different scales. The feasibility of digital transformation raises several questions from both a regional and a sectoral point of view, which have yet to be answered. The development of digital transformation offers many new challenges, opportunities, and solutions for different sectors and locations alike. Digital transformation can have significant environmental and socio-economic impacts all over the world. Social and economic systems may not be able to adapt dynamically and flexibly to rapid change, which may jeopardize the system’s stability and trigger new challenges for the different stakeholders. The interrelations between digitalization and sustainability may foster positive synergies also in planning and implementation. Considering all dimensions of sustainability in relation to digitalization, the low-impact developments can enable the practical implementation of effective transition toward sustainability and digitalization goals also during and after the pandemic.
... Selecting technological platform in accordance with the perception of the customers bridge the possible score variations from the organizational values. While selecting a technological platform, it is needed a right balance between stability and flexibility according to the conditions of market and user demands [9]. To address all such challenges, the representatives of the organization have to consider the selection of technological platform in align with organization's values and customer perception so that to meet the identity of the organization as such [10]. ...
This study envisages the effect of technological platform on the perception of internal and external customers, especially in healthcare organizations. The relevance of this study emphasis perspective changes of customers while using technological platforms in services. It is due to the differences in the following aspects - organizational values, administrative controls over operational activities, proactive practices in treatments, competitiveness in diagnosis, distinctiveness in services, sustainability features in practices etc. The operational activities of a healthcare system vary with nature and values of various categories of hospitals like private, corporate, government, mission etc. For attracting customers and making easiness in services, hospitals are adopting technological modules like pre-consultation work-ups, health packages, automated answers to enquiries, automatic inter-departmental references, scheduled services etc successfully implemented by other categories. The systemic reviews of literatures illustrate that adopting new technological platforms are able to make changes in performances but there are chances to differ the performances from customer’s perception. This analysis includes systematic reviews and meta-analysis. For consistency and validity, a standardized protocol was carried out in data collection, extraction, and quality testing. According to the data, the willingness of customers to return to a hospital for further needs or proactively refer other customers to the same organization determines its effectiveness of services. The conclusive part of the study envisages a) Customers have a natural ability to perceive the services in comparison to the organization's declared values b) Customers' mindset prepares them to receive the services according to their degree of need (stated or implied) c) Healthcare organizations are structured in a way that the output of a subsystem is the input of another, and so on; therefore any technological changes or the improvement in any process can have a sequence of challenging effects in the perception of the customers. d) The technological platforms used by the organization can influence the outcome of services received and the sustainability of the organization e) Several unforeseen factors such as social alienation, employee turnover, price fluctuations, etc. are also forcing healthcare organizations to adopt different platforms and cultures to provide the services in a cost-effective manner and it causes the greatest compatibility challenge in the perception of customers.
... No details on changes in separate hub(Brauer et al., 2021;Hellmich et al., 2021;Hess et al., 2016;Holotiuk, 2020;Jaspert & Ebel, 2022;Jöhnk et al., 2020;Kaiser & Stummer, 2020;Kronblad et al., 2023;Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021;Raabe et al., 2020;Schiffer, 2021;Sia et al., 2021;Smith & Beretta, 2021;Soto Setzke et al., 2023;Sund et al., 2021;van den Buuse et al., 2021) Total 23 ...
PURPOSE: Despite digital transformation being a focus topic for incumbent companies, organizational structures are a significant barrier to their success. Referring to the positive correlation between ambidexterity and digital innovation, our research provides guidance on structural ambidexterity for incumbent companies. Previous research has barely differentiated between exploration and exploitation in digital transformation. In the present paper, we fill part of this research gap by focusing on structural ambidexterity in digital transformations and providing guidance on how incumbent companies can overcome organizational challenges. METHODOLOGY: Our research is based on an explorative research design with 33 semi-structured interviews that allow in-depth information. The interview partners were selected using purposive sampling and represented different industry and hierarchy levels. All of them have been in a position related to digital transformation in an incumbent company for the last two years. We ensure scholarly rigor using thematic analysis to analyze our data. FINDINGS: Our decision tree guides separation or integration based on the closeness of digital activities to the core business and the association of the activities to exploration or exploitation. Additionally, we recommend considering the digital maturity grade in the decision-making. Developing a cross-functional digital transformation strategy and pursuing a balanced portfolio fosters ambidexterity in digital transformation. Clear responsibilities, collaborative decision-making, candidate selection, and collaboration with IT are essential leadership activities. IMPLICATIONS for theory and practice: Our research expands the existing research on digital transformations of incumbent companies. We specifically contribute to the limited details on how to separate digital activities considering an exploration/exploitation perspective. Our study guides practitioners to address one of their major challenges in digital transformations with the help of our decision tree. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: Based on the positive correlation between ambidexterity and digital innovation, our study contributes to the existing research by providing in-depth knowledge of structural ambidexterity in digital transformations. This detailed information is essential to provide knowledge on enabling the positive correlation between ambidexterity and innovation in the context of structural ambidexterity.
... In contrast, e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com provide extensive product information and convenient price comparison features, which greatly reduce the time and costs associated with searching for information. Furthermore, refined management theory posits that by focusing on details and precise data management, the efficiency of an organization or system can be enhanced [32]. Digital technologies facilitate this refined management in critical areas-such as transportation, buildings, energy, and environmental protection-through smart city platforms, effectively reducing energy consumption and pollution emissions. ...
The digital economy (DE) is characterized by invention, low energy consumption, cross-sector integration, and open sharing. It can effectively enhance social production methods, influence consumer behavior, and provide new pathways to enhance total factor energy efficiency (TFEE). This paper studies 280 Chinese cities, employing the entropy method and data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to evaluate and analyze urban DE and TFEE. It also constructs a system generalized method of moments model (SGMM model) and a threshold regression model (TR model) to examine the impact of the DE on TFEE in China. The main study findings include the following: (1) The regression results of the SGMM model indicate that the effect of DE on TFEE in Chinese cities shows a U-shaped trend. (2) The regression results of the TR model further confirm a U-shaped association connecting DE and TFEE, with the threshold estimated at 0.304. (3) The economic factors and industrial structure have a major impact on inhibiting the improvement of TFEE, whereas technological advancements and environmental regulations significantly facilitate its improvement.
... Profiting from digital business models requires curbing the commercialization of the digital business model to avoid falling into the trap of unreasonable customer requests and aggressive internal sales targets. This situation calls for business renewal to support the digital business model by providing agility (Foss and Saebi 2017) and innovating the business model continuously (Montealegre and Iyengar 2021). Business renewal refers to actions that highlight the importance of managing changes in organizations' internal and external operating environments (Deprez et al. 2018). ...
This study focuses on the mediating role of business renewal in the relationship between digital business models and financial performance. An enhanced understanding of the direct and indirect influences of digital business models and business renewal will aid the construction of a more comprehensive picture of managing business models in digital transformation. The results are based on a survey of 275 Finnish SMEs. The results confirm the mediating effect of business renewal between digital business models and financial performance. This means that changes in the digital business model cannot, on their own, cause any changes in financial performance; however, through business renewal, changes in the digital business model can impact financial performance.
... Such platforms are typically created and owned by a single company or entity and are part of an ecosystem composed of people, data, processes, and objects connected by the use of technologies that go beyond the scope of a single system (Henfridsson and Bygstad 2013). They thus generate services that are radically changing existing ways of working, altering internal ecosystems and business structures (Montealegre and Iyengar 2021). ...
Due to the digital transformation, organizations have incorporated technologies in all areas of the company, creating digital business ecosystems. These in turn, with the tools that compose it, influence the satisfaction of stakeholders and business performance. The objective of this research is to know how the digital business ecosystem affects customer and employee satisfaction and whether this satisfaction has an impact on business performance. To achieve this objective, a model is proposed to which a PLS technique is applied to a sample of 1319 Spanish SMEs. The results of this innovative study show, on the one hand, a positive relationship of the digital business ecosystem with the satisfaction of both stakeholders, and, on the other hand, and as the main contribution of this study, it has been found that employee satisfaction positively influences business performance. This research offers a novel model capable of relating how the satisfaction of both customers and employees in a digital environment improves business performance. It also contributes to the literature by widening the field of study and overcomes a new gap for SMEs.
... As últimas duas décadas foram marcadas pelo surgimento de diferentes tecnologias digitais, plataformas digitais de negócios (Airbnb, Amazon, Netflix, Uber, etc.) (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021), tipos de serviços (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, RPA, etc.) (Pahl et al., 2013) e infraestruturas (ex. Cloud computing) (Tehrani & Shirazi, 2014) que alteraram a forma como trabalhamos e vivemos. ...
A transformação digital tem viabilizado a utilização de dados digitais para a criação de modelos Industriais ("Indústria 4.0") e o surgimento de uma economia baseada em dados. A transformação Orientada a dados (data-driven) está se tornando uma obrigatoriedade e fonte de vantagem competitiva na maioria das indústrias. Contudo, as iniciativas para incorporar dados nas operações de uma empresa muitas vezes falham. As falhas ocorrem porque as empresas precisam se redefinir organizacionalmente e reinventar processos, serviços e cultura ao passo que as regras de negócios se alteram com muita rapidez e dinamicidade. Destarte, o objetivo deste estudo é propor um índice de Transformação Digital aplicável a Pequenas e Médias Empresas de forma que seja possível avaliar o nível de maturidade dessas organizações que precisam se digitalizar para manter sua competividade. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto foi realizada uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura nas principais bases de dados acadêmicas e um total de 47 estudos fundamentaram as proposições deste estudo. Os resultados do estudo sugerem um Framework Integrado de Transformação Digital (FITD) e um Índice Integrado de Transformação Digital (IITD) composto por 4 construtos, 10 subconstrutos e 40 variáveis.
ENGLISH version:
Digital transformation has enabled the use of digital data to create industrial models ("Industry 4.0") and the emergence of a data-driven economy. Data-driven transformation is becoming a must and a source of competitive advantage in most industries. However, initiatives to incorporate data into a company's operations often fail. Failures occur because companies need to redefine themselves organizationally and reinvent processes, services, and culture while business rules change very quickly and dynamically. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose a Digital Transformation index applicable to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises so that it is possible to assess the level of maturity of these organizations that need to digitize in order to maintain their competitiveness. To achieve the proposed objective, a Systematic Literature Review was carried out in the main academic databases and a total of 47 studies supported the propositions of this study. The results of the study suggest an Integrated Digital Transformation Framework (IDTF) and an Integrated Digital Transformation Index (IDTI) made up of 4 constructs, 10 sub-constructs, and 40 variables.
... Besides this, green entrepreneurship and small medium enterprise sustainable performance are considered in papers by Alraja, Imran, Khashab and Shah [2], Pangarso, [17]. It is also noteworthy that studies by Agrawal, Wankhede, Kumar, Upadhyay and Garza-Reyes [1], Montealegre and Iyengar [8]; Yixin, Maomao, Jing and Rui [19] aim to reveal the variability of different strategies to satisfy consumers changing the business model. Extant research by Fernández-Rovira, Álvarez Valdés, Molleví and Nicolas-Sans [4], Gil-Gomez, Guerola-Navarro, Oltra-Badenes and Lozano-Quilis [6], Wielgos, Homburg and Kuehnl [18] shed light on the overall understanding of consumer interactions and customer relationship management, and accordingly, elucidate novel managerial consequences for digital businesses. ...
It is supposed to consider that the main focus of digital businesses in a green economy and environmental sustainability is the implementation of a relevant and capable strategy of accelerating growth that provides the management system flexibility, which obviously contributes to rapid adaptation to the external environment and guarantee effective realization of the business potential. It is created and visualized the constructive basis for determining the strategy of accelerating digital business growth in a green economy and environmental sustainability. It is conceptualized the model of the determination of the strategy of accelerating digital business growth in a green economy and environmental sustainability as well as interpreted its mechanism. It is developed the matrix of the strategies of accelerating digital business growth in a green economy and environmental sustainability. The approbation of methodological tools allowed retailers to strengthen their competitive advantages due to the ability to quickly respond to any entropic phenomena and, in turn, contributed to the increase of rapid progressive development of their digital business.
... Thus, the digital transformation of the economic environment carried out by a largescale implementation of ICTs implies the transformation of all activities of modern companies to digital platforms. Such a transformation entails changing business-running standards, expanding horizons and creating new types of business (digital business), changing company structure, seizing opportunities that are provided by AI for business transformation and audience accumulation, broadening spheres, and conducting commu-nication in a web [26][27][28][29][30][31]. However, there is no single approach that could be applied to estimate the impact of digitalization on company performance and the financial and economic features of companies. ...
Digitalization processes affect all levels and spheres of human activities, from personal communications to public events. The widespread implementation of digital technologies has an ambiguous effect on the personal, social, and economic paths of modern society’s development. At the moment, there is no single approach to the estimation of digitalization’s impact, particularly on the financial and economic properties of a company. The objective of this study was to create multiple models for the assessment of digitalization’s impact on company performance. To accomplish this objective, the following steps were performed: conducting a literature survey on the experience with digital technologies’ implementation; selecting the most appropriate mathematical tools for correlation and regression analyses; determining a functional relationship between the factors and consequences of digitalization in terms of companies’ performance; identifying digitalization factors, risks, and their impact on the financial sustainability of companies; and creating a multiple regression model of the functional relationship between digitalization factors and the financial sustainability of companies. In the course of the study, a correlation analysis of the dependence of companies’ financial sustainability on a number of digitalization factors has been conducted, and different ways of using company performance data as effective features and predictive factors are offered. The article includes sampling data on the parameterization and quality evaluation of multiple regression models. The validity of the multiple models suggested was tested with actual statistical data obtained from 16 Russian companies. The application of the multiple regression model was devised to estimate digitalization’s impact on companies’ performance, and their financial sustainability can be seen as the most important practical implication of this study.
... By 2022, more than two decades of digital platforms have accumulated enough material to create holistic models of their evolution. Montealegre and Iyengar (2021) develop a framework for understanding the evolution of digital platforms through the lens of ambidexterity, which refers to the organization's ability to balance renewal (exploration) and refinement (exploitation) simultaneously over time. This framework presents three phases of a digital platform evolution: initiating, developing, and growing. ...
Shatkin, M. (2022). Digital transformation and the evolution of the platform economy. In M. Ertz (Ed.) Handbook of Research on the Platform Economy and the Evolution of E-Commerce. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 1-24. ***** This chapter provides an overview of the evolution of the platform economy through the lens of digital transformation and transit from Industry 3.0 (I3.0) to Industry 4.0 (I4.0). The platform economy belongs to both I3.0 and I4.0 and goes through two cycles of digital transformation within them. In I3.0, the starting point of the platform economy is the digitization of social and commercial interactions over user-generated content. The resulting issues of trust and regulation of user interactions find solutions in new business models based on online reputation systems and algorithmic regulation. The specificity of I4.0 is the tendency to platform products, homes, factories, and cities through broad digitization of interactions between humans and things, and things and things. For the platform economy, the new cycle of digital transformation in the context of I4.0 means creating business models based on the ultimate customization of both the production and consumption of product-as-platforms and the rental of digital product models.
*******"For some countries, setting their standards and maintaining the functionality of national platforms has become a national security issue. This challenge becomes relevant in light of conflicts between global platforms and national or federal governments... Addressing this challenge could potentially lead to the displacement of global platforms by local clusters and the fragmentation of the digital space, which would be a powerful challenge for the platform economy.
The decentralization (and especially possible fragmentation and clustering) of the platform economy is a natural barrier to portability between large clusters of platforms". *****
... This would involve continuing to solicit crowdfunding directly using digital platform interfaces, but also engaging stakeholders and enabling the resource mobilization that the sharing economy is known for. But creating a platform is no easy task that can take many months or even years (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021). Thus, immediately actionable practical advice about how to use existing digital platforms is first described below (Approach 1) followed by the outline for a multifaceted platform that an enterprising entrepreneur or a group of social entrepreneurs could cocreate together (Approach 2). ...
Though crowdfunding is no longer an atypical fundraising mechanism, its practical use remains limited, particularly when it comes to social entrepreneurship, owing to the numerous challenges unique to social-entrepreneurial ventures. By combining existing research on social entrepreneurship, value cocreation, the sharing economy, and digital platforms, this work offers practical insights into how existing platforms can be used for crowdfunding financial resources, sourcing creative ideas, collaborating, and gathering an array of nonfinancial resources. Additionally, this article discusses the ideal digital platform solution and explains how a multifaceted, multiuse digital platform can be created and utilized by new social ventures for meeting a multitude of needs. By focusing on a mission of social change and by understanding how digital platforms can avail crowdfunding, social entrepreneurs can overcome legitimacy issues and lack of traditional funding avenues. This taps into many of the typical aspects of the sharing economy: the benevolence of the actors, use of the internet for facilitation, and the motivation to engage in a new way of doing things. Thus, this article adopts a multidisciplinary view in exploring how crowdfunding can be coupled with the remobilization of idling resources using digital platforms to support social-entrepreneurial ventures in a myriad of ways.
... This would involve continuing to solicit crowdfunding directly using digital platform interfaces, but also engaging stakeholders and enabling the resource mobilization that the sharing economy is known for. But creating a platform is no easy task that can take many months or even years (Montealegre & Iyengar, 2021). Thus, immediately actionable practical advice about how to use existing digital platforms is first described below (Approach 1) followed by the outline for a multifaceted platform that an enterprising entrepreneur or a group of social entrepreneurs could cocreate together (Approach 2). ...
Supply chain finance (SCF) platforms have become increasingly important in providing financial services within supply chains. However, their role in creating competitive advantage is not well understood. This paper presents findings from an in‐depth multiple‐case study of four representative SCF service‐providing platforms in China, aiming to examine why firms build SCF platforms, the innovative strategies firms adopt to develop SCF solutions, and the impact of these solutions on their business models and their competitive advantage. Data were collected through multiple interviews. The research findings suggest that the value disciplines of SCF platforms evolve through different stages in response to changes in customer needs. This evolution progresses from pursuing product and service leadership to operational excellence and, lastly, to customer intimacy. This study also identifies the various financial products and services provided by these SCF platforms at each stage. It then further points out the direction of creating ecosystem value as the ultimate goal of the SCF platforms. This study enhances the understanding of the innovative roles of SCF platforms and their impact on the development of new business models and gaining a competitive advantage based on value disciplines.
This study aims to empirically prove the effect of digital business models on the performance of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Padang City and the role of business renewal in strengthening the relationship. A total of 170 MSEs in the culinary sector that have been digitized for at least two years and are domiciled in Padang City were used as research samples. Data were collected through distributing questionnaires, and data analysis was carried out using quantitative methods with path analysis. The results of hypothesis testing show that the digital business model has no direct significant effect on financial performance or non-financial performance. In contrast, business renewal has a positive and significant influence on financial performance and non-financial performance. In addition, digital business models also have a positive and significant effect on business renewal. The indirect effect of digital business models on financial performance through business renewal is significant, but its indirect effect on non-financial performance through business renewal is not significant. Overall, this study confirms the importance of business renewal in mediating the relationship between digital business models and MSEs' financial performance. Although the digital business model does not have a significant direct effect on financial and non-financial performance, it is not significant.
This research seeks to clarify the impact of strategic change with its four dimensions (readiness for change, change goals, change plan, and change management) on digital governance in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, where this organization has a well-established and stable organizational culture due to the nature and requirements of the security sector and its employees, who are characterized by high respect for the organization’s culture, under conditions that require to adapt to rapid changes by choosing modern means and methods such as digital governance to achieve goals accurately and quickly. The research tested a group of departments and directorates that express a variety of military and civilian categories . The main role of the ministry is to maintain security and provide services. The research was applied to a sample of the research community, which was about 324 individuals from various specializations, including commanders and their assistants from the military ranks, managers, and their assistants from the civilian employees in the ministry. A questionnaire was used in the researchas the main tool for collecting data. Several statistical tools are used for analyzing the data obtained . The most prominent result is that there is a statistically significant impact for strategic change on digital governance. Paper type: Research paper
In a digital world increasingly characterized by new business opportunities and challenges driven by the proliferation of pervasive digital technologies, companies are more than ever called to act entrepreneurially. This scenario has raised important questions at the intersection of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and digital technologies, as we currently lack a comprehensive understanding on the implications of digital technologies in CE strategy, related antecedents, processes, and outcomes. To fill this gap, our study takes stock of the extant literature on CE in the digital age. Through a review of 54 studies, we craft an integrative framework of CE in the digital age, articulated across six building blocks. Building on the proposed framework, we elaborate a research agenda for future research.
Digitalization and sustainability are linked through the economy in an organic and green way around the world. Pandemic of COVID-19 greatly accelerated the understanding the importance of the digitalization impacting the society as whole, but enterprises as the separate unit too. They were forced to overcome initial barriers and quickly adapt to a new digital world while sustain the goals. The specific topic of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) was strongly impacted by current situation caused by pandemic of COVID-19. Surprisingly, it was in both, positive and negative way. It is a paradox, but pandemic which caused damages across life of individuals and society, brings various opportunities for digital word and its expansion. Digital enterprises are shine examples of positive effects of pandemic. While business entities worldwide suffer from restrictions connected with pandemic, digital enterprises profit from its virtual character and massive wave of expanding digitalization as safe form of human interaction.
An attempt to systematize knowledge on the management of railway transport organizations’ specialists as a topical problem in modern conditions, when highly effective work with information and its sources, which is produced on an intellectual basis, comes to the forefront, is presented in the article. The article presents the author’s interpretation of the term “intellectual workers”. On the basis of the fundamental aspects of the definition, an attempt is made to establish the patterns of correlation between the needs of professionals and the optimal nature of the controlling impact. The hypothesis that specialists of railway transport organizations make labor efforts not only because of wages has been put forward. The hypothesis was tested using the method of V. Vroom’s expectation theory. As a result, the paradox was revealed - the effectiveness of management influences the specialists’ labor efficiency, and the specialists’ labor efficiency determines the management effectiveness, producing specific recommendations and scenarios. Thus, in modern conditions of increasing technologization, standardization and optimization of management in transport organizations and the simultaneous spread of humanistic trends in society, there is a new management paradigm, which involves the maximum involvement of highly qualified specialists in the management of the organization. It is concluded that this requires a transition from hierarchical relations to horizontal ones, from administrative-command to human ones, from management to coaching.
Most CEOs take a narrow, tactical view of pricing and delegate pricing to lower levels of the organization. This myopic approach is costly since it prevents companies from realizing their potential. In the hands of the best-run companies, pricing is not a battlefield tactic to win a particular competitive skirmish, but a transformative long-term strategy for sustained competitive advantage. We present an agenda, six specific action items, that defines how to unlock the power of pricing: CEOs and senior executives should (1) act as pricing champions, (2) develop a value mindset, (3) build pricing governance systems, (4) develop company-wide pricing capabilities, (5) focus on a pricing execution plan, and (6) ensure the responsible use of pricing power. CEOs and senior executives, our research suggests, should not set prices, but they should create the context, the capabilities, the behaviors, the infrastructure and the aspirations that enables their organization to excel in pricing.
In this interview Andreas Hinterhuber and Michael Nilles, CDIO of Henkel, discuss the game-changing opportunities that the digital transformation opens to companies that embed a digital core into their business models. Michael Nilles sees digital transformation as the Holy Grail: a force that is not easy to find, not easy to capture and that has the potential to dramatically improve the customer experience. In B2C, the Holy Grail for Henkel’s Beauty Care business is for instance the beauty tech ecosystem, a series of connected devices harnessing big data and augmented reality allowing to create meaningful, personalized and direct relationships with consumers. In B2B, the Holy Grail is Henkel’s digital twin along the digital thread. Henkel builds a digital twin along the entire value chain of the customer – starting with the initial customer request via deployment, until and after sales service – in order to sell outcomes to customers. In B2B the digital twin enables outcome-based servitization. Digital technologies are thus more than enabling technologies: digital technologies allow the creation of fundamentally new, disruptive business models. The digital transformation needs small, agile teams with end-to-end responsibility for project delivery, start-up mentality and customer obsession. Finally, key metrics of the digital transformation are digital efficiency/productivity, digital revenues and digital growth (net of cannibalization).
As digital platforms are transforming almost every industry today, they are slowly finding their way into the mainstream information systems (ISs) literature. Digital platforms are a challenging research object because of their distributed nature and intertwinement with institutions, markets and technologies. New research challenges arise as a result of the exponentially growing scale of platform innovation, the increasing complexity of platform architectures and the spread of digital platforms to many different industries. This paper develops a research agenda for digital platforms research in IS. We recommend researchers seek to (1) advance conceptual clarity by providing clear definitions that specify the unit of analysis, degree of digitality and the sociotechnical nature of digital platforms; (2) define the proper scoping of digital platform concepts by studying platforms on different architectural levels and in different industry settings; and (3) advance methodological rigour by employing embedded case studies, longitudinal studies, design research, data-driven modelling and visualisation techniques. Considering current developments in the business domain, we suggest six questions for further research: (1) Are platforms here to stay? (2) How should platforms be designed? (3) How do digital platforms transform industries? (4) How can data-driven approaches inform digital platforms research? (5) How should researchers develop theory for digital platforms? and (6) How do digital platforms affect everyday life?
The current literature on digital infrastructure offers powerful lenses for conceptualizing the increasingly interconnected information system collectives found in contemporary organizations. However, little attention has been paid to the generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure, that is, the causal powers that explain how and why such infrastructure evolves over time. This is unfortunate, since more knowledge about what drives digital infrastructures would be highly valuable for managers and IT professionals confronted by the complexity of managing them. To this end, this paper adopts a critical realist view for developing a configurational perspective of infrastructure evolution. Our theorizing draws on a multimethod research design comprising an in-depth case study and a case survey. The in-depth case study, conducted at a Scandinavian airline, distinguishes three key mechanisms of digital infrastructure evolution: adoption, innovation, and scaling. The case survey research of 41 cases of digital infrastructure then identifies and analyzes causal paths through which configurations of these mechanisms lead to successful evolution outcomes. The study reported in this paper contributes to the infrastructure literature in two ways. First, we identify three generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure and how they contingently lead to evolution outcomes. Second, we use these mechanisms as a basis for developing a configurational perspective that advances current knowledge about why some digital infrastructures evolve successfully while others do not. In addition, the paper demonstrates and discusses the efficacy of critical realism as a philosophical tradition for developing substantive contributions in the field of information systems.
Information technology (IT) programs are collections of projects structured to meet goals established by top management regarding the use of technology. Prior research has established the importance of commitment to the organizational goals set by top management and a shared understanding of the goals among the project teams. However, conflicts occur among project teams due to pursuit of their own goals, their unique approaches to completion of required tasks, and their individual need for limited resources. These conflicts need to be resolved in a fashion that leads to the pursuit of program goals, not the independent goals lodged in individual projects. We develop a model of an IT program environment to study the effects of goal interdependence among projects and shared understanding of organizational goals on promoting integrative conflict management (ICM). ICM techniques yield agreement on decisions in the face of conflicting ideas. In turn, ICM promotes arrival at an agreement about implementation means and commitment to the IT program goals, which are better achieved as a result. The model presents a new perspective for research on conflict that considers the specific resolution process to be a key component in the attainment of goals. Practitioners should instill integrative conflict resolution techniques into program and project processes as a fundamental means of achieving goals critical to the organization.
The central questions of this article are: How can the design of program management contribute to the success of complex software implementations? How do we deal with the complexity that large implementation projects encounter from changes over time and from strong integration needs? These questions become increasingly pertinent as software projects include the implementation of new internet-based IT architectures and business models. To answer these questions, we propose ways that have worked well in recent complex multi-project Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations (“programs”). We start by defining complexity in this context and making it measurable through three dimensions: variety, variability, and integration. We then investigate 15 cases and outline how our framework can be applied to deal with increasing ERP implementation complexity. One of our conclusions is that successful implementation programs leave more room to explore innovative technology but are more rigorous in rolling out proven technology. They differentiate their approaches according to the extent of the different complexities they encounter. In particular, they adjust the number of parallel rollout activities to the static complexity (variety) and organize the alignment of IT and business needs during the parallel activities according to the integration needs.
T he paper examines managing knowledge across boundaries in settings where innovation is desired. Innovation is a useful context because it allows us to explore the negative consequences of the path-dependent nature of knowledge. A framework is developed that describes three progressively complex boundaries—syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic— and three progressively complex processes—transfer, translation, and transformation. The framework is used to specify the practical and political mismatches that occur when innovation is desired and how this relates to the common knowledge that actors use to share and assess each other's domain-specific knowledge. The development and use of a collaborative engineering tool in the early stages of a vehicle's development is presented to illustrate the conceptual and prescriptive value of the framework. The implication of this framework on key topics in the organization theory and strategy literatures is then discussed.
We develop a contingency view of process management's influence on both technological Innovation and organizational adaptation. We argue that while process management activities are beneficial for organizations in stable contexts, they are fundamentally inconsistent with all but incremental innovation and change. But dynamic capabilities are rooted In both exploitative and exploratory activities. We argue that process management activities must be buffered from exploratory activities and that ambidextrous organizational forms provide the complex contexts for these inconsistent activities to coexist.
Designing e-infrastructure is work conducted today with an eye toward long-term sustainability. Participants in such development projects find themselves caught with one foot in the demands of the present and the other in a desired future. In this paper we seek to capture participants' formulation of problems as they go about developing long-term information infrastructure. Drawing from cross-case ethnographic studies of four US e-infrastructure projects for the earth and environmental sciences (cyberinfrastructure), we trace nine tensions as they are framed and articulated by participants. To assist in understanding participants' orientations we abstract three concerns - motivating contribution, aligning end goals, and designing for use - which manifest themselves uniquely at each of the 'scales of infrastructure': institutionalization, the organization of work, and enacting technology. The concept of "the long now" helps us understand that participants seek to simultaneously address all three concerns in long-term development endeavors.
In this essay, we argue that pervasive digitization gives birth to a new type of product architecture: the layered modular architecture. The layered modular architecture extends the modular architecture of physical products by incorporating four loosely coupled layers of devices, networks, services, and contents created by digital technology. We posit that this new architecture instigates profound changes in the ways that firms organize for innovation in the future. We develop (1) a conceptual framework to describe the emerging organizing logic of digital innovation and (2) an information systems research agenda for digital strategy and the creation and management of corporate information technology infrastructures.
An informational cascade occurs when it is optimal for an individual, having observed the actions of those ahead of him, to follow the behavior of the preceding individual with regard to his own information. The authors argue that localized conformity of behavior and the fragility of mass behaviors can be explained by informational cascades. Copyright 1992 by University of Chicago Press.
In many firms, strategic initiatives lead to frustration rather than performance improvements and strategic renewal. One frequently overlooked key to driving value through strategic initiatives lies in shifting the focus from launching disconnected individual strategic initiatives to managing an integrated portfolio of initiatives. This article identifies five key management practices that allow firms to address obstacles to effective initiative management and to enhance value creation through the deliberate management of initiative portfolios.
Digital technologies are revolutionizing traditional interdependencies among businesses. As a result, managers have begun to recognize their business environments as digital ecosystems. For firms accustomed to framing their business environments as industries, this represents a significant shift in perspective—one that requires an understanding of fresh strategic initiatives necessary to compete in the digital era. In this article, we highlight what is new and different about digital ecosystems for firm strategy. We offer frameworks that explain how digital ecosystems provide firms with new sources of value and new avenues for growth. Two sets of underlying concepts govern these frameworks: (1) production and consumption ecosystems and (2) digital envelopes and product-in-use information. We introduce and elaborate upon these foundational concepts and highlight new strategic options for firms to compete in digital ecosystems.
Multi-sided platforms (MSP) are revolutionizing the global competitive landscape in the new networked economy. Yet, although these MSPs are underpinned by information systems (IS), there is currently little research on how the IS capabilities of the platform sponsor can influence, and co-evolve with, the development of the platform over time. The lack of knowledge in this area may account for the difficulties faced by a significant number of platform sponsors in developing their MSPs effectively. Using a case study of Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest and most commercially successful online MSP, we inductively derive a process theory of MSP development from an IS capability perspective to address this knowledge gap. The process model reveals that the role of IS capabilities in MSP development is evolutionary in nature, and the antecedent IS capabilities, nature, and outcomes of MSP development can be dramatically different in the various stages of development. © 2015, Association for Information Systems. All rights reserved.
This article suggests that the context and process of resource selection have an important influence on firm heterogeneity and sustainable competitive advantage. It is argued that a firm’s sustainable advantage depends on its ability to manage the institutional context of its resource decisions. A firm’s institutional context includes its internal culture as well as broader influences from the state, society, and interfirm relations that define socially acceptable economic behavior. A process model of firm heterogeneity is proposed that combines the insights of a resource-based view with the institutional perspective from organization theory. Normative rationality, institutional isolating mechanisms, and institutional sources of firm homogeneity are proposed as determinants of rent potential that complement and extend resource-based explanations of firm variation and sustainable competitive advantage. The article suggests that both resource capital and institutional capital are indispensable to sustainable competitive advantage. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The dynamic capabilities framework analyzes the sources and methods of wealth creation and capture by private enterprise firms operating in environments of rapid technological change. The competitive advantage of firms is seen as resting on distinctive processes (ways of coordinating and combining), shaped by the firm's (specific) asset positions (such as the firm's portfolio of difftcult-to- trade knowledge assets and complementary assets), and the evolution path(s) it has aflopted or inherited. The importance of path dependencies is amplified where conditions of increasing retums exist. Whether and how a firm's competitive advantage is eroded depends on the stability of market demand, and the ease of replicability (expanding intemally) and imitatability (replication by competitors). If correct, the framework suggests that private wealth creation in regimes of rapid technological change depends in large measure on honing intemal technological, organizational, and managerial processes inside the firm. In short, identifying new opportunities and organizing effectively and efficiently to embrace them are generally more fundamental to private wealth creation than is strategizing, if by strategizing one means engaging in business conduct that keeps competitors off balance, raises rival's costs, and excludes new entrants. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Examines the correlation between the exploration of new possibilities and the exploitation of old certainties in organizational learning. Also discusses the difficulty in balancing resource management between gaining new information about alternatives to improve future returns (i.e., exploration) and using information currently available to improve present returns (i.e., exploitation). Two models which evaluate the formation and use of knowledge in organizations are developed. The first is a model of mutual learning in a closed system having fixed organizational membership and stability. The second is a model which considers the ways in which competitive advantage is affected by knowledge accumulation. The analysis indicates that the choice to rapidly develop exploitation over exploration might be effective in the short term, but is potentially detrimental to the firm in the long term. (SFL)
The right digital-platform strategy
- Bughin
Dynamic capabilities and strategic management
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People first: The primacy of people in the digital age
- Accenture
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Platform revolution: How networked markets are transforming the economy and how to make them work for you
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Why some platforms thrive.and others don't
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