Evaluation of Digital Business Model Opportunities

Abstract

Overview:

In the era of digitalization, manufacturing firms find it difficult to assess what is “the right” digital business model. To avoid common digitalization traps, company leaders and managers need to carefully assess each business model opportunity before committing to implementation and commercialization. We present insights from our case study about the diverse and complex issues related to digital business models. We highlight three digitalization traps and provide a three-phase framework companies can use to evaluate digital business model opportunities and make an informed decision on the commercial prospects for each model vetted.

Key Words::

• Digital servitization
• Risk management
• Business model innovation
• Industry 4.0
• Digitalization paradox

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lina Linde

Lina Linde is a PhD candidate in entrepreneurship and innovation at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Her research interests include servitization, digitalization, business model innovation, and strategic management. She holds an MSc in innovation and strategic business development from Luleå University of Technology. [email protected]

David Sjödin

David Sjödin is an associate professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and at the University of South Eastern Norway, respectively. He conducts research on the topics of servitization, advanced services, digitalization, process innovation, and digital business model innovation in collaboration with leading global firms and regularly consults with industry. He has published more than 30 papers in distinguished international journals, including California Management Review, Long Range Planning, Journal of Business Research, Research-Technology Management, and Journal of Product Innovation Management. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Entrepreneurship Forum Young Researcher Award 2018 for his research on the servitization of industry. [email protected]

Vinit Parida

Vinit Parida is professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and a visiting professor at the University of Vaasa, Finland. His research interests include organizational capabilities, servitization, business model innovation, digitalization of industrial ecosystems, and the circular economy. He has published more than 60 journal papers in distinguished international journals, including Strategic Management Journal, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Management Studies, Production and Operations Management, and Journal of Cleaner Production. He is also an editorial review board member for Industrial Marketing Management and Journal of Business Research. He is the recipient of multiple awards for his research. [email protected]

Heiko Gebauer

Heiko Gebauer heads the Data Mining and Value Creation project at the Fraunhofer IMW and works at the Bosch IoT-Lab of the University of St. Gallen. He is also a professor of international and strategic management at Linköping University, Sweden. He investigates three empirical phenomena—service, scaling, and digitization paradoxes—and has published various articles on these phenomena in academic and management journals. He also serves as an academic adviser to a variety of companies. [email protected]