Original title: Digitization capability and the digitalization of business models in business-to-business firms: Past, present, and future
The paper reviews research on digitizationDigitization is the use of digital technology or data in a business context. and digitalizationHere, digitalization refers to business-model change that enables growth using data. in business-to-business markets. It concludes that these ideas have a long history, even though they have recently attracted more attention. It defines “digitization capability” and uses it to discuss how a firm’s ability to digitize can work with its business modelA business model describes how a firm creates and earns value. to support growth enabled by data. It also points to questions for future research.
Imagine a family changing how it plans and pays for groceries. The hard part is not just using a digital list; it is fitting that tool into the way the family already shops and budgets. In this paper, the family’s ability to use the list stands for a firm’s digitization capability, while its shopping and budgeting routine stands for the business model; together, they can support growth using data.
For people who study or manage business-to-business firms, this paper puts today’s digital business-model changes in historical context. It also offers a way to discuss how a firm’s ability to digitize interacts with its business model to support growth enabled by data.
The abstract describes a brief historical overview, a proposed definition, and directions for future research. It does not report empirical tests or show how digitization capability affects business results in particular firms.
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Digitization capability and the digitalization of business models in business-to-business firms: Past, present, and future — Thomas Ritter, Carsten Lund Pedersen — Industrial Marketing Management — doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.11.019
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.