Digital business models: Taxonomy and future research avenues

• Date: 01 March 2018
• Author: Glenn Parry,Emanuel Gomes,Oscar F. Bustinza,Ferran Vendrell‐Herrero
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2183
• Published date: 01 March 2018

EDITORIAL

DOI: 10.1002/jsc.2183

Strategic Change. 2018;27(2):87–90. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jsc © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 87

Abstract

Digital technologies reshape the compeve landscape as rms develop new means of value cre‐

aon, delivery, and capture. The implementaon and suitability of digital business models depend

largely on the resources of incumbent rms and new entrants and on the rm posioning in the

supply chain. The eect of digital business models is context specic and hence insights from a

wide range of industries are included here; among them retailing, manufacturing, Internet, health,

and television broadcasng. The maximizaon of revenues through customer engagement and

the reducon of costs are oen the main drivers for digital business model adopon.

Business models provide the raonale for how an organizaon cre‐

ates, delivers, and captures value, and as such, are seen as the route to

compeveness, growth, and protability (Teece, 2010). Firms bundle

resources together to create capabilies that allow them to develop

dierent business models, a process that has been enhanced by the

developing digital technology led economy (Amit & Zo, 2001). The

nature of digital technology has changed the way economic agents

produce, interact, and commercialize their oerings (Porter & Hep‐

pelmann, 2014), leading to novel digitalized product‐services business

models (Visnjic, Wiengarten, & Neely, 2016). The impact of digiza‐

on on businesses and society is broad, but its empirical assessment

is complex and challenging (Vendrell‐Herrero, Myrthianos, Parry, &

Busnza, 2017a).

Digital business models have been implemented in a wide variety

of industries including, but not limited to manufacturing, hardware,

retailing, publishing, and television broadcasng. Some companies

have achieved tremendous success developing and internaonaliz‐

ing technology‐enabled business models that aect local and global

value chains (Alcácer, Cantwell, & Piscitello, 2016). An example of this

transformaon is the case of Uber who developed and commercial‐

ized a digital taxi booking system. The Uber applicaon can be used

by both licensed and unlicensed taxi/minicabs across the world and

has dramacally increased compeon in the industry, considerably

aecng the ability of incumbents to appropriate value (Sharman,

2015). Another example is the use of “big data” analycs, where rms

who are able to develop processes for gathering, analyzing, and inter‐

preng data from their oerings will gain signicant insight and thus

advantage over competors. Big data is already impacng global pro‐

ducon processes and the relaonships between businesses and con‐

sumers (Opresnik & Taisch, 2015).

This special issue seeks to advance the understanding of the

transion undertaken by many rms, towards more innovaon‐based

and dicult‐to‐imitate digital business models. The collecon of nine

arcles presented here provide insight into a variety of digital busi‐

ness models that are deployed and implemented by rms and provide

assessment of their impact. All the arcles were blind reviewed and

most were presented at the h Internaonal Conference on Busi‐

ness Servizaon, held in Granada, Spain (www.servizaon.org)

which allowed both formal and informal discussion of specic aspects

of the developing research between authors and guest editors. The

special issue has wide geographical representaon of European con‐

texts, with author aliaons from eight countries (Denmark, France,

Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and UK).

In this editorial note, we present the arcles using a taxonomy

framework that is useful for both academic and praconer audi‐

ences. In the next secon, we will develop our taxonomy framework

Digital business models: Taxonomy and future

research avenues*

Ferran Vendrell‐Herrero1 | Glenn Parry2 | Oscar F. Busnza3 | Emanuel Gomes4

1 Department of Management, University of

Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

2 Department of Business and Management,

University of the West of England,

Bristol, United Kingdom

3 Department of Management, University of

Granada, Granada, Spain

4 Department of Management, Nova

University, Lisbon, Portugal

Correspondence

Ferran Vendrell‐Herrero, Birmingham

Business School, University of Birmingham,

B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK.

Email: f.vendrell‐herrero@bham.ac.uk

* JEL classicaon codes: D21, M21.