Digital Transformation and IT: Current State of Research

Information Systems (IS) have never been more important as digital technologies are essential for business model innovation by developing new digital products and services. Digital transformation not only affects business, but also IT. While digital transformation and digital technologies are well established research areas, the implications of digital transformation on IT are rarely in focus. Taking this topic as a reference, the paper contributes to general IS research by assessing to which extent digital innovation is already subject to mainstream IS research. A bibliometric study analyzing all 2,833 articles published in the AIS Senior Scholars’ \u27basket\u27 of eight leading IS journals between 2007 and 2016 reveals that a mere 0.2% address the impact of digital transformation on IT while 2.3% cover topics of digital transformation, innovation, or digital technologies. In contrast to previous work, this study finds that digital innovation research is already present in primarily high-ranked IS journals

The Digital Transformation of Automotive Businesses: THREE ARTEFACTS TO SUPPORT DIGITAL SERVICE PROVISION AND INNOVATION

Digitalisation and increasing competitive pressure drive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to switch their focus towards the provision of digital services and open-up towards increased collaboration and customer integration. This shift implies a significant transformational change from product to product-service providers, where OEMs realign themselves within strategic, business and procedural dimensions. Thus, OEMs must manage digital transformation (DT) processes in order to stay competitive and remain adaptable to changing customer demands. However, OEMs aspiring to become participants or leaders in their domain, struggle to initiate activities as there is a lack of applicable instruments that can guide and support them during this process. Compared to the practical importance of DT, empirical studies are not comprehensive. This study proposes three artefacts, validated within case companies that intend to support automotive OEMs in digital service provisioning. Artefact one, a layered conceptual model for a digital automotive ecosystem, was developed by means of 26 expert interviews. It can serve as a useful instrument for decision makers to strategically plan and outline digital ecosystems. Artefact two is a conceptual reference framework for automotive service systems. The artefact was developed based on an extensive literature review, and the mapping of the business model canvas to the service system domain. The artefact intends to assist OEMs in the efficient conception of digital services under consideration of relevant stakeholders and the necessary infrastructures. Finally, artefact three proposes a methodology by which to transform software readiness assessment processes to fit into the agile software development approach with consideration of the existing operational infrastructure. Overall, the findings contribute to the empirical body of knowledge about the digital transformation of manufacturing industries. The results suggest value creation for digital automotive services occurs in networks among interdependent stakeholders in which customers play an integral role during the services’ life-cycle. The findings further indicate the artefacts as being useful instruments, however, success is dependent on the integration and collaboration of all contributing departments.:Table of Contents Bibliographic Description II Acknowledgment III Table of Contents IV List of Figures VI List of Tables VII List of Abbreviations VIII 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation and Problem Statement 1 1.2 Objective and Research Questions 6 1.3 Research Methodology 7 1.4 Contributions 10 1.5 Outline 12 2 Background 13 2.1 From Interdependent Value Creation to Digital Ecosystems 13 2.1.1 Digitalisation Drives Collaboration 13 2.1.2 Pursuing an Ecosystem Strategy 13 2.1.3 Research Gaps and Strategy Formulation Obstacles 20 2.2 From Products to Product-Service Solutions 22 2.2.1 Digital Service Fulfilment Requires Co-Creational Networks 22 2.2.2 Enhancing Business Models with Digital Services 28 2.2.3 Research Gaps and Service Conception Obstacles 30 2.3 From Linear Development to Continuous Innovation 32 2.3.1 Digital Innovation Demands Digital Transformation 32 2.3.2 Assessing Digital Products 36 2.3.3 Research Gaps and Implementation Obstacles 38 3 Artefact 1: Digital Automotive Ecosystems 41 3.1 Meta Data 41 3.2 Summary 42 3.3 Designing a Layered Conceptual Model of a Digital Ecosystem 45 4 Artefact 2: Conceptual Reference Framework 79 4.1 Meta Data 79 4.2 Summary 80 4.3 On the Move Towards Customer-Centric Automotive Business Models 83 5 Artefact 3: Agile Software Readiness Assessment Procedures 121 5.1 Meta Data 121 5.2 Meta Data 122 5.3 Summary 123 5.4 Adding Agility to Software Readiness Assessment Procedures 126 5.5 Continuous Software Readiness Assessments for Agile Development 147 6 Conclusion and Future Work 158 6.1 Contributions 158 6.1.1 Strategic Dimension: Artefact 1 158 6.1.2 Business Dimension: Artefact 2 159 6.1.3 Process Dimension: Artefact 3 161 6.1.4 Synthesis of Contributions 163 6.2 Implications 167 6.2.1 Scientific Implications 167 6.2.2 Managerial Implications 168 6.2.3 Intelligent Parking Service Example (ParkSpotHelp) 171 6.3 Concluding Remarks 174 6.3.1 Threats to Validity 174 6.3.2 Outlook and Future Research Recommendations 174 Appendix VII Bibliography XX Wissenschaftlicher Werdegang XXXVII Selbständigkeitserklärung XXXVII

Can the development of digital construction reduce enterprise carbon emission intensity? New evidence from Chinese construction enterprises

IntroductionWith the rapid development of digital technology and its deep integration with the engineering and construction field, digital construction has become an effective way for low-carbon transformation in the construction industry. However, there is a gap of empirical research between digital construction and carbon emissions. MethodsThis paper empirically investigates the impact of digital construction level on carbon emission intensity and the mechanism of action by using the two-way fixed effects model and mechanism testing based on the panel data of 52 Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies in China’s construction industry from 2015 to 2021. ResultsThe findings indicate that the improvement of digital construction level can significantly decrease the carbon emission intensity of construction enterprises, and the conclusions still hold after robustness tests and discussions on endogeneity issues such as replacing core explanatory variables, replacing models, using instrumental variables method, system GMM model and difference in differences model. According to a mechanism analysis, digital construction can curb carbon emission intensity by enhancing the R&D innovation capacity and total factor productivity of enterprises. Furthermore, the heterogeneity analysis shows that the improvement of digital construction level in state-owned enterprises as well as civil engineering construction enterprises can better contribute to reducing carbon emission intensity. DiscussionThis paper will provide a reference for the synergistic optimization of digital construction development and carbon emissions reduction in construction enterprises. The research conclusions are going to promote the digital transformation of the construction industry to accelerate the achievement of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals

Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as "Industry 4.0" or "Smart Manufacturing") is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field

Study on cultural transformation that drives towards an effective digital transformation of Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in selected states of Malaysia

This research explores how organisational culture affects the adoption of digital transformation within the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in selected states of Malaysia. Although SMEs understand the need and benefits of digital transformation, their adoption rate remains low.This problem has negatively impacted most SMEs who are lagging in shifting towards digitalisation. Therefore, this research provides clarity and conceptualises a Digital Culture Transformation framework to resolve their business pain points and guide them in achieving sustainable value creation.This research adopts an exploratory sequential mixed-method research design. This research will focus on SMEs, covering both the micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur as the two states representing the highest SME population in Malaysia. This would potentially contribute more value to a significant population of business establishments in Malaysia. Based on the analysis. 98% of the SMEs agreed that the digital culture elements, i.e. Digital Vision, Innovation Culture, Agile Way of Working, Customer-centricity, Collaboration, and Digital Leadership, are vital to them. From this research, it is proven that there is a positive correlation between the digital culture elements and three core areas of value creation, which are: 1) financial performance, 2) productivity improvement,and 3) customer satisfaction. SMEs that intend to implement digital culture transformation will need to; 1) have the right attitude towards the behaviour, 2) positively influence the organisation by exerting social pressure that strengthens the digital culture, and 3) have the perceived behavioural control mainly appropriate processes, people or tools to implement the intended transformation.The main contribution of this research is threefold. Firstly, to uncover the core elements of a digital culture, which is currently an understudied subject. Secondly, to develop a culture transformation framework for the SME to achieve an effective digital transformation. Thirdly, as a contribution to the body of knowledge related to the digital transformation field of study. The direct output of this research will be the formulation of a culture transformation framework that can be adopted by SMEs. The conceptual model could serve as a critical frame of reference for Malaysia’s digital economy development plan, which subsequently supports the country's aspiration to boost its digital economy

Eco‐Holonic 4.0 Circular Business Model to Conceptualize Sustainable Value Chain Towards Digital Transition

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a circular business model based on an Eco-Holonic Architecture, through the integration of circular economy and holonic principles. A conceptual model is developed to manage the complexity of integrating circular economy principles, digital transformation, and tools and frameworks for sustainability into business models. The proposed architecture is multilevel and multiscale in order to achieve the instantiation of the sustainable value chain in any territory. The architecture promotes the incorporation of circular economy and holonic principles into new circular business models. This integrated perspective of business model can support the design and upgrade of the manufacturing companies in their respective industrial sectors. The conceptual model proposed is based on activity theory that considers the interactions between technical and social systems and allows the mitigation of the metabolic rift that exists between natural and social metabolism. This study contributes to the existing literature on circular economy, circular business models and activity theory by considering holonic paradigm concerns, which have not been explored yet. This research also offers a unique holonic architecture of circular business model by considering different levels, relationships, dynamism and contextualization (territory) aspects

Internet of Things and Their Coming Perspectives: A Real Options Approach

Internet of things is developing at a dizzying rate, and companies are forced to implement it in order to maintain their operational efficiency. The high flexibility inherent to these technologies makes it necessary to apply an appropriate measure, which properly assesses risks and rewards. Real options methodology is available as a tool which fits the conditions, both economic and strategic, under which investment in internet of things technologies is developed. The contribution of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it offers an adequate tool to assess the strategic value of investment in internet of things technologies. On the other hand, it tries to raise awareness among managers of internet of things technologies because of their potential to contribute to economic and social progress. The results of the research described in this paper highlight the importance of taking action as quickly as possible if companies want to obtain the best possible performance. In order to enhance the understanding of internet of things technologies investment, this paper provides a methodology to assess the implementation of internet of things technologies by using the real options approach; in particular, the option to expand has been proposed for use in the decision-making process

Managing stimulation of regional innovation subjects’ interaction in the digital economy

The reported study was funded by RFBR according to the research project No. 18-01000204_a, No. 16-07-00031_a, No. 18-07-00975_a.Purpose: The article is devoted to solving fundamental scientific problems in the scope of the development of forecasting modeling methods and evaluation of regional company’s innovative development parameters, synthesizing new methods of big data processing and intelligent analysis, as well as methods of knowledge eliciting and forecasting the dynamics of regional innovation developments through benchmarking. Design/Methodology/Approach: For regional economic development, it is required to identify the mechanisms that contribute to (or impede) the innovative economic development of the regions. The synergetic approach to management is based on the fact that there are multiple paths of IS development (scenarios with different probabilities), although it is necessary to reach the required attractor by meeting the management goals. Findings: The present research is focused on obtainment of new knowledge in creating a technique of multi-agent search, collection and processing of data on company’s innovative development indicators, models and methods of intelligent analysis of the collected data. Practical Implications: The author developed recommendations before starting the process of institutional changes in a specific regional innovation system. The article formulates recommendations on the implementation of institutional changes in the region taking into account the sociocultural characteristics of the region’s population. Originality/Value: It is the first time, when a complex of models and methods is based on the use of a convergent model of large data volumes processing is presented.peer-reviewe