Reviewing Organizational Design Components for Digital Business Strategy

The view on information technology strategy has changed significantly. In the past, a functional-level view was prevailing, where information technology (IT) strategy was subordinate to a deliberate business strategy and needed alignment. Recently, rapid developments in digital technologies leaves no industry untouched and IT becomes an enabler and differentiator for businesses. Therefore, IT strategy exceeds the view of alignment towards a fusion of business- and IT-strategy– coined as digital business strategy (DBS). Yet, strategies are inextricably linked to organizational design in order to function well. Consequently, a DBS requires a suitable underlying organizational design. This paper aims to explore the very organizational design components for DBS by examining the state of the art literature. Specifically, this paper sheds light on the organizational design components of strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people. The research method is a review of relevant literature at the intersect of information systems (IS) and management. Conclusions, implications for research and practice are presented

Cross-Media Alliances to Stop Disinformation: A Real Solution?

Social networks have surpassed their intermediary role and become gatekeepers of online content and traffic. This transformation has favored the spread of information disorders. The situation is especially alarming in Spain, where 57% of Spaniards have at some moment believed false news. Since 2016, First Draft has promoted several collaborative verification projects that brought together newsrooms to fact-check false, misleading and confusing claims circulating online during presidential elections in several countries. The main objective of this article is to study the collaboration forged between newsrooms in Spain in order to debunk disinformation contents in 2019 under the name of Comprobado (Verified) and the impact of this initiative. Applying a methodological approach based on non-participant observation, interviews, content analysis of reports, scientific articles, books and media archives, we examine the internal uses of this platform, how journalists verified public discourse, the strategies and internal agreements implemented, and the degree of participation of the 16 media involved. Results show that only half of the initiatives begun were transformed into published reports, and the media impact achieved was limited. Finally, we note that the principal reasons for the frustration of the project were its improvised implementation, due to the date of the election being brought forward, and the scant culture of collaboration in the sector. In Spain at least, cross-media alliances are still an exception

Explaining ICT Infrastructure and E-Commerce Uses and Benefits in Industrial Clusters-Evidence from a Biotech Cluster

The literature on industrial clusters has not focused heavily on the role of the ICT infrastructure, nor on the potential implications of electronic commerce. In this paper, we examine the theoretical bases for bringing these research streams together, and develop expectations for how firms in an industrial cluster might utilize and derive benefit from a public, broadband ICT infrastructure, particularly in support of e-commerce applications. A case study of a successful biotech cluster in Denmark and Sweden – the Medicon Valley – provides a preliminary test of these expectations. Distinctions in uses and benefits based upon firm size are considered. A key finding is that small firms that would not otherwise be expected to gain from global e-commerce can rely on the cluster "brand " to enable trade with unknown and distant partners

Dark side of sharing economy: examining the unethical practices and its impact on coopetition and firm performance

The business model for the sharing economy is becoming popular in business-to-business marketing literature. Firms can utilize resources of other firms lying idle and reduce cost, optimize resource utilization and achieve greater flexibility. Some organizations also share their resources with rival firms. However, there are concerns about unethical practices by rival firms, which may be due to the misuse of data, human resources, and intellectual property, and so on. Few studies have investigated the unethical practices that may take place in the sharing economy, but there is a growing interest among the practitioners, researchers, and academicians in this area. Therefore, this study examines the unethical practices that could take place in the sharing economy and their impact on B to B cooperation and competition among rival firms and on firm performance. From the literature review and theories, a theoretical model has been developed. The model is later validated using the structural equation modelling technique considering samples from 16 firms involved in sharing resources. The study found that there is a significant negative impact of unethical practices in the sharing economy for B to B coopetition, which in turn negatively impacts firm performance

Blockchain Value Creation Logics and Financial Returns

With its complexities and portfolio-nature, the advent of blockchain technology presents several use cases to stakeholders for business value appropriation and financial gains. This 3-essay dissertation focuses on three exemplars and research approaches to understanding the value creation logics of blockchain technology for financial gains. The first essay is a conceptual piece that explores five main affordances of blockchain technology and how these can be actualized and assimilated for business value. Based on the analysis of literature findings, an Affordance-Experimentation-Actualization-Assimilation (AEAA) model is proposed. The model suggests five affordance-to-assimilation value chains and eight value interdependencies that firms can leverage to optimize their value creation and capture during blockchain technology implementation. The second essay empirically examines the financial returns of public firms\u27 blockchain adoption investments at the level of the three main blockchain archetypes (private-permissioned, public-permissioned and permissionless. Drawing upon Fichman\u27s model of the option value of innovative IT platform investments, the study examines business value creation through firm blockchain strategy (i.e., archetype instances, decentralization, and complementarity), learning (i.e., blockchain patents and event participation), and bandwagon effects using quarterly data of firm archetype investments from 2015 to 2020. The study\u27s propensity score matching utilization and fixed-effects modeling provide objective quantification of how blockchain adoption leads to increases in firm value (performance measured by Tobin\u27s q) at the archetype level (permissionless, public permissioned, and private permissioned). Surprisingly, a more decentralized archetype and a second different archetype implementation are associated with a lower Tobin\u27s q. In addition, IT-option proxy parameters such as blockchain patent originality, participation in blockchain events, and network externality positively impact firm performance, whereas the effect of blockchain patents is negative. As the foremost and more established use case of blockchain technology whose business value is accessed in either of the five affordances and exemplifies a permissionless archetype for financial gains, bitcoin cryptocurrency behavior is studied through the lens of opinion leaders on Twitter. The third essay this relationship understands the hourly price returns and volatility shocks that sentiments from opinion leaders generate and vice-versa. With a dynamic opinion leader identification strategy, lexicon and rule-based sentiment analytics, I extract sentiments of the top ten per cent bitcoin opinion leaders\u27 tweets. Controlling for various economic indices and contextual factors, the study estimates a vector autoregression model (VAR) and finds that finds that Bitcoin return granger cause Polarity but the influence of sentiment subjectivity is marginal and only stronger on bitcoin price volatility. Several key implications for blockchain practitioners and financial stakeholders and suggestions for future research are discussed

Doing evolution in economic geography

Evolutionary approaches in economic geography face questions about the relationships between their concepts, theories, methods, politics, and policy implications. Amidst the growing but unsettled consensus that evolutionary approaches should employ plural methodologies, the aims here are, first, to identify some of the difficult issues confronting those working with different frameworks. The concerns comprise specifying and connecting research objects, subjects, and levels; handling agency and context; engaging and integrating the quantitative and the qualitative; comparing cases; and, considering politics, policy, and praxis. Second, the purpose is to articulate a distinctive geographical political economy approach, methods, and illustrative examples in addressing these issues. Bringing different views of evolution in economic geography into dialogue and disagreement renders methodological pluralism a means toward improved understanding and explanation rather than an end in itself. Confronting such thorny matters needs to be embedded in our research practices and supported by greater openness; more and better substantiation of our conceptual, theoretical, and empirical claims; enhanced critical reflection; and deeper engagement with politics, policy, and praxis

Eurasien: Spielfeld oder Kampfzone? Deutschland und Europa müssen ein wirksames Konnektivitätskonzept im Wettstreit mit Russland und China entwickeln

Eurasien entwickelt sich zu einem Mega-Kontinent, in dem Russland und China durch ihren Einfluss die westlich-liberale Ordnung an den Rand zu drängen versuchen. Beide Großmächte haben ihre Integrationsprojekte - die Neue Seidenstraßen-Initiative und die Eurasische Wirtschaftsunion - miteinander verbunden. Um nicht abgehängt zu werden, sollten die EU und Deutschland eine flexible und auf die unterschiedlichen Regionen zugeschnittene Strategie ausarbeiten, die sich auf Zentralasien und Osteuropa konzentriert

The Duality of Digital Standard-Setting: Geopolitical Coopetition in a Multipolar World

International standard-setting is increasingly falling victim to geopolitical realities. Especially, the digital domain has recently experienced an upsurge in contention. The traditionally consensus-based arena is running the risk of turning into a struggle for power. Against this backdrop, this paper attempts to gain a grounded insight on the roles of China, the European Union, and the United States amid given phenomenon by exploring the current geopolitical power dynamics within the digital standard-setting domain. Incorporating empirical data gathered from a triangulation of methods (including document analysis, a web survey, and elite interviews) this paper demonstrates a duality of both competition, and cooperation within digital standard-setting – hence, a combination of constructing consensus and a struggle for power. In terms of power distribution, said duality occurs in a fragmented world. Accordingly, this paper’s deconstruction of the geopolitical power dynamics within the digital standard- setting domain uncovers a coopetition in a multipolar world