The Role of YouTube in the Digitalization of TV: A Case Study of Novel Value Co-creation Practices at United Screens

Research has shown how incumbent firms in content- based industries (e.g. music, news and photography) were radically affected by digitalization as powerful digital platforms emerged as new loci of innovation. While scholars have suggested that digital technology calls for novel organizing logics and value creation processes, there is a need for further knowledge of what characterizes them, and how they emerge in practice. In addressing this gap we studied United Screens, a firm that capitalizes on the digitalization of video contents by managing major YouTubers and connecting them with advertisers. The study shows how United Screens leverages the layered modularity of digital product architectures for new constellation- based modes of value co-creation. Overall, the paper contributes to research on digital innovation by shedding light on how a novel actor category champions content-driven value creation, an underexplored aspect of digital platform ecosystems

Mechanisms Driving Digital New Venture Creation & Performance: An Insider Action Research Study of Pure Digital Entrepreneurship in EdTech

Digitisation has ushered in a new era of value creation where cross border data flows generate more economic value than traditional flows of goods. The powerful new combination of digital and traditional forms of innovation has seen several new industries branded with a ‘tech’ suffix. In the education technology sector (EdTech), which is the industry context of this research, digitisation is driving double-digit growth into a projected $240 billion industry by 2021. Yet, despite its contemporary significance, the field of entrepreneurship has paid little attention to the phenomenon of digital entrepreneurship. As several scholars observe, digitisation challenges core organising axioms of entrepreneurship, with significant implications for the new venture creation process in new sectors such as EdTech. New venture creation no longer appears to follow discrete and linear models of innovation, as spatial and temporal boundaries get compressed. Given the paradigmatic shift, this study investigates three interrelated themes. Firstly, it seeks to determine how a Pure Digital Entrepreneurship (PDE) process develops over time; and more importantly, how the journey challenges extant assumptions of the entrepreneurial process. Secondly, it strives to identify and theorise the deep structures which underlie the PDE process through mechanism-based explanations. Consequently, the study also seeks to determine the causal pathways and enablers which overtly or covertly interrelate to power new venture emergence and performance. Thirdly, it aims to offer practical guidelines for nurturing the growth of PDE ventures, and for the development of supportive ecosystems. To meet the stated objectives, this study utilises an Insider Action Research (IAR) approach to inquiry, which incorporates reflective practice, collaborative inquiry and design research for third-person knowledge production. This three-pronged approach to inquiry allows for the enactment of a PDE journey in real-time, while acquiring a holistic narrative in the ‘swampy lowlands’ of new venture creation. The findings indicate that the PDE process is differentiated by the centrality of digital artifacts in new venture ideas, which in turn result in less-bounded processes that deliver temporal efficiencies – hence, the shorter new venture creation processes than in traditional forms of entrepreneurship. Further, PDE action is defined by two interrelated events – digital product development and digital growth marketing. These events are characterised by the constant forking, merging and termination of diverse activities. Secondly, concurrent enactment and piecemeal co-creation were found to be consequential mechanisms driving temporal efficiencies in digital product development. Meanwhile, data-driven operation and flexibility combine in digital growth marketing, to form higher order mechanisms which considerably reduce the levels of task-specific and outcome uncertainties. Finally, the study finds that digital growth marketing is differentiated from traditional marketing by the critical role of algorithmic agencies in their capacity as gatekeepers. Thus, unlike traditional marketing, which emphasises customer sovereignty, digital growth marketing involves a dual focus on the needs of human and algorithmic stakeholders. Based on the findings, this research develops a pragmatic model of pure digital new venture creation and suggests critical policy guidelines for nurturing the growth of PDE ventures and ecosystems

Product Development through Co-Creation Communities - General Measures For A Distributed And Agile Planning Preparation in Cross-Company Production

The crises of recent years revealed the vulnerability of our global and linearly aligned value chains, and new concepts are being sought to meet ecological, economic and social demands. The possibility of producing locally at the place of need in adaptable and highly dynamic manufacturing networks is increasingly coming into focus. However, such structures would have to be built up laboriously, whereas an existing network of small and medium-sized enterprises is available in many industrial nations. Cross-Company Production (CCP) in such local networks could help to address the problems mentioned. Another recent phenomenon is the shift of development processes into the digital sphere and its simultaneous opening up to the public. Open development processes can offer considerable advantages by bundling the wisdom of the crowd across company boundaries, however the digital platforms for collaboration do not have their own product capacities. The interaction of Co-Creation Communities (CCC) and Cross-Company Production (CPP) networks could counter this shortcoming. To ensure cost-efficient production and success on the market, an early exchange of knowledge between development and production is targeted in every company through highly standardised processes in the field of Planning Preparation (PP) a subdivision of Operations Planning and Scheduling (OPS). In the new value creation constellation this exchange is limited, as high fluctuation, various developers and numerous companies involved lead to new challenges. In this approach, a meta synthesis of known innovation and product development processes was performed to gain a better understanding of their structure and to identify measures fulfilling the tasks of Planning Preparation (PP). Aligned with the principles of Cooper's Stage-Gate Process a basis of measures is built up. After that each measure is valued according to relevance and involvement for the introduced entities creating an overview of general measures. Finally, the need for a distributed and agile Planning Preparation (PP) is derived

The role and impact of digital capabilities on value co-creation of servitising organisations

Manufacturers are challenged to embrace service provision to customers to increase profitability, achieve stable revenue streams and become more competitive. The trend towards servitisation requires manufacturers to develop the digital capabilities to interact and co-create value with customers. To date, little research has been carried out to investigate the digital technologies, and the capabilities required to provide such services. Understanding the role digital capabilities play in servitisation, and how these capabilities enable value co-creation, is vital to draw a customer into a joint process. This study fills the gap by presenting a multi-level framework that characterises value co-creation for servitisation using digital capabilities.With regards to base services, manufacturers’ emphasis is on supporting product functionalities and reliability. However, advanced services are focused on helping customers’ processes, and achieving outcomes. They require a higher level of customisation, than base services, demand greater intensity in customer relationships, and need an increased focus on assisting customers in their value creation process. These complexities require new capabilities for addressing dynamic customer interactions, business strategy, and resources integration.Studies are in agreement concerning the importance of digital capabilities in this context, but provide little insight on their constituents, or how they support value co-creation. Prior studies have explored value co-creation across multiple research communities. As a result, a variety of approaches and theoretical perspectives are provided in related fields. This study examines these problems, drawing on an extensive qualitative enquiry of 15 servitising firms.The study contributes to knowledge by developing a multilevel framework of value co-creation in servitisation, showing how identified digital capabilities enable value co-creation. The findings indicate that specific prerequisites are needed to understand customer demand, which drives stakeholders into the next level of the value co-creation process termed service co-design, which may lead to strategic alignment

Performing ethos and digital behavior : the genealogy of WEeP

Through the genealogical analysis of the theatrical performance ‘The Werther’s Effect e-Project (WEeP), to be premiered in the beginning of 2016, we will discuss new possibilities of creation made viable by digital media. WEeP puts together a group of international performers, living in different cities during the creation process, to discuss suicide and copycat phenomena influenced by online events. Having as first inspiration the classic “The Sorrows of the Young Werther” by Goethe (1774), we want to approach the mysterious ways a (digital) event or a product influences on suicide in contemporary times, leading to, sometimes, the extreme cases of copycat suicide chains, phenomenon known as the “Werther’s Effect”. By tackling this theme, we intend to raise questions about contemporary affects and ways of dealing with the ephemeral aspects of the digital life, tracing the propagation of information and the influences in our analogical and online behavior. The conditions set by the international composition of the group led us to begin to experiment with rehearsals online and/or loaded on digital spaces. Skype, think tanks, multimodal platforms for notation, mobile apps… These experiments raised many questions regarding creation and the craft of the performer. What is this new ethos of the performer, driven by different creative and corporeal models, rooted in a digital environment? What is presence in this context? What are the new improvisational tools and how to actualize analogical ones? What matters to be recorded/archived/posted? The great deal of information we have access to brought us to question our selective skills. So far, we are dealing with a great amount of new dance models within this context, but there is very little regarding the specificities of theatre. Therefore, this paper intends to bring some directions to theatrical/ performative creative processes, within WEeP’s nomadic and digital creation, by tracing new paradigms of the performer’s ethos

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE DATA SHARING AND VISUALISATION: WEB-BASED APPROACHES

Both product design and manufacturing are intrinsically collaborative processes. From conception and design to project completion and ongoing maintenance, all points in the lifecycle of any product involve the work of fluctuating teams of designers, suppliers and customers. That is why companies are involved in the creation of a distributed design and a manufacturing environment which could provide an effective way to communicate and share information throughout the entire enterprise and the supply chain. At present, the technologies that support such a strategy are based on World Wide Web platforms and follow two different paths. The first one focuses on 2D documentation improvement and introduces 3D interactive information in order to add knowledge to drawings. The second one works directly on 3D models and tries to extend the life of 3D data moving these design information downstream through the entire product lifecycle. Unfortunately the actual lack of a unique 3D Web-based standard has stimulated the growing up of many different proprietary and open source standards and, as a consequence, a production of an incompatible information exchange over the WEB. This paper proposes a structured analysis of Web-based solutions, trying to identify the most critical aspects to promote a unique 3D digital standard model capable of sharing product and manufacturing data more effectively—regardless of geographic boundaries, data structures, processes or computing environmen

The (New) roles of prototypes during the co-development of digital product service systems

This paper investigates different roles that prototypes play during the development of digital Product Service Systems (PSSs). A literature review reveals that prototyping supports designers during the design process, as well as during knowledge sharing processes with stakeholders. To create a better understanding of these two co-existing roles of prototyping, we executed a research-through-design project in the healthcare domain. This design project was centred around the development of four different prototypes that the designer sequentially developed. A major input into the design process was co-reflection sessions between the designer and different stakeholders. We analysed the prototyping process and the co-reflection sessions. Moreover, we executed a conversational analysis to understand the actual knowledge sharing processes between the designer and the different stakeholders. The results present a detailed overview of the different (co-existing) roles of the prototypes. We distinguished two new types of prototypes which were both related to the development of the intangible aspects of the digital PSS: (1) service interface prototrial aimed at exploring several options for detailing the different intangible aspects of the digital PSS, and (2) service provotype to stimulate collaborative creation of the intangible aspects of the digital PSS in an early stage

[Re]-imagining vision and values:design as a driver for value creation in the Internet of Things

In digital age in which a myriad of products is becoming connected through the Internet of Things (IoT), new business opportunities and challenges arise for organisations regardless of size and product/service offerings. The traits of digital technology and digital economy results in not only profound changes in the ways organisations create value and develop their IoT products and services, but also emergent and dynamic business models. It also opens new opportunities in terms of how organisations increase turnover, thus conventional theories and practices of how value is created in the design and development process is constantly being challenged. Although, academics and practitioners often critically debate these emergent opportunities and challenges to the adoption of the ‘Internet of Things’, there is a paucity of established academic theories and industry practices to support and re-think traditional processes of product design and development to meet current needs and potential commercial opportunities in the era of IoT. This paper will offer a critical examination on how design processes have evolved with regard to the differences in value creation between goods-dominant logic and the service-dominant logic in order to identify an emergent design process feasible for IoT product and service development. In addition, factors that affect value creation, and design and development process in the IoT are reviewed. It concludes by offering key insights and observations as to where design can contribute to value creation in the internet of things

The complex adoption pathways of digital technology in Australian livestock supply chains systems

This paper reviews early experiences, expectations and obstacles concerning the adoption of digital technologies in Australian livestock systems. Using three case studies of publicly-available information on Australia’s red meat industry, we identify the process of digitally enhanced value creation according to four themes: (1) supply chain operability; (2) product quality; (3) animal welfare; and (4) innovation and learning. We find reasons for both optimism and pessimism concerning the adoption of digital agriculture. While digital technology is being offered by various stakeholders to support collaboration within supply chains, it is also being met with scepticism amongst some producers who are not actively engaging with a digital transformation. We identify that the ‘technology fallacy’, which proposes that organisations, people, learning and processes are as important to digital transformation as the technology itself; but while digital technologies enable change, it is the people who determine how quickly it can occur. We argue that – since quality appears to be the major basis on which Australian red meat producers will compete in global markets – the broad adoption of digital technology will prove increasingly essential to future growth and sustainability of this supply chain

Combining security and reliability of critical infrastructures: The concept of securability

The digital revolution has made people more dependent on ICT technology to perform everyday tasks, whether at home or at work. The systems that support critical aspects of this smart way of living are characterized as critical, and the security level of such systems is higher as compared to others. The definition of the criticality of a system is a rather difficult exercise, and for that reason, we have seen novel cybersecurity regulations to introduce the idea of digital managed services, which include security monitoring, managed network services, or the outsourcing of business processes that are are critical to the functioning, reliability, and availability of Critical National Infrastructures (CNIs). Moreover, ENISA recently issued a new report that deals with supply chain attacks. Those attacks target any chain of the ecosystem of processes, people, organizations, and distributors involved in the creation and delivery of a final solution or product that can be used or incorporated into a CNI, thus further extending the scope of the security posture of a system