Online Recommendation Systems in a B2C E-Commerce Context: A Review and Future Directions

An online recommendation system (RS) involves using information technology and customer information to tailor electronic commerce interactions between a business and individual customers. Extant information systems (IS) studies on RS have approached the phenomenon from many different perspectives, and our understanding of the nature and impacts of RS is fragmented. The current study reviews and synthesizes extant empirical IS studies to provide a coherent view of research on RS and identify gaps and future directions. Specifically, we review 40 empirical studies of RS published in 31 IS journals and five IS conference proceedings between 1990 and 2013. Using a recommendation process theoretical framework, we categorize these studies in three major areas addressed by RS research: understanding consumers, delivering recommendations, and the impacts of RS. We review and synthesize the extant literature in each area and across areas. Based on the review and synthesis, we surface research gaps and provide suggestions and potential directions for future research on recommendation systems

Digital and Conventional Matchmaking – Similarities, Differences and Tensions

Matchmaking is a process of complex resource allocation where firms are intermediaries of supply and demand between actors in an ecosystem. Digital platforms have brought matchmaking into the spotlight in IS research by their ability to scale and improve the quality of matching. In this paper, we outline four principles of digital matchmaking from digital platform theory. We continue by illustrating these principles in an empirical case-study of conventional matchmaking in the Swedish forest industry. We seek to improve the understanding of matchmaking by identifying similarities and differences of digital and conventional matchmaking. We then discuss tensions that may emerge for the conventional matchmaker facing digitalization. We contribute to theory of changing organizing logic associated with digital technology adoption and to practice by outlining what it takes becoming a digital matchmaker

Innovation actors: Intentions and interactions

Firms‘ resource base is one of the determinants of their capacity to innovate. When firms’ internal base of financial, intangible or technical resources is not sufficient to realize innovation projects, resources provided by other stakeholders can mitigate innovation constraints. This cumulative dissertation intends to shed light on innovation-related collaborations and interactions of three specific kinds of actors. The first article investigates the role innovation plays for investors when screening and evaluating potential investment targets and explains to which extent the investors’ behavior re-orients towards the implementation of innovation-pushing measures once being invested. Also, the second article refers to the interaction between investors and innovative firms: Subsequent to a derivation of an industry-specific business model pattern, the second article analyzes whether and how financing of new and innovative digital health ventures differ between Europe and USA. Adopting a single case study approach, the third article focuses on the interaction between corporate accelerators and innovative firms and identifies shortcomings of Telefonica’s corporate accelerator Wayra.:1 Introduction 2 Theoretical background of dissertation 3 Purpose and focus of dissertation 4 Overview and summaries of dissertation articles 5 First article: The Role of Innovation in Venture Capital and Private Equity Investments in Different Investment Phases 6 Second article: Venture Capital in the Digital Health Industry: Analyzing and Comparing Funding Environment and Business Models of Digital Health Start-ups in USA and Europe 7 Third article: Start-ups in a Corporate Accelerator: What is Satisfying, What is Relevant and What can Corporates Improve? 8 Contribution of dissertation 9 Limitations of dissertation 10 Future Research 11 Reference

Next Generation Business Ecosystems: Engineering Decentralized Markets, Self-Sovereign Identities and Tokenization

Digital transformation research increasingly shifts from studying information systems within organizations towards adopting an ecosystem perspective, where multiple actors co-create value. While digital platforms have become a ubiquitous phenomenon in consumer-facing industries, organizations remain cautious about fully embracing the ecosystem concept and sharing data with external partners. Concerns about the market power of platform orchestrators and ongoing discussions on privacy, individual empowerment, and digital sovereignty further complicate the widespread adoption of business ecosystems, particularly in the European Union. In this context, technological innovations in Web3, including blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies, have emerged as potential catalysts for disrupting centralized gatekeepers and enabling a strategic shift towards user-centric, privacy-oriented next-generation business ecosystems. However, existing research efforts focus on decentralizing interactions through distributed network topologies and open protocols lack theoretical convergence, resulting in a fragmented and complex landscape that inadequately addresses the challenges organizations face when transitioning to an ecosystem strategy that harnesses the potential of disintermediation. To address these gaps and successfully engineer next-generation business ecosystems, a comprehensive approach is needed that encompasses the technical design, economic models, and socio-technical dynamics. This dissertation aims to contribute to this endeavor by exploring the implications of Web3 technologies on digital innovation and transformation paths. Drawing on a combination of qualitative and quantitative research, it makes three overarching contributions: First, a conceptual perspective on \u27tokenization\u27 in markets clarifies its ambiguity and provides a unified understanding of the role in ecosystems. This perspective includes frameworks on: (a) technological; (b) economic; and (c) governance aspects of tokenization. Second, a design perspective on \u27decentralized marketplaces\u27 highlights the need for an integrated understanding of micro-structures, business structures, and IT infrastructures in blockchain-enabled marketplaces. This perspective includes: (a) an explorative literature review on design factors; (b) case studies and insights from practitioners to develop requirements and design principles; and (c) a design science project with an interface design prototype of blockchain-enabled marketplaces. Third, an economic perspective on \u27self-sovereign identities\u27 (SSI) as micro-structural elements of decentralized markets. This perspective includes: (a) value creation mechanisms and business aspects of strategic alliances governing SSI ecosystems; (b) business model characteristics adopted by organizations leveraging SSI; and (c) business model archetypes and a framework for SSI ecosystem engineering efforts. The dissertation concludes by discussing limitations as well as outlining potential avenues for future research. These include, amongst others, exploring the challenges of ecosystem bootstrapping in the absence of intermediaries, examining the make-or-join decision in ecosystem emergence, addressing the multidimensional complexity of Web3-enabled ecosystems, investigating incentive mechanisms for inter-organizational collaboration, understanding the role of trust in decentralized environments, and exploring varying degrees of decentralization with potential transition pathways