Towards a Taxonomy of API Services in Logistics

Data are a valuable asset for companies in the logistics sector to optimize internally and develop new business models. They can be like a magnifying glass and make previously opaque logistical processes transparent and find previously hidden potentials for optimization. Typical applications are tracking of the transport status, route optimization, or monitoring of pharmaceutical products, or monitoring shocks for fragile cargo along the trade lanes. One way to use data is to tap into publicly or commercially available Application Programming Interfaces. Hereby, logistics service providers can get or provide data automatically via a machine-to-machine interface. However, the landscape of API service providers is vast, unstructured, and intransparent in terms of potential data that companies can leverage. Given their high potential for the logistics industry, the paper proposes a taxonomy of API services in logistics based on the inductive analysis of three API databases

Extending digital infrastructures : a typology of growth tactics

Digital infrastructures enable delivery of information services in functional areas such as health, payment, and transportation by providing a socio-technical foundation for partnership governance, resource reuse, and system integration. To effectively serve new purposes and emerging possibilities, however, a key question concerns how an infrastructure can be extended to cater for future services in its functional area? In this paper, we approach such digital infrastructure growth as a challenge related to the alignment of new partners whose capabilities spur innovative services that attract more users. We advance an initial typology that covers four growth tactics (i.e., adding services, inventing processes, opening identifiers, and providing interfaces) with potential to set extension of infrastructures in motion. We then explore the proposed typology by investigating the ways in which its particular tactics successfully extended the scope of a digital infrastructure for public transportation. Our insights invite IS scholars to engage more deeply in the development of growth tactics, which achieve infrastructure extensions that make service delivery durable

Extending Digital Infrastructures: A Typology of Growth Tactics

Digital infrastructures enable delivery of information services in functional areas such as health, payment, and transportation by providing a sociotechnical foundation for partnership governance, resource reuse, and system integration. To effectively serve emerging possibilities and changing purposes, however, a key question concerns how an infrastructure can be extended to cater for future services in its functional area. In this paper, we approach such digital infrastructure growth as a challenge of aligning new partners whose digital capabilities spur innovative services that attract more users. We advance an initial typology that covers four growth tactics (i.e., adding services, inventing processes, opening identifiers, and providing interfaces) with the potential to set extension of infrastructures in motion. We then explore the proposed typology by investigating the ways in which its particular tactics successfully extended the scope of a digital infrastructure for public transportation in Stockholm, Sweden. Our insights invite IS scholars to engage more deeply in the development of growth tactics that achieve infrastructure extensions necessary for improving the durability of service delivery

Roadblocks to Implementing Modern Digital Infrastructure: Exploratory Study of API Deployment in Large Organizations

Application programming interfaces (APIs) are an important component of digital infrastructure. Extensively employed in diverse industries, APIs are a boundary resource that enables new business models, enhances efficiency, and generates new sources of revenue. As little is known about how organizations deploy APIs, we conducted an exploratory examination of organizational deployment challenges of this important component of digital infrastructure. Analysis of semi-structured interview data collected within two large organizations reveals managerial challenges involving data, incentives, shared knowledge, and supplier management. Overall, our study contributes to knowledge about boundary resources while informing management practice concerning this emergent business imperative in the fourth industrial revolution

Standards in Disruptive Innovation: Assessment Method and Application to Cloud Computing

Die Dissertation schlägt ein konzeptionelles Informationsmodell und eine Methode zur Bewertung von Technologie-Standards im Kontext von Disruptiven Innovationen vor. Das konzeptionelle Informationsmodell stellt die Grundlage zur Strukturierung relevanter Informationen dar. Die Methode definiert ein Prozessmodell, das die Instanziierung des Informationsmodells für verschiedenen Domänen beschreibt und Stakeholder bei der Klassifikation und Evaluation von Technologie-Standards unterstützt

Technical Data on Typologies of Interventions in Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) projects. Report 6b

This technical data report is an addendum to the typology and hierarchies of intervention report, which provides an analysis of the type and range of business interventions provided through the Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) programme to SMEs in the West Midlands region. There were 126 KEEN projects in total, through which a range of business interventions were provided to the participating companies. KEEN assisted around 100 SMEs through 126 projects, and provided 617 interventions overall. The projects were managed by six the university partners: the University of Wolverhampton, Coventry University, Aston University, Birmingham City University, the University of Worcester, and Staffordshire University

Innovation’s governance and investments for enhancing competitiveness of manufacturing SMEs

To become innovative and competitive manufacturing contractors, SMEs have to be capable to supply manufacturers with advanced equipment, components, and tools for improved manufacturing and engineering operations. Besides, despite their foremost numbers and importance in job creation, traditionally SMEs encounter difficulty in obtaining formal credit or equity. Maturities of commercial bank loans extended to SMEs are often limited to a period far too short to pay off any sizeable investment. Many European governments and international financial institutions have tried to address the problems of high transaction costs and risks by creating subsidized credit programmes and/or providing loan guarantees. Such projects have often fostered a culture of non-repayment or failed to reach the target group or achieve financial self-sustainability. Further, it tries to understand what are the main barriers for SMEs with respect to the realisation of their innovative potential and their capacity to improve internal processes by the adoption of innovative manufacturing techniques and a graduated organizational change. They are becoming particularly important for achieving greater productivity, lower operational costs, and higher revenues (usually characterized by reduced access to external finance, unavailability of wider distribution channels, low internationalization, etc.). The purpose of this article at last is to clarify how on-line training on automation and innovation fields can bring economic and organizational benefits. Innovative training contents can improve manufacturing knowledge of managers and employees, especially on industrial automation systems.To become innovative and competitive manufacturing contractors, SMEs have to be capable to supply manufacturers with advanced equipment, components, and tools for improved manufacturing and engineering operations. Besides, despite their foremost numbers and importance in job creation, traditionally SMEs encounter difficulty in obtaining formal credit or equity. Maturities of commercial bank loans extended to SMEs are often limited to a period far too short to pay off any sizeable investment. Many European governments and international financial institutions have tried to address the problems of high transaction costs and risks by creating subsidized credit programmes and/or providing loan guarantees. Such projects have often fostered a culture of non-repayment or failed to reach the target group or achieve financial self-sustainability. Further, it tries to understand what are the main barriers for SMEs with respect to the realisation of their innovative potential and their capacity to improve internal processes by the adoption of innovative manufacturing techniques and a graduated organizational change. They are becoming particularly important for achieving greater productivity, lower operational costs, and higher revenues (usually characterized by reduced access to external finance, unavailability of wider distribution channels, low internationalization, etc.). The purpose of this article at last is to clarify how on-line training on automation and innovation fields can bring economic and organizational benefits. Innovative training contents can improve manufacturing knowledge of managers and employees, especially on industrial automation systems.Articles published in or submitted to a Journal without IF refereed / of international relevanc

Integrating quality control and performance management in developing complex bespoke systems

Risk and performance management are at the core of complex bespoke systems (CBSs). CBSs are developed to customer–specified requirements in terms of structure, functionality and conformance. This paper examines how risk and performance management are integrated as essential systems in the successful development of projects across multi-organisational functions in complex bespoke system (CBS) organisations. The paper argues for the development of a quality management system that consists of two sub-processes: quality control and quality development. Using three case studies from engineering companies, we provide evidence and insights of the way change control, quality development and quality performance are developed in innovating business solutions

Free/Libre/Open Source Software (Floss): Lessons for Intellectual Property Rights Management in a Knowledge-Based Economy

International audienceThe aim of this paper is to focus on the emerging situation in which open source software is nowadays produced not only by individual developers but in a growing proportion by firms that hire programmers for their own objectives of development in open source or for contributing to open source projects in the context of dedicated communities. As commercial firms it is important to analyze how and why they are capable of drawing benefits from such involvement and their connected activities. Moreover, we want to stress the different types of business model these firms rely on and the possible evolution they are likely to follow in the near future. We shown how Open Source principles provide an alternative way of thinking and managing intellectual property that do not come up against the same problems but needs a radical change in the way of drawing commercial benefits from knowledge development tasks. Then we analyze the growing involvement of commercial actors by setting up a typology of the different business models that can be observed in the OS landscape, how they correspond to the different strategies of industrial firms according to the main characteristics of their technical skills and market position. Finally, in a conclusive section we will draw the main lessons of the FLOSS experience for a possible enlargement of those principles of IPR management and business to other knowledge based commercial activities