Ohjelmistoalustan ja toimijoiden roolit ohjelmistoekosysteemeissä: Tapaustutkimus maataloudessa

In today's world, companies can have difficulties in developing products that satisfy all the needs of the customers. Software ecosystems (SECOs) are emerging as a solution proposal for the problem. In SECOs different companies collaborate in order to co-innovate new business opportunities and decrease development costs. The participating companies, so-called actors, are in a critical position in the success of a SECO. Along with the actors, the software platform has a central role in SECOs. Despite its essentiality, the platform is left with little attention in previous studies. The goal of this thesis is to investigate what is important on a platform of a software ecosystem to satisfy actors' expectations. The study was conducted as a qualitative case study in the agricultural domain. Theme interviews and document review were used as data collection techniques. The results were analysed with a whole-text coding approach. Three different kinds of agricultural SECOs were identified. The SECOs varied from the maturity point of view and they included different types of software platforms. All of the software platforms aimed to enable actor cooperation. Also the identified ecosystem actors were in line with the five main actor roles found in previous research. However, the actor role motivations were described only to be either monetary or non-monetary. Further it was discovered that a software ecosystem must provide a unique value proposition to all different actor roles.Nykypäivänä yritysten on vaikea kehittää tuotetta, joka täyttää kaikki asiakkaiden tarpeet. Ohjelmistoekosysteemit ovat nousemassa ratkaisuksi tähän ongelmaan. Ohjelmistoekosysteemeissä yritykset toimivat yhteistyössä luodakseen uusia liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia sekä alennettuja kehityskustannuksia. Yritykset, eli ekosysteemin toimijat ovat tärkeässä roolissa ohjelmistoekosysteemin menestyksen kannalta. Heidän lisäkseen myös ohjelmistoalustalla on keskeinen rooli. Sen merkityksellisyydestä huolimatta sen tutkiminen on jäänyt aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa vähemmälle huomiolle. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, mikä on tärkeää ohjelmistoalustassa, jotta se täyttää ohjelmistoekosysteemin toimijoiden odotukset. Tämä tutkielma toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena tapaustutkimuksena maatalouskontekstissa. Data kerättiin teemahaastatteluiden ja dokumenttitarkastelun avulla ja tuloksia analysoitiin kokotekstikoodauksella. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin kolme erilaista maatalousohjelmistoekosysteemiä. Ohjelmistoekosysteemit erosivat niiden kehittyneisyydessä ja niissä oli myös erilaiset ohjelmistoalustat. Eroista huolimatta kaikki löydetyt ohjelmistoalustat pyrkivät mahdollistamaan toimijoiden yhteistyön. Lisäksi löydetyt toimijat vastasivat aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa löydettyjä toimijoita, mutta toimijoiden motivaatiot esitettiin vain rahallisiksi tai rahattomiksi. Lisäksi havaittiin, että ohjelmistoekosysteemin tulee tarjota yksilöllinen arvolupaus jokaiselle eri toimijaroolille

Letters from the War of Ecosystems – An Analysis of Independent Software Vendors in Mobile Application Marketplaces

The recent emergence of a new generation of mobile application marketplaces has changed the business in the mobile ecosystems. The marketplaces have gathered over a million applications by hundreds of thousands of application developers and publishers. Thus, software ecosystems—consisting of developers, consumers and the orchestrator—have emerged as a part of the mobile ecosystem. This dissertation addresses the new challenges faced by mobile application developers in the new ecosystems through empirical methods. By using the theories of two-sided markets and business ecosystems as the basis, the thesis assesses monetization and value creation in the market as well as the impact of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) and developer multihoming— i. e. contributing for more than one platform—in the ecosystems. The data for the study was collected with web crawling from the three biggest marketplaces: Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store. The dissertation consists of six individual articles. The results of the studies show a gap in monetization among the studied applications, while a majority of applications are produced by small or micro-enterprises. The study finds only weak support for the impact of eWOM on the sales of an application in the studied ecosystem. Finally, the study reveals a clear difference in the multi-homing rates between the top application developers and the rest. This has, as discussed in the thesis, an impact on the future market analyses—it seems that the smart device market can sustain several parallel application marketplaces.Muutama vuosi sitten julkistetut uuden sukupolven mobiilisovellusten kauppapaikat ovat muuttaneet mobiiliekosysteemien liiketoimintadynamiikkaa. Nämä uudet markkinapaikat ovat jo onnistuneet houkuttelemaan yli miljoona sovellusta sadoilta tuhansilta ohjelmistokehittäjiltä. Nämä kehittäjät yhdessä markkinapaikan organisoijan sekä loppukäyttäjien kanssa ovat muodostaneet ohjelmistoekosysteemin osaksi laajempaa mobiiliekosysteemiä. Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan mobiilisovellusten kehittäjien uudenlaisilla kauppapaikoilla kohtaamia haasteita empiiristen tutkimusmenetelmien kautta. Väitöskirjassa arvioidaan sovellusten monetisaatiota ja arvonluontia sekä verkon asiakasarviointien (engl. electronicWord-of-Mouth, eWOM) ja kehittäjien moniliittymisen (engl. multi-homing) — kehittäjä on sitoutunut useammalle kuin yhdelle ekosysteemille — vaikutuksia ekosysteemissä. Työn teoreettinen tausta rakentuu kaksipuolisten markkinapaikkojen ja liiketoimintaekosysteemien päälle. Tutkimuksen aineisto on kerätty kolmelta suurimmalta mobiilisovellusmarkkinapaikalta: Apple App Storesta, Google Playstä ja Windows Phone Storesta. Tämä artikkeliväitöskirja koostuu kuudesta itsenäisestä tutkimuskäsikirjoituksesta. Artikkelien tulokset osoittavat puutteita monetisaatiossa tutkittujen sovellusten joukossa. Merkittävä osa tarkastelluista sovelluksista on pienten yritysten tai yksittäisten kehittäjien julkaisemia. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin vain heikkoa tukea eWOM:in positiiviselle vaikutukselle sovellusten myyntimäärissä. Työssä myös osoitetaan merkittävä ero menestyneimpien sovelluskehittäjien sekä muiden kehittäjien moniliittymiskäyttäytymisen välillä. Tällä havainnolla on merkitystä tuleville markkina-analyyseille ja sen vaikutuksia on käsitelty työssä. Tulokset esimerkiksi viittaavat siihen, että markkinat pystyisivät ylläpitämään useita kilpailevia kauppapaikkoja.Siirretty Doriast

Letters from the War of Ecosystems – An Analysis of Independent Software Vendors in Mobile Application Marketplaces

The recent emergence of a new generation of mobile application marketplaces has changed the business in the mobile ecosystems. The marketplaces have gathered over a million applications by hundreds of thousands of application developers and publishers. Thus, software ecosystems&mdash;consisting of developers, consumers and the orchestrator&mdash;have emerged as a part of the mobile ecosystem.&nbsp; This dissertation addresses the new challenges faced by mobile application developers in the new ecosystems through empirical methods. By using the theories of two-sided markets and business ecosystems as the basis, the thesis assesses monetization and value creation in the market as well as the impact of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) and developer multihoming&mdash; i. e. contributing for more than one platform&mdash;in the ecosystems. The data for the study was collected with web crawling from the three biggest marketplaces: Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store.&nbsp; The dissertation consists of six individual articles. The results of the studies show a gap in monetization among the studied applications, while a majority of applications are produced by small or micro-enterprises. The study finds only weak support for the impact of eWOM on the sales of an application in the studied ecosystem. Finally, the study reveals a clear difference in the multi-homing rates between the top application developers and the rest. This has, as discussed in the thesis, an impact on the future market analyses&mdash;it seems that the smart device market can sustain several parallel application marketplaces. - - - - - Muutama vuosi sitten julkistetut uuden sukupolven mobiilisovellusten kauppapaikat ovat muuttaneet mobiiliekosysteemien liiketoimintadynamiikkaa. N&auml;m&auml; uudet markkinapaikat ovat jo onnistuneet houkuttelemaan yli miljoona sovellusta sadoilta tuhansilta ohjelmistokehitt&auml;jilt&auml;. N&auml;m&auml; kehitt&auml;j&auml;t yhdess&auml; markkinapaikan organisoijan sek&auml; loppuk&auml;ytt&auml;jien kanssa ovat muodostaneet ohjelmistoekosysteemin osaksi laajempaa mobiiliekosysteemi&auml;.&nbsp; T&auml;ss&auml; v&auml;it&ouml;skirjassa tarkastellaan mobiilisovellusten kehitt&auml;jien uudenlaisilla kauppapaikoilla kohtaamia haasteita empiiristen tutkimusmenetelmien kautta. V&auml;it&ouml;skirjassa arvioidaan sovellusten monetisaatiota ja arvonluontia sek&auml; verkon asiakasarviointien (engl. electronicWord-of-Mouth, eWOM) ja kehitt&auml;jien moniliittymisen (engl. multi-homing) &mdash; kehitt&auml;j&auml; on sitoutunut useammalle kuin yhdelle ekosysteemille &mdash; vaikutuksia ekosysteemiss&auml;. Ty&ouml;n teoreettinen tausta rakentuu kaksipuolisten markkinapaikkojen ja liiketoimintaekosysteemien p&auml;&auml;lle. Tutkimuksen aineisto on ker&auml;tty kolmelta suurimmalta mobiilisovellusmarkkinapaikalta: Apple App Storesta, Google Playst&auml; ja Windows Phone Storesta.&nbsp; T&auml;m&auml; artikkeliv&auml;it&ouml;skirja koostuu kuudesta itsen&auml;isest&auml; tutkimusk&auml;sikirjoituksesta. Artikkelien tulokset osoittavat puutteita monetisaatiossa tutkittujen sovellusten joukossa. Merkitt&auml;v&auml; osa tarkastelluista sovelluksista on pienten yritysten tai yksitt&auml;isten kehitt&auml;jien julkaisemia. Tutkimuksessa l&ouml;ydettiin vain heikkoa tukea eWOM:in positiiviselle vaikutukselle sovellusten myyntim&auml;&auml;riss&auml;. Ty&ouml;ss&auml; my&ouml;s osoitetaan merkitt&auml;v&auml; ero menestyneimpien sovelluskehitt&auml;jien sek&auml; muiden kehitt&auml;jien moniliittymisk&auml;ytt&auml;ytymisen v&auml;lill&auml;. T&auml;ll&auml; havainnolla on merkityst&auml; tuleville markkina-analyyseille ja sen vaikutuksia on k&auml;sitelty ty&ouml;ss&auml;. Tulokset esimerkiksi viittaavat siihen, ett&auml; markkinat pystyisiv&auml;t yll&auml;pit&auml;m&auml;&auml;n useita kilpailevia kauppapaikkoja.</p

Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming – Workshops

This open access book constitutes papers from the 5 research workshops, the poster presentations, as well as two panel discussions which were presented at XP 2021, the 22nd International Conference on Agile Software Development, which was held online during June 14-18, 2021. XP is the premier agile software development conference combining research and practice. It is a unique forum where agile researchers, practitioners, thought leaders, coaches, and trainers get together to present and discuss their most recent innovations, research results, experiences, concerns, challenges, and trends. XP conferences provide an informal environment to learn and trigger discussions and welcome both people new to agile and seasoned agile practitioners. The 18 papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from overall 37 submissions. They stem from the following workshops: 3rd International Workshop on Agile Transformation 9th International Workshop on Large-Scale Agile Development 1st International Workshop on Agile Sustainability 4th International Workshop on Software-Intensive Business 2nd International Workshop on Agility with Microservices Programmin

Smart Service Innovation: Organization, Design, and Assessment

Background: The emergence of technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and wireless communication drives the digital transformation of the entire society. Organizations can exploit these potentials by offering new data-driven services with innovative value propositions, such as carsharing, remote equipment maintenance, and energy management services. These services result from value co-creation enabled by smart service systems, which are configurations of people, processes, and digital technologies. However, developing such systems was found to be challenging in practice. This is mainly due to the difficulties of managing complexity and uncertainty in the innovation process, as contributions of various actors from multiple disciplines must be coordinated. Previous research in service innovation and service systems engineering (SSE) has not shed sufficient light on the specifics of smart services, while research on smart service systems lacks empirical grounding. Purpose: This thesis aims to advance the understanding of the systematic development of smart services in multi-actor settings by investigating how smart service innovation (SSI) is conducted in practice, particularly regarding the participating actors, roles they assume, and methods they apply for designing smart service systems. Furthermore, the existing set of methods is extended by new methods for the design-integrated assessment of smart services and service business models. Approach: Empirical and design science methods were combined to address the research questions. To explore how SSI is conducted in practice, 25 interviews with experts from 13 organizations were conducted in two rounds. Building on service-dominant logic (SDL) as a theoretical foundation and a multi-level framework for SSI, the involvement of actors, their activities, employed means, and experienced challenges were collected. Additionally, a case study was used to evaluate the suitability of the Lifecycle Modelling Language to describe smart service systems. Design science methods were applied to determine a useful combination of service design methods and to build meta-models and tools for assessing smart services. They were evaluated using experiments and the talk aloud method. Results: On the macro-level, service ecosystems consist of various actors that conduct service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources. Collaboration of these actors is facilitated on the meso-level within a project. The structure and dynamics of project configurations can be described through a set of roles, innovation patterns, and ecosystem states. Four main activities have been identified, which actors perform to reduce uncertainty in the project. To guide their work, actors apply a variety of means from different disciplines to develop and document work products. The approach of design-integrated business model assessment is enabled through a meta-model that links qualitative aspects of service architectures and business models with quantitative assessment information. The evaluation of two tool prototypes showed the feasibility and benefit of this approach. Originality / Value: The results reported in this thesis advance the understanding of smart service innovation. They contribute to evidence-based knowledge on service systems engineering and its embedding in service ecosystems. Specifically, the consideration of actors, roles, activities, and methods can enhance existing reference process models. Furthermore, the support of activities in such processes through suitable methods can stimulate discussions on how methods from different disciplines can be applied and combined for developing the various aspects of smart service systems. The underlying results help practitioners to better organize and conduct SSI projects. As potential roles in a service ecosystem depend on organizational capabilities, the presented results can support the analysis of ex¬ternal dependencies and develop strategies for building up internal competencies.:Abstract iii Content Overview iv List of Abbreviations viii List of Tables x List of Figures xii PART A - SYNOPSIS 1 1 Introduction 2 1.1 Motivation 2 1.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions 4 1.3 Thesis Structure 6 2 Research Background 7 2.1 Smart Service Systems 7 2.2 Service-Dominant Logic 8 2.3 Service Innovation in Ecosystems 11 2.4 Systematic Development of Smart Service Systems 13 3 Research Approach 21 3.1 Research Strategy 21 3.2 Applied Research Methods 22 4 Summary of Findings 26 4.1 Overview of Research Results 26 4.2 Organizational Setup of Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 27 4.3 Conducting Smart Service Innovation Projects 32 4.4 Approaches for the Design-integrated Assessment of Smart Services 39 5 Discussion 44 5.1 Contributions 44 5.2 Limitations 46 5.3 Managerial Implications 47 5.4 Directions for Future Research 48 6 Conclusion 54 References 55 PART B - PUBLICATIONS 68 7 It Takes More than Two to Tango: Identifying Roles and Patterns in Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 69 7.1 Introduction 69 7.2 Research Background 72 7.3 Methodology 76 7.4 Results 79 7.5 Discussion 90 7.6 Conclusions and Outlook 96 7.7 References 97 8 Iterative Uncertainty Reduction in Multi-Actor Smart Service Innovation 100 8.1 Introduction 100 8.2 Research Background 103 8.3 Research Approach 109 8.4 Findings 113 8.5 Discussion 127 8.6 Conclusions and Outlook 131 8.7 References 133 9 How to Tame the Tiger – Exploring the Means, Ends, and Challenges in Smart Service Systems Engineering 139 9.1 Introduction 139 9.2 Research Background 140 9.3 Methodology 143 9.4 Results 145 9.5 Discussion and Conclusions 151 9.6 References 153 10 Combining Methods for the Design of Digital Services in Practice: Experiences from a Predictive Costing Service 156 10.1 Introduction 156 10.2 Conceptual Foundation 157 10.3 Preparing the Action Design Research Project 158 10.4 Application and Evaluation of Methods 160 10.5 Discussion and Formalization of Learning 167 10.6 Conclusion 169 10.7 References 170 11 Modelling of a Smart Service for Consumables Replenishment: A Life Cycle Perspective 171 11.1 Introduction 171 11.2 Life Cycles of Smart Services 173 11.3 Case Study 178 11.4 Discussion of the Modelling Approach 185 11.5 Conclusion and Outlook 187 11.6 References 188 12 Design-integrated Financial Assessment of Smart Services 192 12.1 Introduction 192 12.2 Problem Analysis 195 12.3 Meta-Model Design 200 12.4 Application of the Meta-Model in a Tool Prototype 204 12.5 Evaluation 206 12.6 Discussion 208 12.7 Conclusions 209 12.8 References 211 13 Towards a Cost-Benefit-Analysis of Data-Driven Business Models 215 13.1 Introduction 215 13.2 Conceptual Foundation 216 13.3 Methodology 218 13.4 Case Analysis 220 13.5 A Cost-Benefit-Analysis Model for DDBM 222 13.6 Conclusion and Outlook 225 13.7 References 226 14 Enabling Design-integrated Assessment of Service Business Models Through Factor Refinement 228 14.1 Introduction 228 14.2 Related Work 229 14.3 Research Goal and Method 230 14.4 Solution Design 231 14.5 Demonstration 234 14.6 Discussion 235 14.7 Conclusion 236 14.8 References 23

Bridging the Gap at Ecosystem Level : Enhancing Business Model Innovation in Internet of Things-Enabled Platform Ecosystems

Digitaalinen murros haastaa yrityksiä ja yhteisöjä tarjoamaan innovatiivisia palveluita asiakkailleen ja lisäämään omaa kannattavuuttaan uusia liiketoimintamalleja luomalla. Esineiden internet (IoT) on tunnistettu potentiaaliseksi uudenlaisen arvon mahdollistajaksi. Odotetuista hyödyistä huolimatta onnistuneesti toteutettuja IoT:llä varustettuja alustaekosysteemejä on toistaiseksi vähän. IoT-tutkimus on pääosin keskittynyt teknologisten edistysaskeleiden ottamiseen, kun taas liiketoimintamallien innovaatioiden merkitys on suurelta osin sivuutettu. On kuitenkin muistettava, että teknologian onnistunut käyttöönotto on suurelta osin kiinni hyvin määritellystä liiketoimintamallista ja sen arvolupauksen onnistuneisuudesta Sosiaalisen vaihdannan teoria (SET) on olennainen IoT:llä varustettujen alustaekosysteemien kontekstissa. Sen mukaan toimijoiden tulee kokea arvon vaihtaminen oikeudenmukaiseksi eli kokea saamansa arvo riittäväksi tekemiinsä panostuksiin nähden. Tätä teoreettista viitekehystä hyödynnettiin tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettäessä, miten digitaalisen murroksen aikoina liiketoimintamallien innovointia (BMI) voitaisiin parantaa IoT:llä varustetuissa alustaekosysteemeissä. Siten toimijoiden pysyvyyttä voitaisiin parantaa ja verkostojen ulkoisvaikutuksia lisätä. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset lisäävät teoreettista ymmärrystä arvon vaihtamisesta IoT:tä hyödyntävien alustaekosysteemien kontekstissa. Tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin sosiaalisen arvon dimensiolle kaksi erilaista tulkintaa. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan myös todeta, etteivät teoriat – saati käytännön tekijät – huomioi ehdollista arvoa alustakontekstissa. Tutkimus tunnisti monitieteellisesti IoT:n ja alustaekosysteemien liiketoimintamalli-innovaatioiden luomiseen tarvittavat osat. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa luotiin uusi malli BMI:lle, joka yhdistää kaksi uutta työkalua eli ekosysteemin arvotaseen ja alustakanvaasin. Käyttämällä mallia iteratiivisesti strategisena työkaluna luodaan arvokasta näkemystä ekosysteemin toimijoille, minkä avulla he voivat luoda yhdessä yhteisen arvolupauksen ja mahdollistaa positiiviset verkostovaikutukset. Lisäksi tämä tutkimus edistää tutkimusmenetelmiä esittämällä uuden tavan tarkentaa konseptien ominaisuuksia kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla. Parannettu menetelmä on yhdistelmä lumipallomenetelmää, Porter sanarunkohaku-algoritmia ja temaattista analyysiä. Näitä hyödyntämällä voidaan luoda kattava ja strukturoitu synteesi oleellisesta kirjallisuudesta ja edistää monivivahteisempaa ja syvempää ymmärrystä tutkimusaiheesta. Menetelmää voidaan hyödyntää myös muilla tutkimusalueilla täsmällisten kirjallisuuskatsausten tekemiseen. Tämä tutkimus avaa väylän arvolupausten arvioinnin tutkimiseen IoT:llä varustetuissa alustaekosysteemeissä. Lisää tutkimusta kuitenkin tarvitaan ennen kuin liiketoimintamahdollisuudet realisoituvat odotetusti. Ehdotettua mallia tulee tutkia vielä useammilla ja pidempikestoisilla tapaustutkimuksilla. Lisäksi monialainen tutkimus voisi tunnistaa yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroavaisuuksia IoT:llä varustettujen alustaekosysteemien haasteissa ja mahdollisuuksissa. Lisäksi tulisi tutkia, miten uudet ja tulevat teknologiat vaikuttavat arvolupauksen muodostamiseen ja arvon tuottamiseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksissa korostetaan ekosysteemissä toimimisen vaatimaa kulttuurimuutosta. Perinteisesti yritykset ovat keskittyneet oman voittonsa maksimoimiseen, mutta ekosysteemeissä tulisi keskittyä koko ekosysteemin kokonaisarvon maksimoimiseen. Tämän kulttuurimuutoksen tarvetta ja sitä, miten muutos voitaisiin saada aikaan, tulisi tutkia lisää. Yhteenvetona voidaankin todeta, että tämä tutkimus edistää niin liiketoimintamallien innovoinnin teoriaa kuin käytäntöjäkin IoT:llä varustetuissa alustaekosysteemeissä. Se tarjoaa BMI-mallin, joka rakentuu ekosysteemin arvotaseen ympärille. Se mahdollistaa ketterän mallin, jolla IoT:llä varustetun alustaekosysteemin toimijat voivat iteratiivisesti luoda ja kehittää arvolupaustaan. Tämä tutkimus myös kirkastaa käsittelemiään konsepteja ja tarjoaa tuoreen lähestymistavan kirjallisuuskatsauksen tekemiseen. Tämä tutkimus voi auttaa yrityksiä ja yhteisöjä ymmärtämään liiketoimintamallien innovoinnin merkityksen ja näin johtaa ne luomaan kestävämpiä ja kannattavampia ekosysteemejä.Digital transformation is challenging businesses and societies to offer innovative services to customers and to increase profitability through the development of new business models. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been identified as a potent enabler for novel services and businesses. However, despite the potential benefits, successful implementation of IoT-enabled platform ecosystems remains scarce. Research on IoT has mainly focused on technological advancements, while the importance of business model innovation has been largely overlooked. The research in the field of IoT has predominantly focused on technological advancements, disregarding the critical aspect of business model innovation. However, successful implementation of technology largely relies on a well-defined business model that delivers outstanding value propositions. Social Exchange Theory (SET) is a theoretical framework that is pertinent in the context of IoT-enabled platform ecosystems. According to SET, actors in value exchange should find the distribution of value equitable vis-à-vis the effort invested in value creation. Therefore, in the present research, SET is adopted as a conceptual framework to explore how ecosystem-level business model innovation (BMI) in IoT-enabled platform ecosystems could be enhanced to increase actor retention, and to internalize network externalities to increase the positive network effects during times of digital transformation. The contribution of this research extends beyond the theoretical development of value exchange in the context of IoT-enabled platform ecosystems. This research identifies two different views of social value and recognizes that in the ecosystem context, conditional value is often overlooked in theoretical discussion and neglected by practitioners. This research also contributes to BMI theories in the IoT-enabled platform ecosystem context by identifying, in an interdisciplinary manner, the required building blocks, i.e., characteristics of a platform ecosystem BMI, and IoT. Further, a model for BMI is created, which combines two novel frameworks, namely, the Ecosystem Value Balance and the Platform Canvas. This provides ecosystem actors with valuable insights to co-create a joint value proposition and enable positive network effects by utilizing the model iteratively as a strategic tool. In addition, this research advances research methodologies by presenting a novel approach to clarifying concepts through literature reviews. The method involves a combination of snowballing, Porter stemming, and thematic analysis, which enables a comprehensive and structured synthesis of relevant literature and promotes a more nuanced and deeper understanding of the research topic. This approach can be applied in other research fields, too, to achieve more rigorous and accurate literature reviews. Although this research opens up avenues for researching value proposition evaluation in IoT-enabled ecosystems, more attention to the business opportunities that can be realized is necessary. The proposed model needs validation with more and longer-term cases, and a cross-industry study could explore potential similarities and differences in the challenges and opportunities of IoT platform ecosystems. Moreover, further research is required to validate the proposed model, explore potential similarities and differences in IoT platform ecosystems, and investigate the role of emerging technologies in shaping the value proposition and value creation processes. Further, the research emphasizes the need for cultural change in companies operating in ecosystems, as traditionally companies have focused on maximizing their profits instead of maximizing the overall value for the whole ecosystem. In conclusion, this research contributes to the theory and practice of business model innovation in IoT-enabled platform ecosystems by offering a BMI model which relies on value balance in ecosystem contexts and proposes a model for IoT platform ecosystem actors to co-create joint value propositions. It also clarifies related concepts and offers a novel approach to literature reviews. This research can help businesses and societies to understand the importance of business model innovation and to create a more sustainable and profitable ecosystem

Detection and Measurement of Sales Cannibalization in Information Technology Markets

Characteristic features of Information Technology (IT), such as its intrinsic modularity and distinctive cost structure, incentivize IT vendors to implement growth strategies based on launching variants of a basic offering. These variants are by design substitutable to some degree and may contend for the same customers instead of winning new ones from competitors or from an expansion of the market. They may thus generate intra-organizational sales diversion – i.e., sales cannibalization. The occurrence of cannibalization between two offerings must be verified (the detection problem) and quantified (the measurement problem), before the offering with cannibalistic potential is introduced into the market (ex-ante estimation) and/or afterwards (ex-post estimation). In IT markets, both detection and measurement of cannibalization are challenging. The dynamics of technological innovation featured in these markets may namely alter, hide, or confound cannibalization effects. To address these research problems, we elaborated novel methodologies for the detection and measurement of cannibalization in IT markets and applied them to four exemplary case studies. We employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, thus implementing a mixed-method multi- case research design. The first case study focuses on product cannibalization in the context of continuous product innovation. We investigated demand interrelationships among Apple handheld devices by means of econometric models with exogenous structural breaks (i.e., whose date of occurrence is given a priori). In particular, we estimated how sales of the iPod line of portable music players were affected by new-product launches within the iPod line itself and by the introduction of iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets. We could find evidence of expansion in total line revenues, driven by iPod line extensions, and inter- categorical cannibalization, due to iPhones and iPads Mini. The second empirical application tackles platform cannibalization, when a platform provider becomes complementor of an innovative third party platform thus competing with its own proprietary one. We ascertained whether the diffusion of GPS-enabled smartphones and navigation apps affected sales of portable navigation devices. Using a unit-root test with endogenous breaks (i.e., whose date of occurrence is estimated), we identified a negative shift in the sales of the two leaders in the navigation market and dated it at the third quarter of 2008, when the iOS and Android mobile ecosystems were introduced. Later launches of their own navigation apps did not significantly affect these manufacturers’ sales further. The third case study addresses channel cannibalization. We explored the channel adoption decision of organizational buyers of business software applications, in light of the rising popularity of online sales channels in consumer markets. We constructed a qualitative channel adoption model which takes into account the relevant drivers and barriers of channel adoption, their interdependences, and the buying process phases. Our findings suggest that, in the enterprise software market, online channels will not cannibalize offline ones unless some typical characteristics of enterprise software applications change. The fourth case study deals with business model cannibalization – the organizational decision to cannibalize an existent business model for a more innovative one. We examined the transition of two enterprise software vendors from on-premise to on-demand software delivery. Relying on a mixed- method research approach, built on the quantitative and qualitative methodologies from the previous case studies, we identified the transition milestones and assessed their impact on financial performances. The cannibalization between on-premise and on-demand is also the scenario for an illustrative simulation study of the cannibalization

The Impact of Digital Platforms and Networks on Companies and Markets: Empirical Analysis of the Financial Services Sector

The dissertation is structured as follows. The first paper, a single author paper, examines the impact of platform size on payment platform value using a qualitative research method. The second paper, co-authored by Dr. Dr. Stefanie Steinhauser, uses a quantitative research method to analyze the influence of platforms on coopetition in financial markets as well as on the factors that influence network development in financial markets. The third paper, co-authored by Dr. Dr. Stefanie Steinhauser, Erich Renz, and Alexander Zanon, uses a quantitative research approach to examine the individual factors of business models in terms of their influence on the success of digital platforms. Financial markets serve as the empirical setting of my dissertation. I chose the financial sector for my research as it is a highly regulated market and thus insights can be gained on the impact of digital platforms on regulated markets. In addition, financial markets worldwide are currently affected by the transformation through digital platforms, which provides an ideal environment to investigate what impact digital platforms have on market and competition structures

Ambidexterity in large-scale software engineering

Software is pervading our environment with products that become smarter and smarter every day. In order to follow this trend, software companies deliver continuously new features, in order to anticipate their competitors and to gain market share. For this reason, they need to adopt processes and organization solutions that allow them to deliver continuously. A key challenge for software organizations is to balance the resources in order to deliver enough new features in the short-term but also to support the delivery of new features in the long-term. In one word, companies need to be ambidextrous. In this thesis we investigate what ambidexterity is, what are the factors that hinder large software companies to be ambidextrous, and we provide initial solutions for the mitigation of such challenges. The research process consists of an empirical investigation based on the Grounded Theory approach, in which we conducted several case studies based on continuous interaction with 7 large software organizations developing embedded software. The results in this thesis are grounded in a large number of data collected, and corroborated by a combination of exploratory and confirmatory, as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection. The contributions of this thesis include a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing ambidexterity, the current challenges and a proposed solution, CAFFEA. In particular, we found that three main challenges where hampering the achievement of ambidexterity for large software companies. The first one is the conflict between Agile Software Development and software reuse. The second one is the complexity of balancing short-term and long-term goals among a large number of stakeholders with different views and expertize. The third challenge is the risky tendency, in practice, of developing systems that does not sustain long-term delivery of new features: this is caused by the unbalanced focus on short-term deliveries rather than on the system architecture quality. This phenomenon is referred to as Architectural Technical Debt, which is a financial theoretical framework that relates the implementation of suboptimal architectural solutions to taking a debt. Even though such sub-optimal solutions might bring benefits in the short-term, a debt might have an interest associated with it, which consists of a negative impact on the ability of the software company to deliver new features in the long-term. If the interest becomes too costly, then the software company suffers delays and development crises. It is therefore important to avoid accumulation, in the system, of Architectural Technical Debt with a high interest associated with it. The solution proposed in this thesis is a comprehensive framework, CAFFEA, which includes the management of Architectural Technical Debt as a spanning activity (i.e., a practice shared by stakeholders belonging to different groups inside the organization). We have recognized and evaluated the strategic information required to manage Architectural Technical Debt. Then, we have developed an organizational framework, including roles, teams and practices, which are needed by the involved stakeholders. This solutions have been empirically developed and evaluated, and companies report initial benefits of applying the results in practice