Irruption of the textil industry in the economy of platforms. Case study: INDITEX

[Resumen]: Las plataformas digitales están presentes a día de hoy practicamente en todos los setores. Los líderes de cada uno han comenzado a introducir a la tecnología como estrategía en sus modelos de negocio con el fin de aumentar su crecimiento. En el sector textil, el lider del fast-fashion, INDITEX, consciente de la situación ha aprovechado la oportunidad que le ofrecen las plataformas digitales para ofrecer una mejor experiencia a sus clientes mientras compran, y así afianzar su lealtad a la marca. El objetivo de este trabajo es el estudio del comportamiento de la economía de platafornas en la industria textil. Primero se realizará un analisis de los componentes, la metodología y los efectos de esta economía en la economía global, a continuación se realizará un estudio del sector textil con la inclusión del estudio del caso INDITEX. La metodología usada en este trabajo consiste en la investigación, comparación y contraste bibliografico de diferentes autores y fuentes de información. Entre los prinipales resultados obtenidos cabe destacar el uso no convencional de las plataformas por parte del grupo INDITEX, el cual en vez de abrir su software a diseñadores, clientes etc.,como lo hacen otras empresas reconocidas como Apple, Philips o Amazon entre otras, ha creado una platafoma aprovechando sus sinergías verticales privadas derivadas de su gran infraestrutura. Pese a no seguir las pautas convencionales la calidad y cantidad de información que recive su plataforma es tal, que la empresa es capaz de descodificar cuales serán las proximas tendencias o los modelos más demandados a nivel global.[Abstract]: Digital platforms are nowadays present in almost every sector. The leaders of each sector have decided to introduce technology in their strategic programmes to achieve a bigger development by adjusting their business models. In the textile sector, INDITEX, leader of the fast fashion is aware of this new situation, and has seen the opportunity to integrate the digital platforms in its companies in order to offer its clients a better experience while purchasing its products and therefore, increasing its customers’ engagement. The purpose of this essay is the study of the performance of the platform economy in the textile industry. At first a general overview of the platform economy is done, explaining its components, methodology and effects on the world economy. Then, a more specific study is put forward concerning the textile sector to finally focus on the Spanish company, INDITEX. The methodology used in this essay was mainly bibliographic research, comparison and contrast. Among the most important results obtained, it can be pointed out the unconventional usage of the platform in INDITEX, which instead of opening its software to fashion designers, customers or developers -as many well kown enterprises such as Apple, Phillips or Amazon among others do- they decided to create its own platform by taking advantage of its own vertical and private synergy derived by its vast infrastructure. Despite not following the conventional patterns, the quantity and quality of information that its platform receives is such, that the enterprise is able to decode what– will be the next trends or the most demanded pieces globally.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.ECO). ADE. Curso 2018/201

TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION RISK: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Digital transformation research and industry adoption has been on the rise over the past decade with the majority of organisations viewing it as critical to their survival over the next five years. However, in spite of the benefits of digital transformation, it presents a clear but paradoxical risk to organisations such as the requirement to develop innovative products and services while maintaining a stable customer and employee experience. With an estimated 90% of digital transformation projects resulting in failures, several calls have emerged from within the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) and the wider academy for research exploring digital transformation risks and the methodologies to manage them (Munns et al., 2022; Rowland et al., 2022). This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of 117 papers from high quality information systems (IS) research outlets. This research identifies six major risks that must be identified, monitored and evaluated to enable digital transformation success. These risks encompass the culture, organisation, processes, and technologies being transformed, along with the stakeholders involved in the initiative, and the overall digital transformation strategy being developed

Peer-to-peer electricity trading and the sharing economy: social, markets and regulatory perspectives

Peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading is a new data-driven business model currently being trialed within the energy sector. Introducing P2P transactions to an essential service such as energy supply could have far-reaching implications for individuals and the grid. This paper raises considerations and questions from social, market design and regulatory points of view, which should be understood and addressed by societies and policymakers. It does this by considering under what circumstances it is reasonable to conceptualize P2P electricity trading as part of the sharing economy, and drawing parallels to the sharing economy experience in other sectors. In order to reap the full societal benefits, while avoiding considerable risks to infrastructure and individuals, a policy approach promoting dialogue and innovation is necessary. We suggest the regulatory sandbox is the most appropriate tool to achieve this and would help avoid the breakdown of trust between policymakers and platform companies observed in other sectors

Beyond panoptic surveillance: On the ethical dilemmas of the connected workplace

Technological advances such as the Internet-of-Things, big data, and artificial intelligence have enabled new ways of managerial oversight moving away from panoptic surveillance to what we call “connected surveillance”. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of connected surveillance, which purpose is not only scrutinizing employees’ work performance, but also health, personal beliefs, and other private matters. With the implementation of connected workplaces, therefore, various ethical dilemmas arise. We highlight four emerging dilemmas, namely: (1) the good of the individual versus the good of the community, (2) ownership versus information disclosure, (3) justice versus mercy, and (4) truth versus loyalty. We discuss those ethical dilemmas for the case of corporate wellness programs which is frequently being used as guise to introduce connected surveillance. Following a socio-technical perspective, we discuss ethical responses that focus on people involvement and technology assessment. We highlight practical responses that can aim at mitigating the dilemmas

Models, Methods and Tools for Product Service Design

This open access book summarizes research being pursued within the Manutelligence project, the goal of which is to help enterprises develop smart, social and flexible products with high value added services. Manutelligence has improved Product and Service Design by developing suitable models and methods, and connecting them through a modular, collaborative and secure ICT Platform. The use of real data collected in real time by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies underpins the design of product-service systems and makes it possible to monitor them throughout their life cycle. Available data allows costs and sustainability issues to be more accurately measured and simulated in the form of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Analysing data from IoT systems and sharing LCC and LCA information via the ICT Platform can help to accelerate the design of product-service systems, reduce costs and better understand customer needs. Industrial partners involved in Manutelligence provide a clear overview of the project’s outcomes, and demonstrate how its technological solutions can be used to improve the design of product-service systems and the management of product-service life cycles

Beyond Panoptic Surveillance: On the Ethical Dilemmas of the Connected Workplace

Technological advances such as the Internet-of-Things, big data, and artificial intelligence have enabled new ways of managerial oversight moving away from panoptic surveillance to what we call “connected surveillance”. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of connected surveillance which purpose is not only scruitizing employees’ work performance but also health, personal beliefs, and other private matters. With the implementation of connected workplaces, therefore, various ethical dilemmas arise. We highlight four emerging dilemmas, namely: (1) the good of the individual versus the good of the community, (2) ownership versus information disclosure, (3) justice versus mercy, and (4) truth versus loyalty. We discuss those ethical dilemmas for the case of corporate wellness programs which is frequently used as guise to introduce connected surveillance. Following a socio-technical perspective, we discuss ethical responses that focus on people involvement and technology assessment. We also highlight practical responses that can aim at mitigating the dilemmas

Käyttäjän rooli digitaalisilla alustoilla arvonluonnissa: case- tutkimus rakennus ja kiinteistöalalta

Fast-developing technology and digitalisation have disrupted and transformed many industries, while leaving others behind in the revolution. One example of the latter is the construction industry, which has only recently started to acknowledge the opportunities of digital tools and platforms provided by technology as part of its business processes. The real estate industry is slightly ahead of the construction industry on this, but still lagging compared to other industries. However, the construction and real estate industry is catching up with innovation and new technological solutions. Digital platforms enabled by advanced technology have an impact on business models of companies by changing the traditional ways of working. In order to take in the benefits provided by digital platforms, the companies in the construction and real estate industry need to understand the policies of the platform ecosystem and who are the actors on them. Several scholars have studied platforms and their ecosystems, but only a few in the context of the construction and real estate industry. A few studies have addressed the roles of platform actors; none focused solely on the role of the platform user. Furthermore, terminological inconsistencies related to the role of the platform user were found in the existing literature. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to provide a more comprehensive description of the user role on digital platforms, to refine the concept, and to characterise users from the construction and real estate industry. In other words, the research problem is to determine the role of the platform user. This is approached using two methods: a literature review and an empirical study consisting of a survey and workshops. Due to the scarcity literature on platform user, the literature review explores studies from different areas to form the basis of the user concept. I then propose the user framework derived from the literature which consists of six user roles; freemium users, premium users, user-complementors, owner-users, lead users and innovation users. The group of potential future platform users are excluded due to the fact that the role is rather related more to mature platforms, and the present research focuses more on early-stage platform development. The empirical study addresses the current state of the construction and real estate industry regarding digitisation, digitalisation and platformisation. Finally, the user framework is tested against the empirical findings. This research shows that the role of platform user is multidimensional, and it depends on the business principles of the platform. The empirical findings mainly support the proposed user framework, although there was no evidence for a distinction between the roles of owner-user and the owner. Both roles use the platform data to enhance the platform performance. Therefore, the role of owner-user is replaced by the role of the owner and the rest of the roles in the framework remain unchanged. User roles are made up of several characteristics, and these may be taken on to a lesser or greater extent by other roles. So, users can have elements from other roles, or they can have hybrid roles, but in all cases, one role is dominant for a particular user.Nopeasti kehittyvä teknologia ja digitalisaatio ovat jo vaikuttaneet ja muuttaneet monia eri liiketoiminnan aloja. Jotkut toimialat ovat kuitenkin jääneet jälkeen kehityksestä. Yksi näistä on rakennusala, joka on vasta hiljattain havainnut teknologian ja digitalisaation tarjoamat työkalut ja niiden potentiaalin osana liiketoimintaprosesseja. Vaikka kiinteistöala on hieman rakennusalaa edellä teknologian kehityksessä ja käyttöönotossa, se on silti jäljessä verrattuna moniin muihin aloihin. Rakennus- ja kiinteistöala ovat nyt ottamassa kiinni tätä etäisyyttä uusilla innovaatioilla ja teknologisilla ratkaisuilla. Kehittyvä teknologia on lisännyt alustojen käyttöä osana liiketoimintaa, mikä on vaikuttanut yritysten liiketoimintamalleihin ja muuttanut perinteisiä työskentelytapoja. Jotta rakennus- ja kiinteistöala voisi kehittyä ja ottaa entistä enemmän käyttöön digitaalisten alustojen tarjoamia hyötyjä, tulee yritysten ymmärtää alustan toimintaperiaatteet, ekosysteemi sekä sen osapuolet. Useat tutkijat ovat tutkineet alustoja ja niiden ekosysteemejä, mutta vain harva näistä tutkimuksista sijoittuu rakennus- ja kiinteistöalalle. Vain yksittäiset tutkimukset käsittelevät alustalla toimivia rooleja, eikä yksikään näistä tutkimuksista keskity pelkästään tutkimaan alustan käyttäjän roolia. Kirjallisuudessa on myös havaittavissa epäjohdonmukaisuuksia roolikäsitteiden käytössä. Täten, tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on täydentää käyttäjän määritelmää digitaalisilla alustoilla ja tunnistaa käyttäjiä rakennus- ja kiinteistöalalta. Toisin sanoen, tutkimuksen tavoitteena on määrittää käyttäjän rooli alustoilla. Tutkimusongelmaa lähestytään kahdella menetelmällä: kirjallisuuskatsauksella sekä kyselystä ja työpajoista koostuvalla empiirisellä tutkimuksella. Koska kirjallisuutta alustan käyttäjästä on löydettävissä vain vähän, perehtyy kirjallisuuskatsaus myös muiden alojen kirjallisuuteen. Tämä mahdollistaa sen, että käyttäjän roolille voidaan paremmin luoda pohja ja esittää se viitekehyksessä. Viitekehys muodostuu kuudesta käyttäjän roolista; freemium-käyttäjät, premium-käyttäjät, rikastuttajakäyttäjät, omistajakäyttäjät, edelläkävijäkäyttäjät sekä innovaatiokäyttäjät. Käyttäjäryhmä, joka jätettiin viitekehyksen ulkopuolelle, oli alustan potentiaaliset käyttäjät tulevaisuudessa. Nämä käyttäjät liittyvät enemmän kypsempään ja kehittyneempään alustaan, kun taas tämä tutkimus keskittyy lähinnä alustan kehitykseen sen alkuvaiheessa. Empiirinen tutkimus kartoittaa alan nykyistä tilaa digitisaation, digitalisaation ja alustatalouden näkökulmasta. Lopuksi tutkimuksen työpajojen tulokset esitellään ja sovelletaan viitekehykseen. Tutkimus osoittaa, että alustan käyttäjän rooli on moniulotteinen ja riippuvainen alustan liiketoimintaperiaatteista. Tutkimuksen empiiriset tulokset tukevat suurimmaksi osaksi kirjallisuudesta johdettua viitekehystä, mutta omistajakäyttäjän rooli havaitaan olevan lähellä alustan omistajan roolia. Tästä johtuen omistajakäyttäjän rooli korvataan omistajalla ja muut viitekehyksen roolit pysyvät muuttumattomana. Käyttäjän roolit koostuvat useista eri piirteistä, josta jotkin voivat olla voimakkaampia kuin toiset. Roolissa voi olla ominaisuuksia tai piirteitä muista käyttäjän rooleista tai se voi olla niiden yhdistelmä. Kuitenkin, yksi rooleista dominoi muita

Design Dynamics. Navigating the new Complex Landscape of Omnichannel Fashion Retail

The fashion industry is entering the dynamic global competitive market, promoting various actions prioritising design, creativity, sustainability, and technological advancement as pivotal factors. At the same time, it is reimagining its business models to adapt to the changing landscape. The rise of pervasive connectivity, intuitive interfaces and innovative interaction channels has triggered a revolution in fashion retail, reshaping customer behaviour and expectations. The traditional retail framework has evolved into a fully interconnected omnichannel system. This transformation is characterised by the proliferation of physical and virtual channels and touch points and by the adoption of a more flexible and integrated approach. In this dynamic context, design plays a central role, possessing the ability to impart meaning to the production and distribution system. Design-led innovation represents an incremental form of innovation that injects a nuanced range of meaning into the marketplace, extending beyond tangible objects, including discourses, expressions, narratives, visual images, symbols, metaphors, and spaces. The book analyses the multifaceted nature of the fashion retail experience through the lens of the design discipline, aiming to contextualise the evolution of retail within increasingly complex processes, networks and interconnections, both theoretically and practically. The focus is on retail design, delving into the new skills required and the valuable tools needed to apply them in inherently multidisciplinary contexts. Ultimately, the aim is to navigate the intricate terrain of retail evolution and shed light on the evolving role of design in this multifaceted sector