Visualizing the Maturing Global API Ecosystem

Platform boundary resources are prominent digital strategy tools for companies to disclose business assets to partners and consumers. However, the platform boundary resources of API ecosystems are dependent on API usage and characteristics as well as the social environment around them. This study focuses on the global API ecosystem guided by two assumptions: 1) geographic proximity is distorted, and the global API ecosystem is decentralized in a digitally connected world, and 2) open co-innovation is somewhat prone to geographic nearness and centralized. A data-driven network analysis was utilized to depict the global and regional geolocation of more than 22,000 APIs and 6,000 mashups. First, the global locations of API providers were examined. Next, the connectivity of API mashups at global and regional levels was studied. The findings suggest that APIs are distributed globally, and the API ecosystem has moved from emerging to mature; however, the distribution is skewed towards entrepreneurial regions in North America. Finally, the theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Business model diversification through Product-Service Systems: Demand-relatedness perspective

Non peer reviewe

Feasibility Analysis of Safety Training in Human-Robot Collaboration Scenario : Virtual Reality Use Case

Design and modification of human-robot collaboration workspace requires analysis of the safety of systems. Generally, the safety analysis process of a system commences with conducting a risk assessment. There exists a number international standards for design robotics work cells and collaborative shared workspaces. These guidelines expound on principles and measures to identify hazards and reduce risks. Measures of risk reductions include eliminating hazards by design, safeguarding, and providing supplementary protective measures such as user training. This study analyzed the technical feasibility and industrial readiness of Virtual Reality (VR) technology for safety training in manufacturing sector. The test case of a VR-based safety training application is defined in the human-robot collaboration pilot-line of diesel engines. The Analytic Hierarchy Process method was utilized for conducting a quantitative analysis of the survey with ten experts. The participants performed the importance rating with respect to two hierarchy level criteria. Regarding the evaluation of safety training methods in a human-robot collaboration environment, two alternatives of traditional and Virtual Reality -based training are compared. The results indicates that the VR-based training is valued over the traditional method, with a scored proportion of approximately 65 percent over 35 percent.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

API utilization and monetization in Finnish industries

Many companies have followed the trend toward exposing their business assets through open (i.e., Web) application programming interfaces (APIs). However, these firms appear to have adopted API technology largely to meet their customers’ needs and demands. The pressures on industries to develop, implement, and maintain API products and services can prevent companies from gaining a greater awareness of API development’s benefits. Firms may thus miss out on related monetary or non-monetary exploitation of their business assets. This study explored the status of the API economy and development among Finnish industries. The dataset comprised publicly available information from 226 private and public organizations representing a variety of industries, such as industrial, consumer goods, and services sectors. The current status of API readiness, types, protocols, and monetization models is presented to provide a more comprehensive overview.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Exploring API-driven business models: Lessons learned from Amadeus's digital transformation

Digital transformation compels companies to seek new strategies and business models, allowing firms to find new ways to create and capture value. APIs have been widely used in improving internal processes and have been opened up recently to third-party developers to enable innovations in digital ecosystems. However, few studies have documented success stories of value generation through employing public APIs and thus enabling new, API-driven business models. This single case study examined the digital transformation in one of the leading organizations of the travel industry, Amadeus Corporation. Publicly available documents and other gray literature were used as data for content analysis. The results show how Amadeus has transformed its business model into an API-driven business model. This study contributes to the literature on API-driven business models by demonstrating the implication of APIs as a strategic tool in value co-creation. We identified six different values that were generated by exposing digital assets to API consumers through the API-driven business models of self-service platforms: commercialization, ecosystem, big data, market and marketplace, entrepreneurship, and R&D

How Could We Have Known? Anticipating Sustainability Effects of a Software Product

Companies are required to think of ways to address their sustainability responsibilities and impacts. Although they commonly present some of their activities and impacts at a high-level of abstraction in their sustainability strategies, the impacts of their products and services may remain unclear in such reporting. This is partly due to the lack of suitable tools to increase their awareness regarding the potential effects of these products and services on different sustainability dimensions. Using a case study, this paper shows how the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF) can be applied to identify such potential effects of an IT company’s (software) product and how such identified effects could be linked to the company focus