Digital Twins: A Meta-Review on Their Conceptualization, Application, and Reference Architecture

The concept of digital twins (DTs) is receiving increasing attention in research and management practice. However, various facets around the concept are blurry, including conceptualization, application areas, and reference architectures for DTs. A review of preliminary results regarding the emerging research output on DTs is required to promote further research and implementation in organizations. To do so, this paper asks four research questions: (1) How is the concept of DTs defined? (2) Which application areas are relevant for the implementation of DTs? (3) How is a reference architecture for DTs conceptualized? and (4) Which directions are relevant for further research on DTs? With regard to research methods, we conduct a meta-review of 14 systematic literature reviews on DTs. The results yield important insights for the current state of conceptualization, application areas, reference architecture, and future research directions on DTs

Toward a Framework for Cooperation Behavior of Start-ups: Developing a Multi-Item Scale from an Empirical Perspective

Many start-ups are in search of cooperation partners to develop their innovative business models. In response, incumbent firms are introducing increasingly more cooperation systems to engage with start-ups. However, many of these cooperations end in failure. Although qualitative studies on cooperation models have tried to improve the effectiveness of incumbent start-up strategies, only a few have empirically examined start-up cooperation behavior. Considering the lack of adequate measurement models in current research, this paper focuses on developing a multi-item scale on cooperation behavior of start-ups, drawing from a series of qualitative and quantitative studies. The resultant scale contributes to recent research on start-up cooperation and provides a framework to add an empirical perspective to current research

Usage of Social Media Systems in Customer Service Strategies

This paper examines the efficacy of social media systems in customer complaint handling. The emergence of social media, as a useful complement and (possibly) a viable alternative to the traditional channels of service delivery, motivates this research. The theoretical framework, developed from literature on social media and complaint handling, is tested against data collected from two different channels (hotline and social media) of a German telecommunication services provider, in order to gain insights into channel efficacy in complaint handling. We contribute to the understanding of firm’s technology usage for complaint handling in two ways: (a) by conceptualizing and evaluating complaint handling quality across traditional and social media channels and (b) by comparing the impact of complaint handling quality on key performance outcomes such as customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and cross-purchase intentions across traditional and social media channels

A Literature Review of Data Governance and Its Applicability to Smart Cities

Data governance have been relevant for companies for a long time. Yet, in the broad discussion on smart cities, research on data governance in particular is scant, even though data governance plays an essential role in an environment with multiple stakeholders, complex IT structures and heterogeneous processes. Indeed, not only can a city benefit from the existing body of knowledge on data governance, but it can also make the appropriate adjustments for its digital transformation. Therefore, this literature review aims to spark research on urban data governance by providing an initial perspective for future studies. It provides a comprehensive overview of data governance and the relevant facets embedded in this strand of research. Furthermore, it provides a fundamental basis for future research on the development of an urban data governance framework

The Concept of Agility in IT Governance and its Impact on Firm Performance

With significant advancements in digital technologies, firms find themselves competing in an increasingly dynamic business environment. Therefore, the logic of business decisions is based on the agility to respond to emerging trends in a proactive way. By contrast, traditional IT governance (ITG) frameworks rely on hierarchy and standardized mechanisms to ensure better business/IT alignment. This conflict leads to a call for an ambidextrous governance, in which firms alternate between stability and agility in their ITG mechanisms. Accordingly, this research aims to explore how agility might be integrated in ITG. A quantitative research strategy is implemented to explore the impact of agility on the causal relationship among ITG, business/IT alignment, and firm performance. The results show that the integration of agile ITG mechanisms contributes significantly to the explanation of business/IT alignment. As such, firms need to develop a dual governance model powered by traditional and agile ITG mechanisms

Acting like a Startup - Using Corporate Startup Structures to Manage the Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is proving to be a significant challenge for firms and companies when it comes to maintaining their market position. It is evident that many companies are struggling to find their particular way through this transformation. A corporate startup structure is one way to find a suitable solution quickly. Therefore, we are presenting a model for corporate startup activities, which we will instantiate in an appropriate tool to support the management of corporate startups by their parent firms. We have derived the first requirements and design principles from a comprehensive problem analysis and literature study. In addition to this,we are presenting a first artifact, which should realize the design principles by implementing a practical tool. Forming a cooperation with an automotive firm has enabled us to gain access to real-world data for the design and evaluation of the artifact

A Reference Model for Urban Data Governance and its Design Principles

Smart cities are data factories, generating a huge amount of heterogeneous data in a complex network with many actors. Yet municipalities struggle to properly manage urban data to maximize data utilization in smart city services delivered to their citizens. Data governance is a concept that helps manage the city\u27s data assets properly. However, cities face difficulties in implementing data governance because of a lack of guidance from academia and practitioners tailored to cities\u27 needs. This paper presents an urban data governance reference model created in line with the design science research paradigm. The reference model presents the design principles of urban data governance within eight dimensions, synthesized from expert interviews with 27 European Union cities and a literature review

Agility matters! Agile Mechanisms in IT Governance and their Impact on Firm Performance

With significant advancements in digital technologies, firms find themselves competing in an increasingly dynamic business environment. It is of paramount importance that organizations undertake proper governance mechanisms with respect to their business and IT strategies. Therefore, IT governance (ITG) has become an important factor for firm performance. In recent years, agility has evolved as a core concept for governance, especially in the area of software development. However, the impact of agility on ITG and firm performance has not been analyzed by the broad scientific community. This paper focuses on the question, how the concept of agility affects the ITG–firm performance relationship. The conceptual model for this question was tested by a quantitative research process with 400 executives responding to a standardized survey. Findings show that the adoption of agile principles, values, and best practices to the context of ITG leads to meaningful results for governance, business/IT alignment, and firm performance

Corporate startups:a systematic literature review on governance and autonomy

Many incumbents observe the startup world in jealousy of their agility and innovational performance. An increasing number of initiatives aim to mimic startup-like procedures in order to increase the incumbents’ innovational output. Structural models like accelerators, spinoffs, incubators, or corporate venture capitals aim to achieve that goal by implementing different governance setups. However, the success of such initiatives often remains unclear. While there is broad research on such topics, a clear empirical view on governance mechanisms for entrepreneurial structures in incumbents is missing. This paper outlines how to build a governance model based on empirically validated mechanisms and their relationship to corporate startup autonomy. This is achieved by following the systematic literature review approach by Webster and Watson combined with qualitative data analysis techniques. The results describe relevant gaps in current research and identify promising pathways for future research