Roles of Information Technology in Distributed and Open Innovation Process

In the era of open and distributed innovation, Information Technology (IT) must be leveraged by organizations to reach, record and review ideas from internal (eg. employees) and external sources (eg. business partners). IT can support and enable this process, but only when its roles are understood and when properly deployed. Existing research has inadequately established these roles. Using the processvalue- of-IT lens, we apply a two-step exploratory research. First, the integration process is uncovered; second, the roles and potential of IT are discussed. Three distinct conceptual roles have been identified from the literature review and from interviews in 30 US and European companies that successfully collaborate with externals: Understanding and managing sources, Documenting idea history and source interactions, and Distribution and sharing of ideas. Some of the existing and emerging approaches to support cooperative activities (tool kits, idea management software, wikis) have been considered in context to outline opportunities and trends in the era of open, distributed, and IT-enabled innovation.</p

Hybrid Business Platforms – Marketplaces of the Future

The aim of this research report is to evaluate the potential of the new phenomenon of hybrid business platforms. Currently there is a development from fully digital platforms to "hybrid" platforms that are characterized by featuring digital and analog ingredients at the same time. Even more interestingly, new start-ups built around this hybrid value creation can be observed. Out of many examples of this kind, we highlight two – Jingle and b8ta

Platform-Based Business Ecosystems - A Framework for Description and Analysis

Part 3: Analysis and Assessment of Business EcosystemsInternational audienceValuecreation is increasingly driven by digital or semi-digital business models. Platforms offer the necessary backbone for such highly profitable business models. Our research centers on the questions how platforms are created, which drivers are behind this development and how platforms are successfully implemented. We analyzed various business ecosystems and their underlying platforms to understand the various roles companies can take in platform-based business ecosystems. Based on ou rresults we propose a framework to describe business ecosystems as well as a canvas to analyze their underlying platforms, the acting companies’ roles, and the applied business models. One case study illustrates this tool. Ou rresults will (1) help to understand why companies bet on platforms to establish business ecosystems, (2) analyze the processes and methods behind successful business ecosystems, and (3) reflect about the dominant and still growing importance of platform-based business ecosystems

Business model innovation 2.0 : a conceptual approach to add responsbility

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