Value-In-Context with Service Innovation in the Digital Age: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective

The increasingly complex service context with the convergence of physical products, digitalization, and service offerings presents a major challenge for IS research on service innovation. This article addresses the resulting need for research on an adequate understanding of the perceived value of innovative digital services. It continues previous work that makes the first move in this regard—conceptualizing this value as the sum of direct value-in-context (S-D logic), and indirect and option value-in-context (both newly introduced). This article closes two research gaps. First, the option and indirect value-in-context components are clarified by developing propositions that link both to S-D logic’s main concepts of service innovation. Second, the value-in-context anatomy is empirically validated with two conjoint analyses. It can be shown that both newly introduced components of value-in-context indeed are decisive factors for customers’ perceptions of value with innovative digital services—implicating their conceptual separation

How Do Consumers Evaluate Value Propositions of Connected Car Services?

The failure to clarify the value proposition, based upon a profound misunderstanding of different values that consumers attribute to connected car services, is the root cause of failed business models. Beyond practice, value propositions also play a central role in research on business models. Posing the research question of how consumers evaluate value propositions of connected car services, we address the research gap on value propositions in business models for the Connected Car. Informed by S-D logic, we conceptualize the perceived value on the consequence level and show empirically that consumers evaluate value propositions of connected car services not only in terms of their direct, but also in terms of their indirect and option value-in-context—both so far disregarded components of value-in-context

CPS Platform Approach to Industrial Robots: State of the Practice, Potentials, Future Research Directions

Approaches, such as Cloud Robotics, Robot-as-a-Service, merged Internet of Things and robotics, and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) in production, show that the industrial robotics domain experiences a paradigm shift that increasingly links robots in real-life factories with virtual reality. However, despite the growing body of research to date, though insightful, the paradigm shift to CPS in industrial robotics remains an under-researched area. Findings from the present paper make several contributions to the current state of research: We provide a potentially reusable framework of analysis and apply this framework in order to reveal whether and to what extent the industrial robotics branch implements abilities and characteristics of CPS. We examine the top five industrial robot manufacturers ABB, Fanuc, Kawasaki, Kuka, and Yaskawa and identify considerable, current implementations. However, concerning one of three perspectives—the perspective on CPS as industry platform constructs, takes the industrial robotics branch only certain small steps towards CPS platforms. We discuss them and outline a set of business model patterns that can transform product innovations, enabled by abilities and characteristics of CPS, into business model innovations in the industrial robot domain. In order to enable the industry to exploit the full potential of industrial robots understood as CPS, we question the right degree of openness in the context of industry platform constructs. Our methodological approach combines conceptual with empirical research

Channel Multiplicity in Digitized, Connected Products

The understanding of digitized, connected products as platforms for service provision requires an explicit, service-oriented perspective on the multiple interaction channels through which customers experience value from the products. Such a perspective h

Towards a Conceptual Framework for Cyber-Physical Systems from the Service-Dominant Logic Perspective

According to the current state of research, the present predominant understanding of cyber-physical systems (CPS) is technical and not driven by business or service related abstractions. The purpose of this paper is to provide other researchers with a framework to analyze service architectures of CPS. A service architecture transforms the value proposition of a service system into a configuration of actors, resources, and activities of value co-creation. The developed framework distinguishes from the current state of research by considering CPS as complex service systems and, in particular, by applying Service-Dominant logic (S-D logic) to the field of CPS. The intention is to build the basis for further research on CPS service innovation, novel value propositions, CPS business model innovations, and collaborative and contextualized value creation. The methodological approach of this contribution is mainly conceptual, but combines conceptual research with systematic literature analyses and an empirical illustration

Coordination of standard software development : a contingency approach

Sowohl empirische Befunde als auch die herrschende Meinung unter Fachleuten deuten darauf hin, dass die Organisationsgestaltung zugleich der mit den größten Risiken als auch mit den größten Verbesserungspotentialen behaftete Gestaltungsbereich der Softwareentwicklung ist. Ein wesentlicher organisatorischer Gestaltungsbereich ist dabei die Koordination. Koordinationsprobleme sind einer der Hauptgründe für die vielfach zitierte Softwarekrise und kommen insbesondere bei umfangreichen Softwareentwicklungsvorhaben zum Tragen. Solche Entwicklungsvorhaben sind im Bereich von Standardsoftware zahlreich vorzufinden. Sie zeichnen sich v. a. durch fehlende Transparenz von Entwicklungszielen, unzureichende Abstimmung der Beteiligten, ungelöste Zielkonflikte und ungeklärte Verantwortlichkeiten aus. Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit stellt einen situativ einsetzbaren Koordinationsansatz für umfangreiche Standardsoftware-Entwicklungsvorhaben bereit. Dazu wird zunächst das Konzept der Koordinationseffektivität abgeleitet. Anschließend wird, ausgehend von der Betrachtung des Standardsoftwareentwicklungsprozesses als einem "kontinuierlichen und konfliktären Zielbildungsprozess", ein Set von konkreten Koordinationsmechanismen entwickelt, um in Abhängigkeit von bestimmten Gegebenheiten stets eine effektive Koordination sicherstellen zu können. Mit dem Streben nach wissenschaftlicher Qualität ("rigor") und Relevanz für die Praxis ("relevance") richtet sich diese Arbeit sowohl an Wissenschaftler und Studenten mit Interesse an organisatorischen Aspekten der Softwareentwicklung als auch an Verantwortliche in Standardsoftwareunternehmungen

Looking for a Few Good Concepts and Theories for Digitized Artifacts and Digital Innovation in a Material World

Physical objects get increasingly augmented with digital technology resulting in digitized artifacts and digital innovation. We adapt an analysis framework geared towards the structural nature of theories in IS research to investigate how digitized artifacts, digital innovation and the relationship between the two are conceptualized. We identify and juxtapose research on 1) ‘ubiquitous and pervasive computing’, 2) ‘digital product innovation and digitized products’, 3) ‘digitized service innovation’, and 4) ‘digitized product service systems’ as four research streams that conceptualize digitized artifacts and related innovation. We discuss how the individual research streams contribute to the body of knowledge by recommending how the existing concepts can be utilized and when their application is most suitable. We furthermore reveal ambiguities and blind spots as potential avenues for further research. For scholars, our work provides guidance in choosing an adequate theoretical foundation for research on digitized artifacts and digital innovation