Competition Logics during Digital Platform Evolution

How are platforms built and how do they evolve? This is a salient question in digital ecosystems, where the competition has moved from traditional one-sided business logics to multi-sided platforms. In this paper, we explore how a digital platform evolves when the organization of the multilayered platform architecture, and related control points, is modified through competitive moves. We also examine how a firm may be able to manage the increased complexity of the platform. We show that when technical and strategic bottlenecks are solved, the platform owner can expand control to strategically important layers of the platform stack. The findings indicate that the complexity of the platform increases through a series of competitive moves. However, complexity can be managed by increasing the standardization of the platform interfaces, and by jockeying for a stronger position in critical parts of the platform stack

Cross-Border IT-Support for the Management of International Subsidiary Operations: The Diffusion of Innovations-Based Conceptual Model

Rapid and effective internationalization has increasingly become important for high-tech companies. Establishing a foreign subsidiary can facilitate effective internationalization for a high-tech company. This study investigates how IT can provide cross-border support to manage international subsidiary operations and makes important theoretical contributions. The research results exhibit how companies can use cross-border IT-support to effectively share and utilize information from the target country environment for international subsidiary operations. This paper also introduces the diffusion of innovations-based conceptual model which deals with various factors that should be taken into account while operating a foreign subsidiary through IT support. The findings are useful for both practice and further research

Pricing of digital goods and services

An appropriate pricing strategy is inevitable in achieving competitive advantage; however, firms have to be aware of the key resources needed for successful pricing and invest in developing the firm’s pricing ability. Pricing of digital goods and services is especially challenging due to the high-volatility environments and the special characteristics that these offerings have as compared to other economic goods. Despite of its importance, the literature, to date, did not investigate the pricing of digital goods and services from the resource-based perspective (RBW) and the capability-based view (CBV). After conducting a multi-case study of five firms, this research provides an in-depth view on the pricing practices of digital goods and services through the theoretical lenses of RBV and CBV and proposes a model that captures the key activities and the key resources needed for pricing of digital goods and services

How do entrepreneurs create indirect network effects on digital platforms? A study on a multi-sided gaming platform

Digital platforms play a central role in today’s market-based competition. To build a successful platform, entrepreneurs must pursue indirect network effects and shape multiple sides of the platform. However, the extant literature provides only a meager understanding of how entrepreneurs can create such indirect network effects. To better understand how this can be done, we conduct a case study that longitudinally traces 16 years of digital game platform growth as the entrepreneurs bring the platform successfully into multiple markets. The analysis advances theorising of the entrepreneurs’ repertoires of moves seeking to increase the number and variety of platform participants conducive to creating indirect network effects. The findings indicate that early moves focus on creating technical solutions that overcome technical challenges and permit platform scaling, whereas later moves seek to create a more flexible and generalisable platform architecture that allows a wider range of interactions. The findings make several contributions to the digital entrepreneurship literature by synthesising a dynamic model of entrepreneurs’ repertoire of competitive moves that will induce indirect network effects.© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Pricing of Digital Innovations as an Entrepreneurial Process

How do entrepreneurs set a price for digital innovations they develop and market? This is an important question in current information society where digitalization is making established pricing models outdated. In this study, we focus on this issue by examining what kinds of activities and resources entrepreneurs possess when pricing digital innovations. Based on five case studies, including 37 interviews with key decision makers involved in the pricing process, we found that pricing of digital innovations can be conceptualized as an entrepreneurial process in which the pricing capabilities are developed based on the resources at hand. In this view, the pricing model is adjusted through negotiations with customers as an iterative process. Our findings contribute to the IS literature by integrating insights from RBV, DRBV, and entrepreneurship theories to the pricing process of digital innovations

Additive manufacturing technology: Identifying Value Potential in Additive Manufacturing Stakeholder Groups and Business Networks

The development of additive manufacturing (AM) technology is expected to transform product design and manufacturing. It is predicted that the effects of AM on business will be diverse and extensive. It will be critical for business owners to observe how AM impacts on conventional supply chains and business networks, plus the effects on customers’ value propositions and on value creation. Value creation and value capture are concepts strongly linked to business relations and to stakeholder management. However, the concept of value is inherently complex and multifaceted, and so are the structures within which value potential exists in business networks and business environments. The critical issue for business managers is to identify where and how value is created in business relations. In this study, the primary purpose was to observe how AM technology impacts on company value creation within complex business relations

Pilliinpuhaltajan suoja: ilmoittajansuojelulain antama turva virkamiesoikeudellisten salassapitosäännösten alaisissa tehtävissä

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan vuoden 2023 alussa voimaan astuneen ilmoittajansuojelulain 24 §:ssä säädettyä ilmoittajan vastuu vapautta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on muodostaa mainitussa pykälässä olevalle perusteltu syy -käsitteelle sen tulkintaa ohjaavat oikeudelliset reunaehdot. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa perehdytään perustuslaissa turvatun sananvapauden sekä virkamiesoikeudellisen salassapidon väliseen punnintaan siitä, mitä virassa olevan henkilön sananvapauden piiriin katsotaan kuuluvan ja millä perusteilla sitä on lainsäädännön keinoin rajoitettu. Tutkimusaihetta on rajattu niin, että tarkastelu kohdistuu keskeisimpien virkasuhteita säätelevien lakien, eli valtion virkamieslain sekä kunnan ja hyvinvointialueen viranhaltijasta annetun lain alaisissa palvelussuhteissa toimiviin henkilöihin. Tutkielmassa noudatetaan lainopillista metodia, eli sen tarkoituksena on systematisoida sekä tulkita voimassa olevaa oikeutta. Tutkimuksen lähdeaineisto koostuu aarniolaisen oikeuslähdeopin mukaisista vahvasti ja heikosti velvoittavista oikeuslähteistä sekä sallituista lähteistä. Perusoikeuskysymyksiä koskevassa luvussa laintulkinnan tukena käytetään runsaasti alaa koskevaa substanssikirjallisuutta sekä Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuimen ratkaisukäytäntöä. Virkamiehen sananvapautta koskevan säätelyn kohdalla tulkinnan tukena on kotimainen oikeuskäytäntö. Ilmoittajansuojelulain kohdalla on huomioitava, ettei laista toistaiseksi ole ennakkoratkaisukäytäntöä, joten tehdyt tulkinnan pohjautuvat lain esitöiden sekä aiheesta annetun direktiivin sanamuotojen tulkintaan. Tutkielman oikeudellinen viitekehys rakentuu kahden perustuslain tasoisen periaatteen, eli sananvapauden sekä oikeusvaltioperiaatteesta johdetun hallinnon lainalaisuusperiaatteen väliseen punnintaan. Sananvapauden osalta tutkimuksessa perehdytään sen historialliseen kehitykseen klassisen liberalismin henkeä noudattavasta ennakkosensuurin kiellosta aina nykymuotoiseen vapauteen, jossa perusoikeuden turva on ulotettavissa myös ilmaisun sisällölle. Hallinnon lainalaisuusperiaate puolestaan on perustuslakitasoinen yläkäsite virkamiesoikeudellisen salassapitovelvollisuuden systematisoinnille. Tutkimuksessa salassapitovelvollisuuteen perehdytään asiakirjasalaisuudesta säätelevän julkisuuslain sekä virkasuhteita säätelevissä laeissa olevan, käyttäytymistä ohjaavan velvoitteen problematiikkaan. Tutkimus osoittaa varsinkin käyttäytymistä ohjaavaan velvoitteeseen liittyvän lainsäädännöllisen ongelman, sillä perustuslain rajoitusedellytysten mukaan perusoikeuden rajoituksen tulee olla riittävän tarkkarajainen ja täsmällisesti määritelty. Käyttäytymisvelvoitteen sananvapautta rajoittava merkitys ei itse lainkohdasta ilmene, vaan oikeuskäytännöllä on tulkinnan kannalta ratkaiseva merkitys. Ilmoittajansuojelun osalta tutkimuksessa selviää suojelun yleisten edellytysten vaatimukset, jotka kohdistuvat väärinkäytöksen ilmoittajaan. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa avataan väärinkäytösten julkistamisen tapauskohtaiset erityisehdot. Merkittävänä johtopäätöksenä voidaan pitää myös ilmoittajansuojelulain sananvapautta laajentavaa vaikutusta, joka tutkimuksessa osoitetaan. Lain sananvapautta laajentava vaikutus syntyy sen vastatoimien kiellon määräävästä normista, joka suojaa ilmoittajaa myös tilanteissa, joiden perusteella virassa olevaan on oikeuskäytännön mukaan aiemmin voitu kohdistaa erilaisia sanktioita

Characteristics of digital artifacts in international endeavors of digital-based international new ventures

Research Summary Current research on digital artifacts and international business reveals that digitalization is changing how firms enter international markets and operate within them. The unbounded nature of digital artifacts provides opportunities for entrepreneur-driven firms to rapidly launch and develop digital platforms for international markets. However, extant literature provides little guidance on leveraging the specific characteristics of digital artifacts and what entrepreneurs should do to facilitate internationalization. We conducted an extensive longitudinal case study spanning more than 10 years to garner data on digital-based INV pursuing internationalization. We aimed to conceptualize a theoretical model explaining the role of entrepreneurs in integrating, building, and reconfiguring their capabilities to leverage the characteristics of digital artifacts for platform development. Managerial Summary What actions should entrepreneurs take to leverage the characteristics of digital artifacts to support their firm's internationalization? This study offers entrepreneurs a model to pinpoint those actions and possible avenues for digital platform development in the international market context. The model demonstrates how firms can apply digital artifact characteristics during the phases of internationalization and how those characteristics can facilitate and accelerate the international development of a digital platform. The findings also reveal how different entrepreneurial resources and capabilities should be integrated, built, and reconfigured throughout the process.© 2023 The Authors. Global Strategy Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Strategic Management Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Technical, Strategic, and Cultural Bottlenecks of Born-Global-Digital Firms

A born-global-digital firm belongs to the group of firms that apply and develop digital technologies to achieve early internationalization. However, there might be different types of bottlenecks related to foreign market entries and the development of digital services affecting those markets that limit such firms’ global activities. In this work, we divide these bottlenecks into technical, strategic, and cultural forms. This multi-case study examines the impact of those bottlenecks and how that might be overcome. We provide practical and theoretical alternatives to bypass the impediments created by the bottlenecks