Business Models in the Age of Pervasive Digitization

The increasing pervasiveness of digital technologies, also referred to as "Internet of Things" (IoT), offers a wealth of business model opportunities, which often involve an ecosystem of partners - "Nest" as a popular, recent example. In this context, companies are required to look at business models beyond a firm-centric lens and respond to changed dynamics. However, extant literature has not yet provided actionable approaches for business models in IoT-driven environments. The purpose of my dissertation is to address the need for a business model approach, that captures the impact of above mentioned digitization. Applying iterative design science research, the goal is to reach at a reference framework that enables researchers and practitioners to visualize, analyze and design business models in IoT environments in a structured and actionable way. The design principles for the framework build upon relevant sources of justificatory knowledge, notably on (1) IS research: nature of digital technologies (Yoo 2010; Kallinikos 2013), (2) Marketing research: the service-dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004 and 2008) and (3) Business Model Research (Timmers 1998, Magretta 2002). Evidence from action research and multiple case studies indicates that the framework as is is able to depict business models in IoT.