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THE INTEGRATION OF DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS
INTO INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING
Thi Ngoc Van Hoang
De elopmen o a F amewo k o he In eg a ion o
Digi al Ecosys ems
Disse a ion p esen ed as pa ial equi emen o ob aining
he Mas e ’s deg ee in In o ma ion Managemen wi h
specializa ion in In o ma ion Sys ems and Technologies
Managemen
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NOVA In o ma ion Managemen School
Ins i u o Supe io de Es a ís ica e Ges ão de In o mação
Uni e sidade No a de Lisboa
INTEGRATION OF DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS INTO INFORMATION
SYSTEMS PLANNING
by
Thi Ngoc Van Hoang
Disse a ion p esen ed as pa ial equi emen o ob aining he Mas e ’s deg ee in In o ma ion
Managemen , wi h a specializa ion in In o ma ion Sys ems and Technologies Managemen
Ad iso : P o esso Ví o San os
Augus 2021
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ABSTRACT
Digi aliza ion and eme ging echnologies in luence o ganiza ion’s en i onmen by making hem mo e
dynamic and unp edic able. These changes no only p o ide capabili ies o companies o le e age
hei ope a ional pe o mance, bu also b ing challenges o o ganiza ions ha need o assess new
s a egies in o de o su i e and sus ain hei compe i i eness. The e o e, he bene i s o Digi al
Ecosys em (DE) become mo e p ominen and p omise indus y insigh s and ne wo ks ha a e able o
complemen an o ganiza ion’s speci ic alue chain. O ganiza ions ha e ealized ha hey a e no able
o su i e on a compe i i e and dynamic ma ke on hei own and disco e ed he oppo uni ies ha
pa ne ships can b ing. Ins ead o de eloping own solu ions, o ganiza ions each ou o ma ke leade s
and adop hei solu ions ins ead. By doing his, inno a i e solu ions and aluable indus y insigh s can
be assessed wi h li le e o . In o de o in eg a e he bene i s o DE, he o ganiza ion’s s a egic
In o ma ion Sys ems Planning needs o be e-e alua ed and modi ied upon new a i ac s based on
exis ing esea ch on DE capabili ies. Fu he , conside a ions upon es ablishing agili y h ough DE
oppo uni ies a e a ising as well. Ne e heless, s udies e eal ha only ew companies a e able o
succeed wi h hei digi al ans o ma ion which is leading o a high quo e o ailu es in he adop ion
o digi al business ecosys ems. Hence, he eason o he ailu e emains uniden i ied and equi es
esea ch. As digi al ecosys ems ha bo he po en ial o p o iding aluable capabili ies and esou ces
o a company, he need o an DE in eg a ion amewo k is eme ging.
KEYWORDS
Digi al Ecosys ems; IS s a egy; IS alignmen ; Collabo a i e ne wo ks; In o ma ion Sys ems Planning
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TABLE OF CONTENT
1. In oduc ion .................................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Mo i a ion and Objec i es .................................................................................... 2
1.2. S udy Rele ance .................................................................................................... 3
2. Li e a u e e iew .......................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Digi al Ecosys ems ................................................................................................. 5
2.1.1. Concep ual Backg ound o Digi al Ecosys ems .............................................. 5
2.1.2. Digi al Ecosys em A chi ec u e .................................................................... 11
2.1.3. Bene i s and D awbacks ............................................................................... 14
2.1.4. De eloping a DE in eg a ion s a egy .......................................................... 18
2.2. In o ma ion Sys ems Planning............................................................................. 25
2.2.1. Concep s o S a egic In o ma ion Sys ems Planning .................................. 25
2.2.2. C ea ion o an In o ma ion Sys ems Plan .................................................... 26
3. Me hodology .............................................................................................................. 31
3.1. Design Science Resea ch Me hodology .............................................................. 31
3.2. Resea ch S a egy ................................................................................................ 35
4. P oposal o a amewo k o he In eg a ion o Digi al Ecosys ems in o ISP ............. 37
4.1. Assump ions ........................................................................................................ 37
4.2. In o ma ion Sys ems Planning F amewo k Design ............................................. 40
4.3. Valida ion............................................................................................................. 54
4.4. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 64
5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 66
5.1. Syn hesis o he de eloped wo k ........................................................................ 66
5.2. Limi a ions ........................................................................................................... 66
5.3. Fu u e wo k ......................................................................................................... 67
Bibliog aphy..................................................................................................................... 68
Annexes ........................................................................................................................... 74
LIST OF FIGURES
Figu e 2.1: Digi al pla o m ecosys em .................................................................................... 12
Figu e 2.2: Digi al Pla o m Laye s ........................................................................................... 14
Figu e 2.3: Th ee S age model o MIS planning ....................................................................... 27
Figu e 3.1: DSR Knowledge Con ibu ion F amewo k ............................................................. 32
Figu e 3.2: Modi ied DSR Cycle o DE esea ch ...................................................................... 33
Figu e 3.3: DSR P ocess Model ................................................................................................ 34
Figu e 4.1: DE In eg a ion F amewo k o SISP ....................................................................... 41
Figu e 4.2: S a egic Planning & Awa eness ............................................................................ 42
Figu e 4.3: Visualiza ion o i s s age o S a egic Planning ................................................... 44
Figu e 4.4 - DE Risk Py amid .................................................................................................... 46
Figu e 4.5: DE S a egy Awa eness Model ............................................................................... 47
Figu e 4.6: DE S a egy Concep ion ......................................................................................... 49
Figu e 4.7: DE Oppo uni ies om Digi al Pla o ms ............................................................... 50
Figu e 4.8: IS/IM/IT Dependency iangle ................................................................................ 51
Figu e 4.9: DE S a egy Fo mula ion ........................................................................................ 53

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Digi al pla o m cha ac e is ics ................................................................................. 8
Table 2.2: DE S a egy Concep ion .......................................................................................... 20
Table 2.3: Main indings o DE li e a u e ................................................................................. 24
Table 4.1: Assump ions based on DE and SISP esea ch ......................................................... 40
Table 4.2: DE Ques ion Ca alogue ........................................................................................... 45
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
API Applica ion P og amming In e ace
B2B Business- o-Business
DE Digi al Ecosys em
DEA Digi al Ecosys em A chi ec u e
DSR Design Science Resea ch
ICT In o ma ion and Communica ion Technologies
IM In o ma ion Managemen
IOT In e ne -o -Things
IS In o ma ion Sys em
IT In o ma ion echnology
KPI Key Pe o mance Indica o
SISP S a egic In o ma ion Sys ems Planning
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1. INTRODUCTION
New busines models and ools ha empowe business collabo a ion ha e es ablished as a popula
end among companies in o de o s eng hen hei pe o mance by p o iding esilience and agili y
on he ma ke (G aça & Cama inha-Ma os, 2017). Collabo a i e ne wo ks in ac , include di e en
o ganiza ions, ha aim o each hei s a egic objec i es, long- o sho - e m, by a collabo a i e wo k
cul u e (Appio e al., 2017). Tha wo k cul u e helps o ganiza ions o expand hei p oduc and se ice
o e ings by wo king oge he wi h o he companies in o de o s ay compe i i e. Wi h eme ging
challenges and echnologies howe e , digi al companies need o become mo e co-adap i e and
lexible o changes o he in e nal and ex e nal en i onmen besides o collabo a ion ac i i ies
(Ko honen & Halen, 2017). Thus, digi al echnologies play an inc easingly impo an ole in
s eng hening a collabo a i e wo k cul u e by ans o ming ela ionships wi hin he business ne wo ks
and c ea e inno a i e ways o co-c ea ing alue (Pagani & Pa do, 2017) o ackle challenges a ising
om a dynamic en i onmen . Due o he limi ed capabili ies o an o ganiza ion, he ocus o business
s a egies is shi ing o he in eg a ion o Digi al Ecosys ems (DE) ha enable inno a i e ac i i ies in
pa ne ship wi h eme ging digi al echnologies in o de o suppo an o ganiza ion’s ac i i ies.
(Koh amäki e al., 2019). These ype o ecosys ems s a play an impo an ole ega ding he Business-
To-Business (B2B) ela ionship be ween o ganiza ions ha a e ma ked by collabo a i e ne wo ks ha
ein o ce in eg a ion and coo dina ion o business p ocesses (Senyo e al., 2019; Va gas e al., 2016).
Execu i es also ealized ha po en ial and he oppo uni ies ha come wi h he bene i s o new digi al
echnologies which a e able o ans o m supply chains and se e as inno a i e ways o deli e alue
o cus ome s (Sub amaniam e al., 2019). Thus, he s a egic ocus inc easingly mo es o he
impo ance o complemen o s and in e dependencies be ween hem (Kapoo , 2018). Despi e he
desi e o in eg a ing ecosys ems in o he o ganiza ion’s business s a egy, execu i es s ill do no know
how he di e en componen s such as pla o ms, echnology and he supply chain a e in e connec ed
o each o he and how DE ac ually c ea e alue (Adne , 2017). This is highligh ing he eme gence o
o ganiza ional guidance in o de o manage in e dependen ela ionships o ecosys em pa icipan s
and he way hey link complemen a y o e ings o hei alue c ea ion p ocesses (Kapoo , 2018).
Reasons o his may be ound in he app oach o digi al ans o ma ion by ea ing i as a sepa a e
componen which is no ully in eg a ed in o c i ical p ocesses o he o ganiza ion (Ko honen & Halen,
2017).
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1.1. MOTIVATION AND OBJECTIVES
Exis ing pape s and epo s highligh he a ious bene i s o DEs, bu a clea and p ecise ins uc ion on
main aining a collabo a ion ne wo k and applying ha app oach o an o ganiza ion’s business s a egy
is no gi en (Zhang & Wang, 2018). Mo eo e , exis ing esea ch limi hei esul s o ce ain indus ies
and a eas which migh lea e execu i es unclea on ecommenda ions o ac ions (D echsle &
Weißschädel, 2018). Un il oday, s udies ha e iew DE emain limi ed and many aspec s a e s ill le
unclea (Senyo e al., 2019). The need o conside ing DE in eg a ion in o SISP al eady is an impo an
pa o de eloping a compe i i e business s a egy and he e o e equi es awa eness in esea ch
(Jacobides e al., 2018). Mo eo e , exis ing esea ch on DE emains limi ed and only ew app oaches
on p ecise de ini ions on DE a e gi en, u he esea ch needs o be conduc ed (Ba ykin e al., 2020;
De Reu e e al., 2018). In addi ion, he subjec o collabo a ion equi es ex ended esea ch al hough
i has been p esen in indus y o some ime as he e is s ill a lack o models and concep s on co-
c ea ing alue h ough collabo a ion pa ne ships (De Reu e e al., 2018). Due o he inc easing
compe i i eness, o ganiza ion nowadays a e equi ed o gain he abili y o iden i ying ecosys ems ha
can suppo he o ganiza ion’s business s a egy (Wol & Floyd, 2017) in o de o su i e in an
en i onmen whe e collabo a ion becomes c i ical. Insecu i ies among execu i es leads o sole
main enance o hei IT in as uc u e ins ead o e hinking exis ing s uc u es which leads o
ine iciencies and in lexibili y (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). Fu he mo e, he la ge numbe o
exis ing op ions make i mo e di icul o execu i es o ind he op imal solu ion o hei IT s a egy
(Pa k & Mi has, 2020). Exis ing amewo ks and models on DE may be unsui able o illus a e oday’s
dynamic digi al business ecosys ems which leads o he eme gence o de eloping a con empo a y
amewo k (Zhang & Wang, 2018). While exis ing en e p ise a chi ec u e amewo ks such as
A chiMa e and TOGAF a e no su icien o suppo he in eg a ion o DEs, new app oaches a e
equi ed o e lec hei dynamic na u e (Anwa & Gill, 2019). Consequen ly, exis ing li e a u e needs
o be e alua ed o aise awa eness and ex end exis ing s udies on DE while closing knowledge gaps o
ackle p esen challenges o digi al ans o ma ion (Senyo e al., 2019; Sub amaniam e al., 2019). As
his esea ch is ocusing on he in eg a ion o DE in o he SISP, exis ing IT s a egy amewo ks will be
e iewed. Hence, his s udy a ge s a SISP amewo k which is easy o apply o suppo execu i es on
bene i ing om DE oppo uni ies o hei SISP s a egy (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018) as ou da ed
models can lead o misleading conclusions ha may endange u u e esea ch (Peppa d, 2018). Fo
his pu pose, iden i ied challenges and gaps a e add essed by modeling a i ac s o simpli ying ways
o in eg a ing DEs in o he s a egic conside a ions o o ganiza ions.
In o de o achie e his objec i e, he a ge o his s udy is he concep ion o a amewo k o
in eg a ing DEs in o he o ganiza ion’s SISP based on a well- ounded analysis o cu en concep s o DE
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o sha ing hese and he ole o he speci ic pla o m’s owne (Ka hu e al., 2018). As wi h he g ow h
o he pla o m, a DE is g owing as well (Kopalle e al., 2020) which makes he DE size dependen on
he use base ha can gene a e la ge amoun s o da a h ough in e ac ions (Hein e al., 2019). By using
digi al pla o ms, o ganiza ions can p o ide hei complemen a y o e ing o a b oad ne wo k (Kapoo ,
2018). The pla o m’s alue o use, being gene a ed by an ex ended o e ing o complemen s, enla ges
he DE’s scope and he likelihood o people ge ing in e es ed in o he pla o m (Cennamo & San aló,
2019). Acco dingly, he DE’s pla o m needs o be as a ac i e o possible ecosys em pa ne s in o de
o d i e he g ow h which is coming along wi h aluable oppo uni ies ha a e induced by ne wo k
e ec s. A DE is cha ac e ized by a ce ain le el o openness which is dis inguished be ween access
openness and esou ce openness while he access openness desc ibes he access o he pla o m
which allows complemen o s o pa icipa e in he DE h ough Applica ion P og amming In e aces
(API) o ins ance whe eas he esou ce openness is e e ing o he dis ibu ion o p ope y h ough
open-sou ce licensing and makes esou ces o complemen o s accessible o o he pa icipan s o he
DE (Ka hu e al., 2018). Hence, openness ela ed o DEs is e e ing o he possibili y o pa icipan s
being able o add and sha e alue (Ba ns, 2019). A his poin , APIs play a signi ican ole as well since
mos digi al pla o ms a e based on hese o enable da a access and applica ion de elopmen
oppo uni ies o ex e nal de elope s (Zu shi & G ilo, 2019). In conclusion, openness p omo es a
coupling and decoupling o oppo uni ies o he ecosys em and he accessibili y o echnological
capabili ies o an o ganiza ion o o he s (De Reu e e al., 2018).
The owne s o he digi al pla o m manage he way ecosys em pa icipan s a e o ganized wi hin he
DE by ocusing on hei in e dependency and oppo uni ies o connec ing au onomous ocal i ms o
he DE and enabling sha ing digi al esou ces and making echnologies accessible o o he ecosys em
pa icipan s o c ea e he alue g ow h o he pla o m (Isckia e al., 2018; Jacobides e al., 2018).
Fu he , he owne is also esponsible o he go e nance o he pla o m ha p omo es alue c ea ion
be ween ac o s (Hein e al., 2019) and de e mines he a chi ec u al design wi h i s in e aces (Kapoo ,
2018). Tha alue c ea ion is suppo ed by he a ious oppo uni ies o explo ing esou ces and
capabili ies be ween he a ious ac o s ha a e gi en h ough he pla o m which concen a es on
alue c ea ion oppo uni ies (Wan e al., 2017). In o de o make he eposi o y o esou ces and
capabili ies accessible o he pa icipan s o he DE, he ecosys em’s pla o m a chi ec u e is coming
wi h di e en componen s and in e aces ha a e p o ided by he owne o he pla o m (Anwa &
Gill, 2019; Isckia e al., 2018). These in e aces a e he co e componen o a DE as well as o digi al
pla o ms as hey enable openness, modula i y and he coo dina ion o he DE by de ining he
in e ac ion and connec ion be ween complemen a y o e ings and con ibu o s wi hin an ecosys em
(Isckia e al., 2018). Opening up esou ces o complemen a y o o he ypes o ecosys em pa ne s,

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p o ides he DE wi h echnological modula i y ha enables he p oduc ion o connec ed componen s
by o he pa ne s (Jacobides e al., 2018).
Modula i y
DE eme ge om modula i y and oppo uni ies h ough inno a i e complemen a i ies (Jacobides e al.,
2018). S anda d in e aces ha e been bene icial o p o iding access o he sou ce code o applica ions
ha acili a e collabo a ions and inno a ions wi h hi d pa y de elope s who can modi y p oduc s and
unc ionali ies o hei own needs while os e ing a low o in o ma ion and inno a ion as i could be
seen in he a ea o mobile applica ions (Boehmke & Hazen, 2017; Kopalle e al., 2020). Openness is no
only allowing o ganiza ions o make use o o he ecosys ems digi al capabili ies bu may also p o ide
access o own capabili ies o collabo a ion pu poses (Ci iello e al., 2018). The e o e, modula i y is
p omo ed by componen s ha a e enabled h ough in e aces which suppo inpu and ou pu and
enable ac o s o an ecosys em o make con ibu ions o he DE while also p o iding lowe en y
oppo uni ies o smalle o ganiza ions who s uggled o b ing up in es men s in o de o in e ac on
he ma ke (S u geon, 2021). By he engagemen o di e en pa icipan s on digi al pla o ms and APIs,
alue can be c ea ed and sha ed (Ba ns, 2019; Zu shi & G ilo, 2019). Ne e heless, le els o inno a ion
on a digi al pla o m a e dependen on he pla o m’s echnical a chi ec u e le el (De Reu e e al.,
2018), so he alue o each DE pla o m di e s o each ac o and he e o e needs o be assessed
indi idually. The gi en exis ence o modula i y enables he dis ibu ion o in e dependen componen s
and lowe s he deg ee in making decisions on p icing, p oduc ion and ope a ions unde he condi ion
o p ede ined ag eemen s (Jacobides e al., 2018). Those ag eemen s include s anda ds ega ding he
in e ope abili y, esponsibili ies and he de ini ion o alue c ea ion (Kapoo , 2018). The concep o
modula i y, enables o ganiza ions o in eg a e in e changeabili y in o hei s a egy wi hou changing
he whole ecosys em as modula i y allows an easy subs i u ion o complemen a y componen s while
emaining s able (Hein e al., 2019; S u geon, 2021). Mo eo e , he modula i y o componen s no only
makes he ecosys em appea mo e a ac i e, bu is also p o iding alue o he componen i sel as
di e en p oduc s and se ice o e ings can be easily edeployed (Jacobides e al., 2018). As modula i y
b ing mo e lexibili y h ough complemen a y o e ings, o ganiza ions aim o inno a i e s a egic
ela ionships, especially when he o e ed complemen a y componen s a e unique and p o ide an
exclusi e alue p oposi ion, make modula i y a co e c i e ium o ensu e an o ganiza ion’s
compe i i eness in a dynamic and unp edic able ma ke (Jacobides e al., 2018). The c ucial di e ence
ha di e en ia es he DE economy om a digi al pla o m economy is he ocus on a b oade base o
in eg a ion and business in e ac ions by ac i ely encou aging sha ing esou ces, capabili ies and
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esou ces be ween he DE pa icipan s and he e o e unco e oppo uni ies in in e ac ions, da a and
a es uc u a ion o IT in es men s (Godin & Te ekho a, 2020). Ye , digi al pla o ms a e a na u al pa
o DE and he e o e should no be iewed as a sepa a e componen . Thus, he success o in eg a ing
DE in o he digi al s a egy depends on he o e all explo a ion and exploi a ion o capabili ies and
esou ces (Ba ns, 2019; Wan e al., 2017). In o de o su i e on a long- e m base, DEs and hei
pla o ms need o be gene a i e and g ow dynamically wi h he digi alized en i onmen (De Reu e e
al., 2018). A lexible digi al en e p ise a chi ec u e hus becomes indispensable and makes he
in eg a ion o DE essen ial.
2.1.2. Digi al Ecosys em A chi ec u e
In o de o ully exploi he po en ials o DE, he Digi al Ecosys em A chi ec u e (DEA) needs o be as
lexible and adop i e as possible (Ko honen & Halen, 2017). The e o e, i is impo an o a manage ial
audience o unde s and wha componen s a DE and he unde laying digi al pla o m a e composed o
as digi al pla o m and DE can g ow complex e y quickly (Yablonsky, 2018). Tha complexi y esul s
om he eplacemen o old echnologies by inno a i e ones which leads o an inc eased size o hei
sub-ecosys ems (Gao e al., 2019). Th ee elemen s o an ecosys em a e iden i ied o be desc ibing o
he way ac o s in e ac wi h he c ea ion and p oposi ion o alues which a e ac i i ies, ac o s, and
a chi ec u es (Kapoo , 2018). Ac i i ies in his con ex a e ac ions ha se e he pu pose o alue
c ea ion (Adne , 2017). Mo eo e , he connec ions o he pa ne s and complemen o s should be
conside ed as well. Tha connec ion is conside ed o be a link ha cha ac e izes he ans e wi hin
ha DE (Adne , 2017).
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Sou ce: Hein e al. (2019)
Figu e 2.1: Digi al pla o m ecosys em
A i s app oach on he DEA is gi en by Hein e al. (2019) who illus a e a digi al pla o m ecosys em as
a model which is clus e ed in o h ee di e en a eas (Figu e 2.1) which a e he digi al pla o m, he
bounda y, and he ecosys em. The pla o m includes inno a i e digi al echnologies ha bene i om
he in e ac ions o he pla o m pa icipan s and he e o e s eng hen he ne wo k e ec (Godin &
Te ekho a, 2020). The digi al ecosys em pla o m is cha ac e ized by a cen al posi ion, he pla o m
owne , who owns he decision igh s and is esponsible o he pla o m con ol as well as he access
o he pla o m while aiming o e enue g ow h h ough he ne wo k communi y (Adne , 2017). The
owne enables access o he pla o m by a anging a modula ized pla o m ha including he
ecosys em’s asse s and ensu es he esou ce and se ice con o mi y o he pla o ms s anda ds (Hein
e al., 2019). Fu he ac o s a DE a e complemen o s as well as cus ome s whe eas complemen o s
di e om egula supplie s as hose decide au onomously o join he ecosys em (Kapoo , 2018). The
inclusion o ex e nal ac o s like he complemen o and he s a egic pa ne s as well as he pee - o-
pee communi y, he in e dependencies be ween hese ac o s can be e alua ed in a b oade manne
and makes he a chi ec u e i sel mo e dynamic (Tsujimo o e al., 2018). The digi al pla o m’s
a chi ec u e a ious componen s a e connec ed by s anda d in e aces while modula i y secu es
13
inno a ion (Isckia e al., 2018). By c ea ing an in as uc u e including APIs o ins ance,
complemen o s can easily in eg a e hei se ices and p oduc s o and os e e ical solu ions,
pla o m owne s hope o gene a e a use base on hei pla o ms (Hein e al., 2019). The second a ea
consis s o ope a ions ha con ain alue c ea ing ac i i ies such as inno a i e ansac ions whe eas
he hi d sec ion o he ecosys em is illus a ed by he au onomy o complemen o s which is e e ing
o he abili y o complemen o s being able o join and qui he DE whene e hey like (Hein e al.,
2019). Pla o m pa icipan s can be g ouped in o pla o m owne s, p o ide , manu ac u e s and
consume s o ins ance and a e lexible in hei coupling o he pla o m enabled by mo ing om
adi ional buye -supplie con ac s o open and lexible con ac s (Godin & Te ekho a, 2020; Wan e
al., 2017). The oppo uni y o loosely-coupling o an ecosys em a chi ec u e, s eng hens pa icipan s
desi e o pla o m eadiness in o de make use o ha unc ionali y in o s ay lexible ega ding hei
a achmen (Hein e al., 2019). P oposing a DEA ha is comple e is di icul as many ac o s con ibu e
o he a chi ec u e and he esul ing a chi ec u e can e lec di e en echnology inco po a ed in o
he DE ha may a y depending on he indus y (Gao e al., 2019). The DE pla o m a chi ec u e is
classi ied in o wo g oup o ac o s, p oduce s and consume s, ha a e connec ed by a mone a y
exchange and a eedback and e iew cul u e (Zu shi & G ilo, 2019). I includes di e en componen s
ha con ains applica ions such as a epu a ion managemen sys em and da a managemen
applica ions as well as a de elopmen en i onmen (Hein e al., 2019; Zu shi & G ilo, 2019). The
epu a ion managemen sys em o example is equi ed o manage ela ions be ween ac o s ha ha e
no in e ac ed be o e and is supposed o es ablish us (Sänge & Pe nul, 2018). Hence, ecosys ems
ocus on enabling a pa icipa ing ecosys em a chi ec u e h ough componen such as anspa ency
and egula ions in o de o ensu e us (Hein e al., 2019). Mo eo e , he applica ion de elopmen
en i onmen is an essen ial pa o he DE pla o m a chi ec u e as he API p o ides a linking poin o
hi d-pa y de elope s, ad e ise s and o he hi d-pa y se ice p o ide s and allows hei
con ibu ion in o de o elabo a e he DE po en ial and alue (Ba ns, 2019). Consequen ly, he DEA is
buil ou o many componen s ha suppo s he collabo a ion be ween many po en ial pa ne s ha
do no know and us each o he .
14
Sou ce: Zu shi & G ilo (2019)
Figu e 2.2: Digi al Pla o m Laye s
Based on Figu e 2.2 he digi al pla o ms is build ou o six di e en laye s which is he (1) business
laye whe e o ganiza ions ha e hei business model de ined in o de o os e he alignmen be ween
he DE pa icipan s and o ensu e aligned alue p oposi ions; he use in e ac ion laye (2) ha ensu es
a use - iendly in e ace, he de elopmen laye (3) ha p o ides an en i onmen o hi d pa y
de elope s; he in eg a ion laye (4) ha is co e ing he in eg a ion o APIs o p ope y exchange; he
da a laye (5) ha manages da a and in o ma ion by designing s o age and da a analy ics oppo uni ies
ha can enhance quali y con ol and p ocesses and he IT laye (6) ha includes he IT in as uc u e
a chi ec u e ega ding da a and s o age designs o ins ance (Zu shi & G ilo, 2019).
2.1.3. Bene i s and D awbacks
In eg a ing DEs in o he o ganiza ion’s business s a egy is impo an o execu i es in o de o bene i
om ad an ages such as exploi ing exis ing oppo uni ies and inno a ions om he digi al ma ke place
as well as p o iding mo e e icien ways o managing esou ces and he collec ion o da a and
in o ma ion (K aus e al., 2019). Mo eo e , in eg a ing DEs also comes along wi h a b oade ne wo k
and eposi o y o esou ces and capabili ies such as ha dwa e and so wa e ha can le e age many

15
ope a ions o he o ganiza ion (Ansong & Boa eng, 2019). Especially esou ces ha can p o ide
o ganiza ions wi h new digi al oppo uni ies a e an essen ial bene i o DE as his is able o p o ide he
o ganiza ion wi h a highe le el o ne wo k impac h ough app op ia e ne wo k e ec s (Ba ns, 2019;
Luz Ma ín-Peña e al., 2018). The e o e, i becomes ine i able o be awa e o s eng hs and o
downsides o he o ganiza ion’s capabili ies in o de o ealize and os e inno a i e alue p oposi ions
h ough DEs (Senyo e al., 2019).
Being able o explo e new and inno a i e digi al echnologies and bene i om insigh s and expe ise
o bigge ma ke playe s, an ecosys em can o e compe i i e esou ces and capabili ies o su i e in
an uns able and unp edic able en i onmen (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). Back hen, o ganiza ions
s uggled wi h inding pa ne s and many pa ne ships we e enabled by paying middlemen made he
app oach on pa ne ship es ablishmen di icul and expensi e (Zu shi & G ilo, 2019). Nowadays, DE
p o ide a cheape and mo e e icien al e na i e o inding sui able pa ne ne wo ks ha p o ide
capabili ies which would no ha e been accessible wi hou a pa ne ship. This is especially in e es ing
o smalle o ganiza ions which aim o a as ma ke en y and bene i om DEs as i is p o iding hem
wi h a ce ain le el o us wo hiness as hey a e pa o a epu able ne wo k o pa ne s o which
o ganiza ions a e also willing o accep lowe deg ee o independence (Nambisan & Ba on, 2021).
Hence, DE o e a ac i e business oppo uni ies due o access o da a, enabling disco e y wi hin he
ma ke , ex ension o se ice o e ings and inno a ion h ough en i onmen s o hi d pa y de elope s
(Zu shi & G ilo, 2019). Th ough he openness o he ecosys em’s eposi o y, DE pa icipan s can access
a pool o di e en esou ces and capabili ies which will bene i he whole ecosys em wi h gene a i i y
h ough he de elopmen o unique alue p oposi ions ou o his eposi o y (Hein e al., 2019).
The e o e, DE o e an easie access o esou ces, bes p ac ices, insigh s and capabili ies ha may
o e come ba ie s ha an indi idual company would no be able o ace on hei own which leads o
an o e all imp o emen o he company (Cygle e al., 2018).
Mo eo e , he modula i y o DE enables modi ica ions in hei quan i ies and as esponses o ma ke
changes which bene i s o ganiza ion’s wi h an e icien pe o mance in a as -changing en i onmen
(Ta a da & Q un leh, 2017). While DE can p o ide IS capabili ies in a mo e lexible way and on di e en
le els o capabili ies, bene i s in logis ics lead o sinking anspo a ion cos s and o highe le els o
eliabili y (Ansong & Boa eng, 2019). The es uc u a ion o an o ganiza ion’s esou ces is enabling
capaci ies o o he eme ging o ganiza ional issues and may ein o ce o ganiza ional pe o mance by
e-e alua ion o o ganiza ional challenges (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). Tha esul ing b oade pool o
esou ces and capabili ies can le e age an o ganiza ion’s le el o compe i i eness (G aça & Cama inha-
Ma os, 2017) ha is achie ed by a ge ing b oade cus ome needs (Sebas ian e al., 2020).
Pa ne ships wi h DE pa icipan s can also esul in c ea i i y ha ansla es in o dis up ing inno a ions
16
as well as he encou agemen o o ganiza ional lexibili y caused by in e ac i e and inno a i e supplie
and pa ne ela ions (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). Mo eo e , an e icien managemen o he
esou ces is p omo ing he g ow h o p oduc i i y as well as less ope a ional expenses (Kopalle e al.,
2020).
D awbacks
While mos ly he bene i s o DE a e highligh ed, only a ew ecognize and he e o e, neglec he
d awbacks ha DE ha bo (Nambisan & Ba on, 2021). One o he i s majo con lic s is based on he
ac ha DE owne s au onomously make decisions on o ganiza ional ac i i ies which o ces DE
pa icipan s o adap hose ac i i ies based on p e-de ined ag eemen s upon en e ing he ecosys em
(Jacobides e al., 2018).
As modula i y allows pa icipan s o he DE o en e and lea e he pla o m whene e hey like, i is
ha d o a e a company in e ms o us since companies may only en e o he bene i s and will lea e
as soon as hey eached hei goals, especially in he case o gene ic complemen s and compa ible
s anda ds which make an exi e en easie (Cygle e al., 2018; Jacobides e al., 2018). Pa icipan s o
he DE a e cha ac e ized by hei indi idual a ionali y as well as hei sel -se ing decision-making
which is ha bo ing he isk o di e ences in p io i ies which may a ec he e iciency o he DE
(Tsujimo o e al., 2018) as o ganiza ions usually do no ha e he abili y o con olling mos o he
ecosys ems hey a e joining (Jacobides e al., 2018). In addi ion, modula i y is b inging lexibili y o
collabo a ion ela ionships and os e s he collabo a ion be ween independen o ganiza ions which is
adding mo e complexi y o o ganiza ional s uc u es a he same ime (Aulkemeie e al., 2019;
Jacobides e al., 2018). Unlike la ge o ganiza ions, many SMEs a e likely o success ully adop o o he
ecosys ems due o hei lexible IT in as uc u e and he acco ding legacy s uc u e (Romanelli, 2018).
The e o e, DE s a egy can pose a bigge challenge o la ge companies wi h a less lexible IT
in as uc u e. Wi h modula i y howe e , us issues a ise due o he depe sonaliza ion o he digi al
indus y as o ganiza ions a e no able o immedia ely igu e ou whe he he DE pa icipan s migh
only join o hei own bene i and makes he in eg a ion o sys em collabo a ion o assessing
ecosys em pa icipan s’ eliabili y essen ial (Cio oaica e al., 2019). In o de o p e en one-sided
exploi a ion o a DE, he ecosys em leade needs o pu ocus on es ablishing us and loyal y among
all DE pa icipan s which can be achie ed h ough he in e nal g ow h o he DE ha mos ly co ela es
wi h g owing alue, no only being able o sus ain bu also a ac new ecosys em pa icipan s (Isckia
e al., 2018).
17
Be o e joining a DE and i s pla o m, up on in es men s need o be made be o e e en ealizing he
e enue due o he adop ion o he o ganiza ion’s p oduc s and se ices o he pla o m-speci ic
in e aces (Kapoo , 2018). Due o he disc epancies in he pe spec i es o he DE’s pa icipan s he
desi ed alue c ea ion migh u n ou less aluable han expec ed which migh lead o disappoin men s
and ailu e (Adne , 2017). This phenomenon, also known as he p incipal-agen heo y, desc ibes he
oppo unism ha a ises om he limi ed a ionali y o ano he ac o in ega d o con lic s caused by
in o ma ion asymme y and lead o he need o sma solu ions on managing hese isks in o de o
ace challenges ela ed o unce ain y (Lee e al., 2019). Mo eo e , u he d awbacks can a ise o
complemen a i ies wi h a lowe compa ibili y which can lead o a lock-in o he DE (Jacobides e al.,
2018).
Among he pa icipa ing en i ies, he alue ha is being c ea ed wi hin ha DE, is going o be sha ed
(Sussan & Acs, 2017). This is esul ing om he ac ha when p o iding a la ge o e ing o he
cus ome s, compe i o s o e ings a e p esen ed o he cus ome as well (Sebas ian e al., 2020). Hence,
hose wi h a high ma ke po en ial a e mo e likely o gain a signi ican inancial success as hey’ e
bene i ing om a la ge sha e o he o al p o i . Mo eo e , a u he d awback is he ac ha a digi al
pla o m can g ow apidly, in case o success, which migh lead o a g ow h ha canno be handled by
he company (Ba ns, 2019). A s udy e ealed ha he scalabili y o a pla o m based on cloud
echnology is cos ly and ou weighs cos sa ings o he cloud o ins ance (Chen e al., 2016). The e o e,
le e aging he DE s a egy can g ow he cus ome base o an o ganiza ion, bu comes wi h new
challenges ha may lea e he o ganiza ion in con usion on wha o do nex as well. This is also b inging
up he ques ion on who is being held esponsible o managing ha alignmen wi hin he o ganiza ion
(Adne , 2017).
As DE a e open o hi d pa y se ice p o ide s, digi al sha ing o p ope y such as in ellec ual p ope y
and complemen a y o e ings can enable audulen and exploi ing ac i i ies by o he companies such
as e e se enginee ing (Ka hu e al., 2018). A he same ime, o ganiza ions can also be pu in o isk
when esou ces belong o o he ecosys em pa icipan s and he e o e c ea e a dependency
ela ionship (Lee e al., 2019). Bo h, he access openness as well as he esou ce openness which a e
essen ial componen s o a digi al pla o m can he e o e h ea en o ganiza ions as hey endange and
exploi o ganiza ions o hei esou ces.
Planning a DE in o he business planning o en neglec s he ac ha he o ganiza ion’s alue
p oposi ions, objec i es and planning o ecosys ems esou ces and capabili ies a e dependen on he
DEs s a egy o which he ecosys em pa icipan s migh no be awa e o (Adne , 2017). Acco dingly,
e en when he DE ma ches wi h he objec i es and s a egy o he o ganiza ion, he e is no assu ance
18
ha he ecosys em pa icipan s will ac he way, ha he o ganiza ion p edic s hem o do om hei
ini ial obse a ions o he DE. Hence, he e is always he isk o bene i s and oppo uni ies ha canno
be ealized in he way i was planned. Mo eo e , in mos cases, i migh be impossible o ully
unde s and all echnologies o he DE and co esponding applica ions (S u geon, 2021).
Consequen ly, he exis ing li e a u e is poin ing ou many bene i s ha an in eg a ion o a DE b ings.
Howe e , wha is no conside ed, is he ac ha he adop ion o DE akes a lo o ime, esou ces and
app oaches ha suppo he alignmen s a egy. The e o e, DE indeed b ing many bene icial
capabili ies o a company. Bu i akes commi men o he whole o ganiza ion in o de o exploi DE o
he maximum.
2.1.4. De eloping a DE in eg a ion s a egy
The compe i i e s eng hs ha a adi ional company de eloped h oughou he ime can only be
sus ained, i hey a e willing o adop new echnologies in o de o su i e in an en i onmen
cha ac e ized by he inc easing adop ion o DE (Kopalle e al., 2020). Pa ne ships wi hin DEs a e mo e
likely o wo k ou in dynamic en i onmen s, when he complemen a y companies a e able o co-e ol e
and as only he inno a ion o he en i e ecosys em needs o be inno a ed when aiming o he
maximum exploi a ion o a DE’s bene i s (Gao e al., 2019). Inno a ion h ough DE changes no only
include he p oduc s and se ices c ea ed, bu also he way ha di e en complemen s and endo s ,
which a e linked o each o he , o e cus ome s inno a i e ways o p oposing alue (Jacobides e al.,
2018). DE pa ne ships a e cha ac e ized by au onomous o ganiza ions ha own and con ol pa icula
componen s and by a decen alized decision-making (Jacobides e al., 2018). Wha makes DE s a egy
popula , is he cha ac e is ic o being co-e olu iona y and being able o ans o m o ganiza ions om
g owing alone o being awa e o he g ow h po en ial ha comes wi h DE (Senyo e al., 2019).
Consequen ly, companies need o in es in o he eme ging app oach o in eg a ing DE in o hei
business planning o s ay compe i i e in he cu en ma ke as DE a e he undamen als o a success ul
long- e m compe i i e ad an age (Gao e al., 2019).
The alignmen o business and IT is no only an e icien way o suppo ing exis ing ope a ional
ac i i ies, bu also o e s lexibili y wi hin he planning o an o ganiza ion in o de o handle
unexpec ed ex e nal occu ences (Zhou e al., 2018). Du ing imes o digi aliza ion, he ini ial goal o
being compe i i e ans o med in o being collabo a i e in o de o su i e in he ma ke and
emphasize he impo ance o coope a ion and mu ual alue c ea ion (Ba ykin e al., 2020).
25
2.2. INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING
2.2.1. Concep s o S a egic In o ma ion Sys ems Planning
Value can be p o ided by p oduc s ha can gene a e and sha e da a wi hin a ne wo k (Sub amaniam,
2020). Th ough he agg ega ion mul iple da a s eams wi hin a DE, he se o exis ing da a is enla ged,
and aluable in o ma ion and ac ions can be d awn om pa ne s ha ha e a lo o expe ise in a
ce ain indus y (Ko hanen & Halén, 2019). This abili y o analyzing compe i o ’s da a is a c i ical abili y
as an o ganiza ion’s inancial pe o mance is s ongly ela ed o he o ganiza ion’s capabili ies on
in o ma ion analy ics among o he s such as cus ome -o ien a ion and p ocess managemen (Pa k &
Mi has, 2020). The e o e, he oppo uni y o ha ing access o compe i o ’s and indus y gian s’
da abases and insigh s can bene i o ganiza ions wi h highe e enues and inc easing cus ome
sa is ac ion. As he IS po olio is a c i ical componen o an o ganiza ion o collec and p ocess hese
s eams o da a and in o ma ion, DE s a egy equi es alignmen o an o ganiza ion’s SISP s a egy. A
hough ul IS s a egy is impo an o o ganiza ions a e hea ily dependen on hei IS and he e o e
need o aligning hei business s a egy o hei IS s a egy (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). The e o e,
SISP is a majo o ganiza ional ac i i y ha needs o be coo dina ed wi h he DE s a egy (Aydine e
al., 2019). Essen ial opics o SISP co e : ela ionships o pa ne s and cus ome , use expe ience,
en e p ise da a managemen and da a secu i y, IT a chi ec u e oppo uni ies, suppo o gene al
business p ocesses and change managemen (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019a).
SISP enables o ganiza ions o become awa e o hei s a egy by analyzing he in e nal and ex e nal
en i onmen while de eloping and implemen ing a s a egy ha makes he o ganiza ion mo e
compe i i e and lexible h ough econ igu a ion and ex ension o exis ing esou ces and capabili ies
on ac ing upon a ising oppo uni ies (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). A ce ain le el o lexibili y is also
gi en h ough he educ ion o ac o s ela ed o ime as IS can speed up and imp o e decision-making,
which makes i no only mo e e icien bu agile a he same ime (Aydine e al., 2019). Flexibili y is
c ucial in o de o emain compe i i e and espond o sho e m demands ha igge long- e m
objec i es and ha e he po en ial o gaining ma ke dominance and main ain highe en y ba ie s
(Allen e al., 2017; Ko honen & Halen, 2017). IS suppo he communica ion o he o ganiza ion’s goals
in an e icien manne and helps o d i e inno a ion and make he o ganiza ion mo e lexible
(Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). S a egic IS in his case a e de ined by a po olio o IS applica ions, ha
a e able o execu e ac i i ies such as collec ing, p ocessing, o analyzing da a in o de o suppo
decision-making in o de o le e age he o ganiza ional pe o mance and p o ide a high-le el iew on
he o ganiza ion o ein o ce hei ad an ages (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). They enable o ganiza ions
o sha e in o ma ion wi h each o he and os e dis ibu ed knowledge on ma ke insigh s and analyze

26
hese in o ma ion o p edic u u e ends and ma ke oppo uni ies (Ta a da & Q un leh, 2017).
Hence, he g owing complexi y o DEs (Yablonsky, 2018) na u ally esul s om en i onmen s ha
in ol e digi al s a egies and echnologies (Pa k & Mi has, 2020). IS s a egy enables companies o
le e age hei o ganiza ional pe o mance h ough he iden i ica ion o demand o business
applica ions and planning, de eloping and p o iding hese IS applica ions o mee hese demands
(D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). Fu he , i is cha ac e ized by he explo a ion o inno a i e solu ions
and new ope a ions while exploi a ion is looking o esou ces and capabili ies h ough collabo a ion
and communica ion ha can be bene icial o eaching he o ganiza ion’s business objec i es
(Ma abelli & Gallie s, 2017). Mo eo e , o ganiza ional pe o mance is also le e aged by aking IT in o
conside a ion since IS applica ions a e based on an e icien IT in as uc u e in combina ion wi h IS
capabili ies which p o ides a s ong and inno a i e backbone o he success o an o ganiza ion
(Aydine e al., 2019). SISP ocuses on he ole o applica ions in con ex o a b oade IS and IT s a egy
in o de o p o ide a guided app oach on o e coming challenges such as con lic s ela ed o
complexi ies o IS and o imp o e he o ganiza ion’s pe o mance and compe i i e ad an ages h ough
a s ong IS s a egy on a long- e m base (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). Fu he , SISP can enhance
s a egical planning by an icipa ing and o e coming en i onmen al changes h ough agili y (Ma abelli
& Gallie s, 2017) as he en i onmen becomes mo e unp edic able and compe i i e ad an ages a e
achie ed ha de o achie e (Al-Amma y e al., 2019). The e o e, in eg a ing DE s a egy in o SISP,
suppo s s aying compe i i e (Adne , 2017) by s eng hening he pu pose and usage o IS in he
o ganiza ion’s s a egic planning h ough oppo uni ies ha DE can p o ide (D echsle & Weißschädel,
2018).
Due o he ac ha many execu i es lack in hei knowledge on IT solu ions, he phase o assessing
he o ganiza ional en i onmen needs o be e-assessed in a new SISP app oach while p o ide
guidelines on explo ing and exploi ing gi en oppo uni ies ha DE ha bo (Kama io ou & Ki sios,
2019a). Mo eo e , o ganiza ion need o be awa e o he ac ha in eg a ing a DE s a egy will no
always be able o enhance o ganiza ional pe o mance since a dynamic and unp edic able
en i onmen ha bo as many isks as oppo uni ies gi en (Liang e al., 2017). Thus, IS s a egy o he
business s a egy is no always showing immedia e ou comes (Hoch & B ad, 2021).
2.2.2. C ea ion o an In o ma ion Sys ems Plan
As he ex e nal en i onmen o an o ganiza ion has changed h oughou he yea s, exis ing
me hodologies need o be modi ied in o de o e lec he eali y (Al-Amma y e al., 2019). When
building an SIS plan, he equi emen o a high-le el pe spec i e needs o be aken in o conside a ion
27
as he plan is going o be execu ed om he managemen and needs o be unde s andable o all
s akeholde (Cho eh & Goni, 2017). The in eg a ion o DEs in o he SISP can only be success ul when
he mo i a ion and he ac i i ies ela ed o he DE a e aligned o he expec a ions o all pa icipan s
wi hin he ecosys em (Adne , 2017). This again is connec ed o he ac ha s akeholde is mo e likely
o esis since hey a e a aid o he changes ha new app oaches migh b ing. Especially ega ding
he oppo uni ies o DE, i migh seem as i he pe sonnel will need o deal wi h unknown pa ne s ha
b ing in new solu ions and hus, migh equi e new o e en ex ended knowledge and capabili ies. A
his poin , i is especially impo an o he op managemen o encou age he owne s o he s a egy
implemen a ion (Ma abelli & Gallie s, 2017). In o de o ensu e ha managemen commi men and
in ol emen , necessa y s eps need o be moni o ed and ollowed on all le els while a he same ime,
es ablish an o e all unde s anding o he DE alue ac oss he o ganiza ion (Hoch & B ad, 2021).
Collabo a ion ac oss he company may o e come he limi a ions o a single pe son’s c ea i i y and
he e o e p o ides space o a b oade scope o solu ions and inno a i e hinking (Allen e al., 2017).
A his poin , os e ing a sha ed knowledge among indus y insigh s is c i ical o achie ing compe i i e
ad an ages among all s akeholde s and ensu e he a ailabili y o IT compe ence in a o o success ully
implemen he business s a egy (Hoch & B ad, 2021; Zhou e al., 2018). The esul ing ac ion plan shall
help he managemen o easily unde s and how in e media e and long- e m objec i es e ol e om
s a egic planning and how hey can be success ully implemen ed (Jääskeläinen & Luukkanen, 2017).
Sou ce: Adap ed om Bowman e al. (1983)
Figu e 2.3: Th ee S age model o MIS planning
28
Bowman e al. (1983) de eloped he Th ee S age Model which app oaches he planning o IS o
s a egic pu poses. His amewo k (Fig. 2.3) consis s o h ee s ages and includes he s a egic planning
which includes he alignmen o he o ganiza ion’s business and s a egy wi h he IS objec i es, he
analysis o he in o ma ion equi emen s o de elop he in o ma ion a chi ec u e and he s age o
esou ce alloca ion whe e a plan o he coo dina ion o IS and ope a ional esou ces such as pe sonnel
and inancials is de eloped (Bowman e al., 1983). By he ime, his model has de eloped in o di e en
app oaches o which some con ain mo e han h ee s ages. The SISP planning by (Kama io ou & Ki sios,
2019b) o ins ance, con ains he phases o awa eness, analysis o he si ua ion, he concep ion,
o mula ion and ends wi h he implemen a ion o i . O he app oaches emphasize he impo ance o
exploi a ion and conside hem a sepa a e s age (Peppa d & Wa d, 2004). Despi e he di e en
numbe s o s ages o he di e en app oaches on he SISP, all o hem con ain he same high-le el
s uc u e which is he planning based on he o ganiza ion’s mission and objec i es, he de elopmen
o an IS s a egy and he inal s age o s a egy concep ion whe e esou ce alloca ion, inancial planning
and a gene al ac ion plan will be de ined. A i s co e, e e y SISP app oach is mind ul o es ablishing an
o e all unde s anding o he mission and i s objec i es by unde s anding how alue can be c ea ed
h ough IS and IT (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018).
In mos SISP amewo ks, he i s s age s a s wi h he planning o he o e all business s a egy and
i s objec i es. In ega d o he model o Wa d and Peppa d (2004) ha s age also includes ini ial
assump ions on he IS s a egy by assessing di e en echnologies, in o ma ion managemen concep s
as well as c i e ia de ini ion. Howe e , o ganiza ions need o conside ha i is no enough o solely
apply a amewo k o he o ganiza ion, bu also o ind ou which exis ing s a egy elemen s o he
o ganiza ion can be applied in o he amewo k (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). In addi ion, i is
impo an o es ablish awa eness on he IS s a egy ac oss he o ganiza ion and encou age he
o ganiza ion o explo e oppo uni ies a his s age (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). Tha awa eness
can be suppo ed by ensu ing managemen commi men and (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b). Thus, one
o he majo ac i i ies in his s age is o unde s and wha gaps exis and how o ensu e alignmen wi h
pa ne s, ac i i ies such as alloca ing esou ces and s a egies o mi iga e isks ha come wi h co-
inno a ing and in eg a ion o ex e nal solu ions (Adne , 2017). In o de o iden i y gaps, o ganiza ions
need o assess hei ex e nal and in e nal en i onmen by app oaching exis ing business and
in o ma ion sys ems among o he a eas (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b). The e o e, esul ing ou pu s
o his s age a e s a egic objec i es and i s assump ions on he IS s a egy ha is going o be
conduc ed wi hin a p e-de ined ame o policies (Bowman e al., 1983).
29
Based on he Th ee S age Model, he second s age p oposes he assessmen o he o ganiza ion’s
in o ma ion needs. Mo eo e , an in o ma ion a chi ec u e shall be de eloped in o de o suppo
decision-making and u he o ganiza ional ac i i ies (Bowman e al., 1983). As analyzing in o ma ion
equi emen s includes aspec s o in o ma ion managemen (IM), IS and IT, his s age includes a
ho ough analysis o : In o ma ion managemen s a egy ha de e mines he esou ces such as
pe sonnel, ools and p ocesses, he IT s a egy ha co e s he o ganiza ion’s echnological
in as uc u e and he co esponding ope a ions and he IS s a egy which ocuses on he in eg a ion,
change, ope a ion and main enance o IS applica ions o suppo he achie emen o he o ganiza ion’s
business objec i es (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). The app oach on a ailable IS can suppo he
o ganiza ion in achie ing de ined business objec i es by assessing in o ma ion equi emen s and
oppo uni ies o c ea ing aluable p oduc s and se ices (Peppa d & Wa d, 2004) whe eas app oaching
he In o ma ion Managemen s a egy is ocusing on in o ma ion ha may be o use o he
o ganiza ion o an ini ial planning o he da a a chi ec u e and managemen . Due o he ma u i y o
he o ganiza ion’s echnologies, equen in o ma ion e ie al on he cu en IT in as uc u e and IS
p ocesses is c i ical o suppo he alignmen be ween he IS and IT s a egy (D echsle & Weißschädel,
2018). Fu he mo e, he assessmen o he IT s a egy suppo s he es ablishmen o an IT a chi ec u e
and p omo es he unde s anding o di e en echnologies in o de o app oach an ini ial sou cing
s a egy (Peppa d & Wa d, 2004). This s age is o pa icula impo ance as an incompa ibili y be ween
he o ganiza ion’s exis ing IS applica ions and he complemen o ’s IS applica ions as well as di e ences
in in e ace s anda ds can cause he IS s a egy o ail (Ta a da & Q un leh, 2017). By an ex ended
analysis o he IT, clea ly de ined objec i es a e es ablished ha ake iden i ied oppo uni ies in o
conside a ion ha esul in he de ini ion o a a ge IT a chi ec u es as well as he de ini ion o he
p ojec scope ha include a ge business p ocesses (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b). As de ined
objec i es and s a egies mus be moni o ed and acked, KPIs need o be de ined. This s ep suppo s
he ealiza ion o he aspi ed bene i s and helps he o ganiza ion in inancial assessmen s when
e alua ing he IS in es men s a la e s ages o he s a egy app oach (Peppa d & Wa d, 2004). When
he IS s a egy has been es ablished, i s s eps o he implemen a ion o he s a egy need o be
de ined. These s eps include eco e y and con ingency planning in case o ailu e as well as moni o ing
p ocesses o s a egy implemen a ion and compliance o he de ined policies (Peppa d & Wa d,
2004).
The las s age o SISP is he s age o esou ce alloca ion ha is gi ing guidance on he de elopmen o
an ac ion plan which includes he p ocu emen o equipmen such as ha d- and so wa e, da a, physical
equi emen s, inancial planning and he alloca ion o human esou ces (Bowman e al., 1983).
Resou ces in his case a e capabili ies ela ed o he IS in as uc u e and adminis a i e capabili ies in
30
o de o exploi gi en IS oppo uni ies (Aydine e al., 2019). The planning o pe sonnel is one o he
majo ac i i ies in his s age as he size o he pe sonnel pool in luences he o ganiza ion’s abili y o
being able o pe o m managemen asks and app oaching mo e elabo a e business p ocesses
(D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). In addi ion, hi ing human esou ces equi es ho ough e alua ion o
skills and p o essional unde s anding o IS o ensu e su icien compe encies o p oblem-sol ing and
o encou age an independen wo king a i ude and sel -con iden ac ions in eac ion o sudden
changes o he en i onmen (Aydine e al., 2019). Summa ized and conc e e ac ions a e going o be
de ined in an ac ion plan which con ains ac i i ies o be conduc ed in o de o implemen he SISP
(Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b). The ac ion plan comp ises i ems in ega d o con ac ing o pa ne s
and endo s, bill o ma e ials o ha dwa e p ocu emen , inancial models and documen a ions on
aining o pe sonnel de elopmen (Peppa d & Wa d, 2004).
The assessmen o SISP always needs o conside he ac ha di e en companies will no use IS in
he same way and he e o e he o e all pe o mance is dependen on mul iple ac o s such as da a
inpu o da a analy ics ou pu (Yoshikuni & Albe in, 2018). In o e all, he IS plan is aiming o he
ans o ma ion o he company owa ds a mo e e ec i e and aligned business by app oaching an IS
pe spec i e and equi es he es ablishmen o a be e p io i iza ion while ocusing on communica ion
and p ojec managemen asks in o de o ensu e ull commi men and sha ed esponsibili y o he
op managemen decision make s (Rod íguez e al., 2019). Fu he esea ch and ex ension o SISP
esea ch equi e he awa eness o new ela ionships and eme ging a e ac s in he a ea o IS (Moeini
e al., 2020). The e o e, he in eg a ion o DE in o he SISP wi hin he scope o he esea ch ques ion
is an impo an app oach o de elop inno a i e a i ac s by e alua ing he ela ionship be ween
ecosys ems and SISP. Ex e nal unce ain ies and isks ha a ise om he dynamic en i onmen
nowadays can be educed h ough he use o IS s a egy ha ake ad an age o he po en ials o
p edic ion and he inc easing willingness o sha ing and communica ing in o ma ion (Kama io ou &
Ki sios, 2019a). Despi e he di e ences o s a egic planning and DE s a egy, hei combina ion can
unleash hidden po en ial o le e aging he o ganiza ional pe o mance (Adne , 2017).
In conclusion, he li e a u e e iew has shown ha o success ully in eg a e he DE s a egy in o he
o ganiza ion’s SISP, i is impo an o unde s and which p ocesses a e co e ed by which s age o he
SISP. SISP can suppo o ganiza ions in he in eg a ion o IT- ela ed capabili ies and esou ces om DE
in a s uc u ed way while enabling a anspa en digi al ans o ma ion o he o ganiza ion, guided by
an IS s a egy plan (D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018).

31
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. DESIGN SCIENCE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
As exis ing amewo ks canno ully ep esen and be applied o any kind o DE a chi ec u e (Anwa &
Gill, 2019), he need o ex ending hese amewo ks by inno a i e design a i ac s is eme ging. The
objec i e o his esea ch is he p oposal o a DE model o he in eg a ion in o an ISP which is ex ended
by newly c ea ed a i ac s ha esul om a deep s udy o he e olu ion o DEs and p ocedu es o he
de elopmen o an ISP h ough he u iliza ion o he DSR me hodology. Fo ha , exis ing esea ch om
a eas whe e u he esea ch is equi ed in o de o deal wi h unique aspec s o DE and he e o e,
p omo e knowledge ex ension in ha ield (Senyo e al., 2019). O he esea che s also app oached he
e alua ion o ques ions dealing wi h he ansla ion o insigh s on digi al pla o ms in o ecommended
ac ions wi h he me hod o DSR (De Reu e e al., 2018). Design Science aims o de elop cons uc s,
models, me hods and implemen a ions ha a e es ed on alue and u ili y c i e ia speci ic o i s
en i onmen in o de o e alua e i s unc ionali y and abili y on imp o ing p ocesses o sol ing a
ce ain p oblem (He ne e al., 2004). The di e ence o o he esea ch pa adigms is he design and
de elopmen o design a i ac s ha a e going o be e alua ed on aluable con ibu ions as well as
possible d awbacks (Venable e al., 2016). IS a i ac s can be any hing om decision modeling ools,
ways o e alua ing IS o change in e en ions o IS o ins ance (G ego & He ne , 2013). Impo an ly
o he p esen ed esea ch is he e alua ion o he digi al a i ac s h ough eedback om he use s in
o de o assu e he easibili y o he a i ac o be inno a ed (Isckia e al., 2018). The esul ing a i ac s
will enable knowledge o become mo e abs ac , so i can be applied o o he con ex s which is
p omo ing he alidi y o u he esea ch (G ego & He ne , 2013). Hence, he objec i e o his s udy
is he ex ension o exis ing knowledge by designing a i ac s and o he gene aliza ion o a ising
knowledge om he li e a u e e iew ha was conduc ed in he con ex o he DSR (Baske ille e al.,
2018).
32
Sou ce: Adap ed om G ego & He ne (2013)
Figu e 3.1: DSR Knowledge Con ibu ion F amewo k
The esea ch o be conduc ed can be classi ied as an imp o emen because he esea ch aims o he
c ea ion o an e icien business planning ega ding he in eg a ion o he DEA o an o ganiza ion’s IS.
By unde s anding wha elemen s mus be conside ed o he in eg a ion o DEs, a i ac s a e buil o
suppo he in eg a ion o DEs. The DSR Cycle includes h ee esea ch cycles ha need o be
con empo a y o a DSR and es a i ac ha se e as p o o ype solu ions (He ne , 2007).
33
Sou ce: Adap ed om He ne (2007)
Figu e 3.2: Modi ied DSR Cycle o DE esea ch
The ele ance cycle pu s he conduc ed esea ch in alignmen wi h he con ex ual en i onmen . The
con ex ual en i onmen ega ding he ield o DE can be o ganiza ions, he indi iduals o he
o ganiza ions such as execu i es and manage s as well as cus ome s o ins ance. The en i onmen
also includes o ganiza ional and echnical sys ems which can be managemen sys ems and in o ma ion
sys ems o ins ance. The iew on he en i onmen also conside s h ea s and isks ha i may ha bo
o o ganiza ions bu oppo uni ies as well. Oppo uni ies will be iden i ied by se ing objec i es o
he esea ch. (He ne , 2007)
The igo cycle deals wi h he knowledge base and ocuses on he a eas o ounda ions and me a-
a i ac s. Fo he ounda ion a solid knowledge base is o c i ical impo ance ha can be e ie ed om
a li e a u e e iew o ins ance while me a-a i ac s a e encou aging designing p oduc s and p ocesses
(He ne , 2007). Fo his pa , exis ing li e a u e on he concep s o ecosys ems and DE p o ide pa ial
insigh s (De Reu e e al., 2018) and p o ide an ini ial s a ing poin o he de elopmen o design
a i ac s. Unde he assump ion ha a pa ial unde s anding on he ounda ions o he esea ch
ques ions is gi en, i is c i ical ha his in o ma ion need o be pu in o an app op ia e con ex .
34
The design cycle desc ibes he p ocess o con inuous i e a ion by app oaching he de elopmen o
ini ial design a i ac s. These a i ac s a e based on he p eceding li e a u e e iew and shall p o ide
u ili y. The esul ing le el o u ili y is measu ed by an e alua ion o he a i ac by he conduc ing expe
in e iews. The e alua ion and cons uc ion o new p o o ypes based on he eedback will be epea ed
un il he a i ac will p o ide u ili y and alue. Rega ding he gi en esea ch, he DE in eg a ion
amewo k needs o p o e i s u ili y and alue.
Sou ce: Adap ed om Pe e s e al. (2007)
Figu e 3.3: DSR P ocess Model
The o e all s eps o app oaching he DSR me hod can be illus a ed as gi en by Figu e 3.3. The DSR
P ocess model (Pe e s e al., 2007) consis s six s ages. In he i s s age, he o ganiza ion needs o
iden i y a p oblem and jus i y i s impo ance while app oaching an ini ial solu ion. In o de o ealize
he solu ion, objec i es ha e o be es ablished o de ine he a ge and make he goal mo e conc e e.
The design o he a i ac equi es he de ini ion o he a i ac ’s unc ionali y which needs o be p o ed
in he s age o demons a ion. I he u ili y and alue o he design a i ac ha e been discussed, he
esul s a e e alua ed and measu ed on he a i ac ’s abili y alue and u ili y o he de ined p oblem
s a emen . The DSR p ocess model is inalized when he p oblem has been communica ed along wi h
i s impo ance and was add essed wi h a espec i e design a i ac .
P oblem Iden i ica ion
Objec i es
Design & De elopmen
Demons a ion
E alua ion
Communica ion
De ini ion o p oblem & Jus i ica ion o i s
alue
De ine objec i es esul ing om he p oblem
De ine unc ionali y & a chi ec u e o a i ac
P o e he e icacy o he a i ac
Compa e objec i es o ac ual esul s
Communica e he p oblem & i s impo ance
C ea ion o a i ac ual
solu ion
Measu e suppo o p oblem h ough
a i ac
41
Sou ce: Own illus a ion adop ed om Bowman e al. (1983)
Figu e 4.1: DE In eg a ion F amewo k o SISP
The SISP amewo k o DE in eg a ion is gi ing a high-le el o e iew on he mac o ac i i ies ha a e
conduc ed when planning a s a egy o he in eg a ion o DE in o SISP. These mac o ac i i ies a e
complemen ed by majo mic o ac i i ies on he igh pa o he amewo k. In his case, he Th ee
S age MIS model (Bowman e al., 1983) was adap ed and modi ied as i is cha ac e ized by a simple
and uni e sally alid model. Kama io ou and Ki sios (2018) classi y he SISP p ocess in o i e s ages o
pu a s onge ocus on he awa eness, analysis, and de ini ion o he IT en i onmen o p omo e
co ec assessmen o he en i onmen and ensu e ealis ic and app oachable goals and de ine he
s ages o : s a egic planning, s a egic awa eness, si ua ion analysis, s a egy concep ion and s a egy
o mula ion. Compa ing he i e s ages (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019a) o he Th ee S age model

42
(Bowman e al., 1983), i can be seen ha he i e s ages do no signi ican ly di e om he h ee
s ages model. In o de o he h ee-s age model we e adop ed oge he wi h app oaches o
Kama io ou and Ki sios (2018) as well as Wa d and Peppa d (2004) in o de o e lec p og ess in
esea ch ha has been made he ollowing yea s a e he i s app oaches on IT s a egy. As he i e
s ages model highligh s he impo ance o aising awa eness, i will be conside ed o he amewo k
o be designed in o de o add ess he lack o awa eness on he managemen le el (Ko honen & Halen,
2017). Conside a ions o he amewo k need o mee he equi emen s o uni e sali y in o de o be
applied o di e en indus ies as well as eusabili y o enable he euse o de eloped componen s o
u u e esea ch and e-modelling and a ce ain deg ee o abs ac ion o suppo ex ensibili y o
enabling he in eg a ion o componen s ha migh e ol e in he u u e in o de o ex end he
amewo k and e iciency o p omo e a easible implemen a ion o he o e all amewo k in o he
o ganiza ion (Cio oaica e al., 2019).
1. S a egic Planning & Awa eness
Figu e 4.2: S a egic Planning & Awa eness
The amewo k o he in eg a ion o DE in o he SISP o an o ganiza ion begins wi h he i s s age o
s a egic planning and awa eness. In his s age, he commi men o he o ganiza ion’s execu i es
needs o be e ie ed i s (Rod íguez e al., 2019). In o de o do ha , a RACI ma ix (Appendix 1) can
suppo he es ablishmen o commi men among he s akeholde s o he p ojec by ensu ing acking
43
and moni o ing o he ac i i ies o be conduc ed (Hoch & B ad, 2021). As he op managemen ends
o pu a s onge ocus on he phase o s a egic planning, i is impo an o main ain a balanced
commi men o all ac o s as o e commi men and unde commi men can c ea e p oblems ela ed o
delays, ine iciency as well as complexi y (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b). Mo eo e , awa eness on he
impo ance o a hough ul s a egy needs o be aised ac oss he o ganiza ion o help s akeholde s
unde s and he alue o DE and he IS s a egy and o a oid missing ou on aluable DE oppo uni ies.
Raising awa eness no only leads o success (Luz Ma ín-Peña e al., 2018), bu also helps s akeholde s
o unde s and wha he o ganiza ion is aiming o and hence, os e s alignmen be ween he ac i i ies
wi hin he o ganiza ion. Pas esea ch has c i icized un e lec i e applica ion o amewo ks and
encou ages app oaches on iden i ying a i ac s o he s a egy o apply on he amewo k ins ead
(D echsle & Weißschädel, 2018). A e iden i ying he ac o s o be in ol ed in he s a egic planning,
he de ini ion o he o ganiza ion’s objec i es is equi ed o align he pu pose o he IS and he o e all
IT o hese objec i es and s a egies. Fo his, he o ganiza ion needs o analyze wha objec i es a e
a ge ed and de ine quan i a i e me ics o e alua e he success o hem. A empla e (Appendix 2)
helps o isualize he o e all mission wi h i s esul ing business objec i e, how IS can help achie ing
hese goals and he policy ame including i s assump ions on he IS s a egy. The esul ing
deli e able is no only impo an o he o ganiza ion o cla i y and eco d he o ganiza ion’s mission,
bu also o ensu e a anspa en communica ion o s akeholde s. Once he mission and objec i es ha e
been se , he IS pu pose can be de ined. This empla e p o ides suppo by guiding execu i es on hei
ini ial app oach on de i ing he IS and DE pu pose om de ined objec i es wi hin a de ined ame o
o ganiza ional policies. Based on he ini ial IS app oach om he i s s ep, he IS pu pose can be
de ined. The in e nal and ex e nal en i onmen will be assessed as he hi d s ep, whe e ecosys ems
will be disco e ed o explo a ion and exploi a ion oppo uni ies. This includes IS sys ems,
o ganiza ional sys ems as well as business sys ems (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b). The e alua ion o
exis ing ecosys ems can help he o ganiza ion o unde s and and be awa e o gaps ha can be
add essed in addi ion o he de ined objec i es and p o ides insigh s abou whe e he company is
s anding igh now ega ding hei capabili ies, esou ces and bo lenecks, so ini ial assump ions can
be d awn o igu e ou complemen a i ies ha can close exis ing gaps and suppo he o ganiza ion in
eaching hei business objec i es (Koh amäki e al., 2019). A empla e on he e alua ion on companies
wi hin an ecosys em (Appendix 3) can suppo his ac i i y by lis ing companies wi h hei ma ke sha e
and hei key compe i i e ad an ages along wi h he IS oppo uni ies. To e alua e he o ganiza ion’s
compe i i eness, a SWOT amewo k (Appendix 4) can assess s eng hs, weaknesses, oppo uni ies,
and h ea s while a Business Model Can as (Appendix 5) highligh s key ac i i ies o ecosys em
pa icipan s.
44
Figu e 4.3: Visualiza ion o i s s age o S a egic Planning
The DE oppo uni ies can be assessed wi h he suppo o Figu e 4.3 ha is also gi en as a empla e
(Appendix 6). This igu e is a esul o he a i ac de elopmen h ough he li e a u e esea ch and
connec s di e en DE a i ac s wi h espec i e SISP s ages. Acco ding o he modi ied SISP model, he
ec angles wi h he e m alue e e o he se objec i es a he beginning o he s a egic planning.
Since an o ganiza ion has mul iple objec i es, illus a ed as alues in his amewo k, di e en DEs
need o be joined ha se e he pu pose o each one o he many objec i es o an o ganiza ion. As
DEs a e no limi ed o a single pla o m and hence, can ha e se e al pla o ms (Senyo e al., 2019), he
o ganiza ion needs o e alua e he a ge ed DEs wi h hei espec i e digi al pla o ms o assess he
po en ial o he ecosys ems o suppo ing he o ganiza ion’s s a egy. Fu he mo e, he o ganiza ion
needs o ind ou , which ole i wan s o ake wi hin hese ecosys ems. In o de o do his, a ques ion
ca alogue can suppo execu i es o app oach hei DE s a egy.
45
Sou ce: Adap ed om Jacobides (2019)
Table 4.2: DE Ques ion Ca alogue
The analysis o DE oppo uni ies is suppo ed by a ques ion ca alogue (Table 3.4) whe e guiding
ques ions can suppo he managemen in unde s anding c i ical componen s o a DE s a egy. These
ques ions a e helping o ganiza ions o unde s and, i he DE’s equi emen s ma ch he o ganiza ion’s
s anda ds o ensu e ull compliance be ween bo h pa ies (Jacobides e al., 2018). Mo eo e , he
ques ion ca alogue p o ides eal guidance by making he concep ual amewo k (Figu e 4.1) mo e
conc e e by ques ions o be answe ed and hink abou .
46
Figu e 4.4 - DE Risk Py amid
In addi ion o he DE ques ion ca alogue, a isk py amid (Figu e 4.4) ela ed o d awbacks o DE is gi en.
Such isks could be he deg ee o pa ne ’s willingness o conduc ce ain ac i i ies ha a e expec ed
wi hin he a ge ed s a egic pa ne ship (Adne , 2017). This py amid is a c i ical componen o he
amewo k since i p o ides anspa ency abou he in eg a ion o ecosys ems and no solely highligh s
he bene i s. In o de o aise awa eness on possible d awbacks when in eg a ing DEs, he
managemen will be p o ided wi h isks ha a e ela ed o ecosys ems and can he e o e p epa e
espec i e eco e y and con ingency plans ha may educe damages. Mo eo e , his con ibu es o
he educ ion o unexpec ed ailu e o DE s a egies since he managemen we e no awa e o nega i e
impac s. An addi ional empla e (Appendix 7) on he isk assessmen will isualize wha h ea s
o ganiza ions a e acing and wha oppo uni ies DE can p o ide o ackle hem. Consequen ly, he isks
can be weighed agains po en ial bene i s o e alua e i i is wo h o an o ganiza ion o app oach he
DE in eg a ion. Thus, his amewo k p omo es a neu al a i ude owa ds he DE in eg a ion app oach
as i highligh s bo h, bene i s as well as d awbacks in he same manne .
No con ol o e
ex e nal esou ces
Ac i i ies limi ed o
p e-de ined
ag eemen s
Exploi a ion o sha ed
in o ma ion/ esou ces
Up on
in es men s
Lock-in due o
low compa ibili y
o complemen s
W ong
expec a ions o
alue
C ea ed alue is
sha ed
Suppo o pa ne s
no gua an eed
Uncon olled
g ow h
Access / esou ce
openness

47
Figu e 4.5: DE S a egy Awa eness Model
Besides o he ques ion ca alogue on DE (Jacobides, 2019), Figu e 4.5 isualizes u he poin s ha
need o be aken in o conside a ion o he DE s a egy planning. S a ing wi h he pu pose o he DE,
he o ganiza ion needs o unde s and, ha hey assess DEs consis o a p oduc i e DE which a ge s
he expansion o he o ganiza ion’s exis ing alue chain and a consump i e DE ha is looking o
inno a i e echnological solu ions o c ea e inno a i e alue. To aise awa eness on his pa icula
cha ac e is ic, he o ganiza ion is p o ided wi h a empla e (Appendix 8) whe e execu i es can ill-in
hei expec a ions owa ds he ecosys em and assess he expec ed ecosys em ne wo k size. The las
pa o he empla e shall suppo he managemen in hei decision o joining a DE due o he bene i s
o ha ing access o s a egic pa ne ships whe e a la ge use base can p o ide he o ganiza ion wi h a
wide- eaching knowledge base o i he o ganiza ion is looking o collabo a ion a angemen s o he
pu pose o alue c ea ion. The second pa o he DE S a egy Awa eness Model is he assessmen on
48
he le el o eedom and he le el o modula i y o an ecosys em. A empla e o he DE Openness
Le el is p o ided (Appendix 9) guide he managemen in hei decision-making on he ype o
ecosys em o be joined. Ecosys ems can be classi ied in o open, managed and closed (Jacobides, 2019)
which di e in he le el o eedom. While es ic ions o en e ing a closed ecosys em a e mo e
complex due o compliance con ol and app o al p ocesses, an open ecosys em is easie o join due
o i s equi emen s o mee ing p e-de ined s anda ds only. The e o e, o ganiza ions mus obey he
policies o he ecosys em, bu can decide on he le el o eedom o an ecosys em ha may limi
o ganiza ional ope a ions. The hi d componen o he DE S a egy Awa eness model includes he
assessmen o he o ganiza ion’s capabili ies and esou ces. As he s a egic pu pose o ecosys em is
he es ablishmen o collabo a ion pa ne ships, o ganiza ions need o be a ac i e o ecosys em
pa ne s as well. This could be suppo ed by a unique se ice o p oduc o e ings. The e o e, a
empla e on complemen a i y assessmen (Appendix 10) is gi en which helps he managemen o
e alua e hei exis ing IS capabili ies and esou ces. The e alua ion o complemen a i ies o o e o
he ecosys em is a c i ical p ocess since he classi ica ion o IS esou ces and IS capabili ies in o
supe modula and unique is c ucial o he DE s a egy. As supe modula complemen a i ies o
ins ance can adap o many o he componen s wi hou signi ican modi ica ion, hey p o ide a lowe
deg ee o alue p oposi ion as hey a e easy o eplace (Kapoo , 2018). On he con a y, unique
complemen a i ies o e a highe deg ee o alue p oposi ion as hey canno be adap ed easily as
speci ic modi ica ions a e equi ed. Hence, based on he classi ica ion o esou ces and capabili ies,
ega dless o whe he hey a e owned o no , o ganiza ions can de i e majo implica ions o hei
s a egy. This is due o he ac ha when assessing an ecosys em, he con o mi y o he o ganiza ion’s
alues and he u ili y be ween esou ces and capabili ies mus be gi en (Jacobides e al., 2018).
The e o e, his assessmen is impo an o all pa ies in a DE. The S a egic Planning concludes he
p eceding ac i i ies by se ing policies as a amewo k o o ganiza ional ac i i ies, de ining objec i es
while de i ing IS and DE pu pose om i o an ini ial IS s a egy app oach. Howe e , i mus be no ed
ha his s age does no end wi h he comple ion o his ac i i y since he iden i ica ion o
o ganiza ional objec i es and he assessmen o he in o ma ion equi emen s a e dependen on each
o he due o in o ma ion equi emen s changing wi h di e en alues and goals. Mo eo e , a gap
analysis cycle isualizes he impo ance o a equen assessmen o he en i onmen ha will lead o
equen changes in he IS s a egy and enhances he alue o DE in eg a ion since ecosys em change
equen ly as well and de elop wi h he o ganiza ion’s en i onmen . Consequen ly, he gap analysis
cycle adds a lexible and agile componen o he amewo k.
49
2. IS S a egy Concep ion
The second s age o SISP is he IS S a egy Concep ion which includes he c i ical ac i i ies o assessing
he in o ma ion equi emen s and needs as well as he c ea ion o an IS de elopmen plan. These
ac i i ies a e suppo ed by a majo ocus on app oaching c i ical componen s ela ed o IT, IM and IS.
Figu e 4.6: DE S a egy Concep ion
Fo his s ep, he o ganiza ion needs o assess he in o ma ion needs in o de o suppo o ganiza ional
ope a ions wi h hese in o ma ion (Bowman e al., 1983) and de elop an in o ma ion a chi ec u e. In
o de o app oach he o ganiza ion’s in o ma ion equi emen s ha can help execu i es o make well-
conside ed and well- ounded decisions, he second s age o he Th ee S age Model (Bowman e al.,
1983) highligh s he impo ance o e alua ing he o ganiza ion’s in o ma ion demands. The
assessmen o hese in o ma ion on a high-le el is su icien o his pu pose. Based on he iden i ied
gaps wi hin he o ganiza ion ha needs o be ackled by hei SISP, ce ain in o ma ion gaps become
appa en . I is c i ical o iden i y hese in o ma ion and app oach DE oppo uni ies ha can help
o ganiza ions o e ie e he equi ed da a and in o ma ion. The e o e, a empla e (Appendix 11)
p o ides suppo in isualizing he in o ma ion needs and he espec i e DE ha may p o ide he
equi ed in o ma ion.
50
Sou ce: Adap ed om Zu shi & G ilo (2019)
Figu e 4.7: DE Oppo uni ies om Digi al Pla o ms
Mo eo e , as a esul om he li e a u e e iew, a empla e was de eloped ha illus a es he
di e en laye s o a digi al pla o m. This isualiza ion may suppo execu i es in hei s a egic
exploi a ion o DE oppo uni ies ela ed o in o ma ion e ie al. Fo he de elopmen o Figu e 4.7,
he digi al pla o m laye s (Zu shi & G ilo, 2019) we e adap ed and complemen ed by guiding ques ions
ela ed o oppo uni ies o in o ma ion e ie al while conside ing DEs. As execu i es o en lack
echnical unde s anding, his model no only p o ides a high-le el unde s anding on he a chi ec u e
o digi al pla o ms bu also p o ide he managemen a isual suppo in easily unde s anding which
laye s need o be ackled o assess speci ic in o ma ion.
57
o ganiza ion’s pu pose. The amewo k is conside ed o be use ul since he e is a need o u he
esea ch on he in o ma ion planning side wi h ega d o he esea ch opic o ecosys ems ha is
acknowledged by Expe 1 and Expe 3 who sees alue in he amewo k due o he ac , ha o en
imes, execu i es end o simply in eg a e echnical solu ions and hus, was e esou ces and money.
Also, his migh be a eason o inc easing us a ion among employees since exis ing IS capabili ies
a e no su icien in o de o unde s and and manage hese IS applica ions. This esul s in he
impo ance o he amewo k ha ac i ely highligh s he ac i i y o a gap analysis in o de o elimina e
obs acles ha p e en he achie emen o he o ganiza ion’s objec i es. Fu he mo e, Expe 1
highligh s he impo ance o conside ing he IS li ecycle as i is essen ial o illus a e he dynamics
wi hin he o ganiza ions. As digi al echnologies will “phase ou ” a some poin o hei li ecycle, he
gene al IS a chi ec u e needs o be agile which is p o ided by equen e iew cycles ha a e
in eg a ed in o he amewo k. This emphasizes he ac ha he op managemen now ha e o deal
mo e wi h he opic o modula i y ha comes wi h ecosys ems as hese consciously deal wi h lexible
and in e changeable business pa ne ships. Mo eo e , Expe 1 poin s ou he impo ance o no only
in eg a ing he DE in o he s a egy planning bu make di e en applica ions wo k oge he which is
one o he majo challenges in building a DE s a egy as o ganiza ions usually in eg a e mul iple
solu ions and he e o e ac in mul iple ecosys ems and hei co esponding pla o ms. This assump ion
ad oca es he es ablished empla es ha a e ocusing on he compa ison o di e en IS applica ions
and hei align wi h ega d o ma ching in e aces. As Expe 2 also poin s ou ha e e y business is
di e en , he amewo k’s assump ion on he ac , ha o ganiza ions need o e alua e di e en
ecosys em in o de o iden i y hese ha ma ch wi h hei mission and objec i es he bes , is alida ed.
I can be assumed ha execu i es migh e en deal wi h hei o ganiza ion’s alues e en mo e in ensely
since he iden i ica ion o ma ching DE equi es ho ough analysis.
Ques ion 2: Do you ha e any ques ion c i icism owa ds he p oposed amewo k and i yes, why?
E1: I would say ha i jus as I old you, i 's e y ha d o li e in he single ecosys em. In ac , you can
say all my s u will be on Amazon cloud, bu you will ha e some depa men s. I don' know how, bu
hey will ha e hei hings in ano he di e en cloud. And i 's no a op-down hing. I 's jus he way
hings e ol e. And some imes people ha e o sea ch o solu ions. And ime is always a cons ain , i
you ha e some hing ha wo ks, you will use ha . And I ha e been e y connec ed o he educa ion
sec o and o he heal h sec o . And hese a e places whe e hings ha a e e y op down, you know,
in he in he hospi al, i 's e y op down. Bu hen you ind many excep ions, om doc o s, om
uni e si y p o esso s, o esea che s, because hey a e e y dependen on hei p o ession so ha hey

58
don' always ollow he company ules. And om an in o ma ion and om a sys em, In o ma ion
Sys ems planning. Usually, hose a en' hings ha a e aken in o accoun in he shadow. I I ha e any
c i icism owa ds you amewo k, i 's no a g ea c i icism. I 's jus i 's e y ocused on one ecosys em,
which is good, I hink you should esea ch ha . Bu on a b oade pe spec i e, you will no ha e only
one.
E2: I would say a ew hings ha can be added o can be conside ed in his esea ch. Fi s o all, I would
say, o ganiza ional capabili y o adop new echnology o new ecosys em. Fo example, I am a XYZ
company, I ha e 500 esou ces, only 50 sou ces a e e y well equipped o manage. Bu o he business
expansion, I need o adap some ecosys em o some echnology inside he company o in eg a e o
implemen some hing. So, i I don' unde s and my capabili ies on how much I can achie e wi h ha ,
o how o manage all hese hings, i is impo an because b inging new echnology o in oducing new
ecosys em doesn' mean ha you will ge he bene i o e nigh , you will ge he bene i . I you a e
capable o manage o i you ha e a se o a numbe o s a s, who can manage ha hing pe ec ly and
o achie e he undamen al and s a egical ou come om ha p oduc o ha sys em. So, i is
impo an , I guess, you can conside his pa he capabili y o he companies, his is he poin ac ually.
And second hing is ha capabili y will inc ease by some ways, like hi ing people, aining, o
in oducing a new amewo k o new me hodologies. So, ul illing he compliance o main aining a
p ope s uc u e o wo k. So, all o hese hings ac ually gi e he abili y o he company o be
compe i i e and ge mo e compe i i e han o he companies. So in ha way, i ha pa s also include
including he s a egy planning, especially he esou ce hi ing and esou ce alloca ion, i could be mo e
o I can say, e ec i e o implemen o con ol he whole ecosys em, o example, you d i e a
mo o cycle o you ecen ly bough a Fe a i, you can' ge he alue, maybe you can' d i e ha ca ,
maybe you jus o d i e i once o wice o only ha e he manual gea . So, ha would be he poin I
wan ed o ac ually desc ibe. So, he hi d poin is e y impo an . I ha en' seen ha hing, he secu i y
pa . Because when you in oduce any, any ecosys em o some hing o b inging new echnology o
wha e e i is, you ha e o ha e unde s and abou he secu i y i s . Fo example, i you jus b ing he
s a e o ou echnology o you open he doo o he hacke s o someone i will c ea e addi ional hassle
o you, i will g een i can uin you company, he company can be a a inancial loss, and many mo e.
So, I hink ha can be aken a p io i y in a planning. Because i you in oduce an ecosys em, wha could
be he h ea s, maybe hei in en ions a e di e en , maybe hey' e exposing some new doo s o he
hacke s o someone maybe on isk ha p e iously was no exposed o i . So, ha can be ano he poin .
And ou h, I would say he isk assessmen . And wha would be he isks a e he implemen a ion o
he ecosys em, wha would be he new isks, so, de ailed isk assessmen can be done be o e
implemen a ion, because i you a e no awa e o he isk, so, all o a sudden wha would happen?
59
E e y hing will be abolished. So, o any kind o s a egic planning, and e e y hing. Risk ac o
assessmen would be he key, I guess. So a , I hink, in my mind, i comes o me o sha e wi h you wo
ha would be he imp o ing elemen o imp o e ha , ha nice ame o i 's almos pe ec , bu i you
can add some hing, I guess i would be supe cool. When you de ine he business, hings a e business
isk and wha would be he gains and o he hings, bu i 'd be he key esou ces, how hei ac i i ies
and in all he o he pa ame e s one when you wan o see in a single page, i is a pe ec hing,
acco ding o he business aspec . Bu when you jus alk abou he is isk, i 's a di e en hing. You
unde s and, o example, you' e jus assessing he business model. Using he Business Model Can as
o analyzing SWOT is a di e en hing. Bu i you alk abou he pe spec i e, i will be di e en because
i ela es o echnology and he adap abili y, he agili y, and e e y hing associa ed wi h he echnology
o speci ic so wa e. Wha e e i is, I guess hese hings would be nice o add o you amewo k.
E3: No a he momen . I hink i 's simple. I 's simple and ac ually anyone is likely o unde s and i as
you men ion he i s s ep o assessing he objec i es and s a egies and he In o ma ion Sys em
s a egy plan and he esou ce alloca ion ha we eally need. So, i de ini ely can be unde s ood by
anyone, I hink he s uc u e is eally good and would be accep ed by e e yone.
Discussion
On he ques ion o any weaknesses o he p oposed amewo k we e asked by explaining he c i icism
ha a ose owa ds he amewo k. Expe 1 is aising awa eness on o ganiza ion’s pa icipa ion in
mul iple ecosys ems as i is “ha d o li e in a single ecosys em”. Due o mul iple alue p oposi ions and
objec i es, an o ganiza ion canno join a single ecosys em while a ge ing mul iple s a egies
(Jacobides e al., 2018). Acco ding o Expe 1’s indus y expe ise, o ganiza ions usually app oach a
op-down me hodology which indica es ha he managemen indeed ends o pu a s ong ocus on
he s a egic planning. Consequen ly, he ac ha o ganiza ions ocus oo much on planning and could
he e o e neglec he s age o IS analysis and IS implemen a ion (Kama io ou & Ki sios, 2019b).
Howe e , as ime is a c i ical ac o o many o ganiza ions acco ding o Expe 1, ull and ho ough
e alua ions canno always be gua an eed and solu ions ha seem o wo k a e mo e likely o be
adop ed. The e o e, i canno be expec ed o ha e a comple e IS s a egy ha will no unde go
changes. Consequen ly, he e iew cycles be ween he s age o S a egic Fo mula ion and S a egy
Concep ion migh ind consen a his poin . Ano he impo an inding is he ac ha he amewo k
needs o ake he ac in o conside a ion ha no e e y managemen is ond o using a op-down
app oach, which esul s in he need o assessing he di e en s ages in a non-ch onological o de .
Misconcep ions among execu i es a e add essed by Expe 2 who is ag eeing on he ac ha mos
60
manage s expec he bene i s o come wi h he implemen a ion o he IS and IT. Thus, his p oblem
does no seem o be a e in IT s a egy consul ing and indica es ha he dependency be ween IT,
people and business p ocesses is neglec ed a some poin s. A majo poin ha is add essed, is he
missing aspec o secu i y and isk assessmen . This con i ms he indings o he li e a u e esea ch
ha add ess he isk o sha ing in ellec ual p ope y and insigh s wi h o he ecosys em pa icipan s as
o ganiza ions a e no able o con ol he way ha ecosys em pa icipan s will use an o ganiza ion’s
esou ces and capabili ies (Lee e al., 2019). While he aspec o isk assessmen is conside ed wi hin
he i s empla es like in he SWOT analysis as well as in he Business Model Can as, his poin migh
need o be iden i ied mo e clea ly as his is a opic ha is o pa icula impo ance in he con ex o
da a p ocessing which a majo componen o IS applica ions. Fu he , isks need o be assessed in deep
de ail and hus, he assessmen h ough he SWOT and Business Model Can as may no be su icien .
Acco ding o Expe 2, isk assessmen is an impo an s ep o be conduc ed be o e implemen ing he
DE s a egy and he e o e should be included in he s age o S a egic Planning o S a egic Concep ion.
Ne e heless, i mus be aken in o conside a ion ha he addi ion o oo many componen s in o he
amewo k migh cause he loss o easy unde s anding ha was alued by Expe 3. Expe 2 app o es
he las s age o S a egic Fo mula ion which includes he esou ce alloca ion since he ag ees wi h he
ac ha IS capabili ies a e one o he majo componen s ha a e able o exploi esou ces o he ulles
and highligh s he dependency be ween people, business p ocesses and IT.
Ques ion 3: Can he p oposed amewo k help companies o in eg a e digi al ecosys ems? And
please cla i y why o why no ?
E1: Well, I hink mos companies al eady ha e an in eg a ed ecosys em, bu hey migh no be awa e
o ha . And I hink ha ha amewo k, can b ing awa eness o he consequences o hose
in eg a ions. Mos imes. I emembe , hings some imes a e simple han we hink hey a e. And
some imes companies, hey don' ha e o in eg a e he digi al ecosys em, hey jus in eg a e a couple
o solu ions. And mos imes, hey a e no awa e ha he e's a whole ecosys em. They know ha
hey' e no eally awa e o ha . And hey don' e alua e he whole ecosys em. They don' ake all o
ha in o accoun . So, I hink you wo k, i 's, i 's good because he s a ing poin is he ecosys em. And
no only o ha e solu ions ha a e aligned wi h he company's goals and he objec i es. So, I hink
when you do ha you should ake in o accoun whole ecosys em and no jus he solu ions by
hemsel es, igh .
E2: Yes, de ini ely his p oposed amewo k can de ini ely help companies. Why? Because in my
expe ience, I ha e seen a numbe o companies a ound he wo ld. Also, many big mul ina ionals, I
61
ha e wo ked wi h maybe in elco e en big banks, in a egional gian bank ha e seen hey ha e lacking
s a egy. I ’s because o many easons, I can' ell you igh now wi hin a sho ime, bu I know because
hey he main p oblem, hey ace hey’ e w ong s a egy o he ecosys em o wha e e business
s a egy, so, hei s a egy is no good. So, ha 's why hey ace many p oblems. So, i hey could ollow
a amewo k like his, o unde s and hemsel es and unde s and e alua e he ecosys em in compa e
wi h hei business objec i e, so i would be e y, e y good ini ia i e o hem. So ha he op
managemen can ge a clea pic u e because some imes he op managemen hinks on a op-le el
pe spec i e ha I need o do ha , I need o do ha , bu wha mos manage s o he di ec o s ac ually
need o do, is o mula ing hei s a egy in o de o p esen o he boa d, igh ? So, hey need o assess
in a e y s uc u ed way, so hey ge he compe i i e ad an age, and hey can imp o e hei
o ganiza ion. Because when you a e going o adop an ecosys em, ha means you a e mo ing o wa d,
no going o backwa d, bu mo ing o wa d will ake will c ea e some isk is like a ocke when you
send ocke o he space, you a e pu ing a lo o ene gy he e, i any hing goes down, i can be
happening like SpaceX, igh . So, i can blas se e al imes, bu when i will go, you ge a lo mo e
ad an ages. So ha 's why his is a e y nice amewo k, I belie e, small company o a la ge company,
hey can ollow ha so o amewo k o inco po a e all o hese hings ha you men ioned.
E3: Yes, as I s a ed in he i s ques ion, some imes he CEOs and he op o o ganiza ions ha maybe
ha e a ce ain s eng h on he ma ke o ce ain applica ions ha people a e using. Bu i you eally
wan o ha e like 100% o he use 100% o e e y in o ma ion sys em ha we in eg a e o he
componen , we ha e o do his ype o analysis, be o e we we e going o p o ide any in o ma ion
sys em o o a piece o o ge any in o ma ion sys em inside o o ganiza ion. Yes, because he
en i onmen is always changing he equi emen s and he gaps. P obably he gap ha you ha e oday
is no he gap ha you' e going o ha e omo ow. So, hen hese cycles ha you used, eally show
ha you ha e o always e ise hese gaps and see i hese gaps s ill exis on you en i onmen , you
know. I hink his is he way you pu i .
Discussion
Wha di e en ia es his ques ion om he i s ques ion is whe he his amewo k is no only use ul
in gene al bu also o he speci ic issue o ac i ely dealing wi h ecosys em concep s and applying his
amewo k in he eal wo ld. The e ec i eness o his ques ion was p o ed by he ac , ha e en
hough i was spoken on he use ulness, new aspec s came up his ime. All expe s ag ee on he ac
ha s a egic app oaches on ecosys em exis al eady, bu o ganiza ions jus migh no be awa e o
hem acco ding o Expe 1. This lack o awa eness has been poin ed ou by many esea ch and inds
app o al in he conduc ed expe in e iews as well. As he li e a u e e iew shows, ecosys ems a e
62
no a new phenomenon, bu many o ganiza ions indeed a e no awa e o he ac ha hey a e
su ounded by di e en ecosys ems o which some sha e hei objec i es, and some don’ . Thus, his
amewo k can help execu i es becoming mo e awa e on oppo uni ies o in eg a ing DE, e en i hey
may assume ha in eg a ing indi idual solu ions migh be enough. Mo eo e , i suppo s o ganiza ions
in s a ing o align wi h o he pa ne s in o de o s eng hen hei ma ke si ua ion and es ablish new
and aluable pa ne ships mo e easily. Expe 2 poin s ou ha many o ganiza ions, ega dless o hei
size, s ill lack a p ope IT s a egy. The e o e, be o e e en app oaching he DE in eg a ion, i is
impo an o unde s and whe e hey a e s anding and e-e alua e hei esou ces and capabili ies.
Mo eo e , i suppo s execu i es in assessing deli e ables o s akeholde s and o pu poses o
documen a ion. This is a s ep ha is suppo ed by his amewo k acco dingly o Expe 2 due o he
guided assessmen o he in e nal and ex e nal en i onmen wi h he help o he de eloped empla es.
Wha di e s his amewo k o o he s such as Bowman (1983) o Wa d and Peppa d (2004), is he
inclusion o o he ma ke pa icipan s. This componen he e o e p o ides a mo e ex ended iew on
he o ganiza ional en i onmen combined wi h clea e ins uc ions on wha o look a while s ill
s aying gene al in o de o be applicable o di e en kind o indus ies. Fu he u ili y is con i med by
Expe 3 who sees po en ials o educing IT in es men s on IS ha do no bene i he o ganiza ion due
o a lack o alignmen wi h he o ganiza ion’s eal needs h ough he emphasis o he gap analysis and
p o ided agili y h ough e iew cycles and he modula i y by he in eg a ion o DE oppo uni ies.
Ques ion 4: Do you ha e any ecommenda ion o sugges ions o u he imp o emen s, besides o
hose ha you jus men ioned?
E1: Yeah, I hink an impo an issue is - suppose ha I ha e a co po a ion and I p obably ha e se e al
ecosys ems in his co po a ion ha I wan o access, how hose ecosys ems a e aligned wi h a
co po a ion, because ha 's when you alk abou an ecosys em, i 's a long- e m hing. I 's no jus
simple solu ions ha you a e e alua ing. I 's a whole ecosys em. And ha is impo an on a long e m,
no on a sho e m. On a sho e m, he e a e p oblems solu ions in indi idual solu ions on o he
ecosys ems ha migh sui you be e . Bu on he long e m, you know, you ha e an ecosys em ha
has a s a egy. I has an owne , and i has a de eloping plan, hey hough abou secu i y. I know how
hey hink abou be ayal assis ance, o ins ance, how will hey de elop in he nex yea s? So, i 's a
whole s a egy ha will be ansla ed in he indi idual solu ions. So, in his amewo k, I hink o be
able o access an ecosys em and how i is aligned wi h he wi h he company o wi h he co po a ion.
I 's a mo e impo an . Then due o o he issues a e now ega ding adop ion o ega ding he

63
de elopmen plans. The i s s ep is assessmen . Because as a long- e m commi men , you
assessmen , i 's e y impo an because i will ha e a huge li e span o consequences.
E2: I hink I ha e al eady alked a li le bi abou my opinion, how o imp o e and wha elemen s can
be added in his amewo k. So, apa om ha , I would say ha o unde s and abou his amewo k,
you al eady made a clea a isible p esen a ion wi hin a one slide which is a e y, e y good hing. I
looks e y good. So, I belie e ha will be e y good enough o ca ch e e y hing by he end. I will be
e y easygoing. Like i looks like o be hones , e y good. Bu i you can make i mo e simple, simplis ic
way, i would be mo e use ul. And maybe he goal would be mo e simpli ied way o p esen mo e
simpli ied way. So, I guess you' e in igh ack I guess he will do he same.
E3: I hink yes. I hink you should y o look a he policies close . Rega ding he policies, as we know,
o ganiza ion own con iden ial in o ma ion. And i can be some hing ha , when we join he ecosys em,
hey can ge he con iden ial in o ma ion ha we as companies, we know he e will be in o ma ion in
he cou o business. And i we don’ analyze hese policies and ines ha come wi h he ecosys em
whe e people could join ha you don’ us , hey can ge all in o ma ion ha hey need. And you
canno do any hing abou i , you know? Tha 's why joining his ype o ecosys em some imes migh be
icky, and you ha e o igu e ou how o con ol how people a e going o use ha con iden ial
in o ma ion. Ecosys ems ha e pay a en ion on wha is going o happen when o he companies o he
ecosys em a e lea ing and ake he in o ma ion wi h hem. Tha is he only ecommenda ion I can
p o ide. Yeah. I hink you' e doing a e y good job.
Discussion
The las ques ion o be asked, was he e ie al o inal ecommenda ions o u he imp o emen s.
A his poin , he issue o secu i y was men ioned om all expe s. As he da a and in o ma ion
ga he ing h ough he IS o o ganiza ions om o he ecosys em pa icipan s is one o he c i ical
ac i i ies in SISP, se e al conce ns on da a secu i y a ise. Fu he , i becomes appa en ha secu i y
aspec s pose he mos c i ical challenges and hus, a e he main conce ns o o ganiza ions. Rega dless
o he ac ha he amewo k co e s secu i y aspec s and also p o ides a empla e ha add esses he
conside a ion o po en ial h ea s and isks ela ed o he openness o DE, i may be use ul o include
secu i y-speci ic i ems in o he SISP amewo k as well. Ne e heless, he high-le el design o he gi en
SISP model is based on p eceding li e a u e esea ch on SISP whe e amewo k indeed did no include
speci ic i ems ela ed o i ems in he high-le el design. This, howe e , does no mean ha secu i y
aspec s a e no co e ed. Ano he aspec is he iew on a long- e m base. Expe 1 emphasizes he ac
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ha he ini ial assessmen is o impo ance since he sho -, mid- and long- e m s a egic planning
ela ed o he alignmen o o he ecosys ems will be buil on he assump ions and analysis ha we e
conduc ed du ing he di e en s ages o s a egic planning. The e o e, insu icien , o e en aul y
analysis can lead o hea y consequences and may lead o ailu e. Ne e heless, equen e iew cycles
shall p o ide an ins ance ha e-e alua e changing equi emen s and ci cums ances in o de o
p o ide lexibili y and agili y ha will suppo o ganiza ions in e-e alua ing hei capabili ies and gaps
in a c i ical way. Expe 3 also men ions he need o a close look a he policies o an ecosys em. This
poin again highligh s he desi e o o ganiza ions o ackle isks and h ea s as ea ly as possible. By
assessing he ag eemen s and policies o a DE, o ganiza ions can al eady an icipa e he le el o isk as
well as weigh up in de ail, i joining ce ain ecosys ems make sense in ega d o he a io be ween
bene i eco e y and he cos s o joining he DE. None heless, he de eloped amewo k was mean
o p o ide guidance in he in eg a ion o DE ecosys ems in o he SISP and migh be limi ed in speci ic
and de ailed ins uc ions on he opics o secu i y and policies. While aiming o a de ailed look on
popula opics such as secu i y, Expe 3 is ecommending making he amewo k leane . This poin
seems o con lic wi h he ac , ha o some pa s o he s a egy u he de ails a e eques ed and
o o he pa s, less migh be desi able.
4.4. DISCUSSION
The e alua ion o he expe in e iews on he de eloped amewo k on DE in eg a ion shows ha he
amewo k is use ul o guide execu i es on app oaching he in eg a ion o DE in o he SISP. The
objec i e o he s udy was he de elopmen o a amewo k o guide execu i es on hei DE s a egy
app oach in addi ion o hei SISP s a egy. Fo he achie emen o he objec i e, in e media e goals
we e de ined. Oppo uni ies and isks o DEs, pa icula i ies o DE such as he le el o openness and
modula i y as well as DE oppo uni ies o becoming mo e compe i i e we e included, he
in e media e objec i es we e achie ed along he jou ney o de eloping he design a i ac . The
ques ion o u ili y is a i med while ema king ha he amewo k is pa icula ly help ul o aise
awa eness on he opic o DEs. Thus, he o e all goal o he p esen ed s udy was achie ed. As expe s
poin ou , ecosys em a e no necessa ily a new phenomenon and mos companies unknowingly
pa icipa e in ecosys em. Thus, ew o ganiza ions a e awa e o DEs which migh lead o he neglec ion
o ac i ely a ge ing DE oppo uni ies. As o ganiza ions o en wan o in eg a e solu ions o hei
po olio wi hou a speci ic eason, some expe ience signi ican inancial loss as hey a e no exploi ing
hei in es men s o he ulles po en ial. Thus, he in e iewed expe s app o ed on he gap analysis
cycle o ac i ely a ge he closu e o in o ma ion gaps, so only IS will be conside ed ha can close
65
hese gaps while clea ly di e en ia ing be ween IS ha a e inno a i e and IS ha can suppo he
o ganiza ion’s ope a ions. Mo eo e , one o he majo challenges eside in making IS applica ions wo k
oge he on a long- e m base. Since his amewo k is supposed o p o ide an ini ial app oach on DE
in eg a ion, his aspec would be in e es ing o mo e ad anced amewo k o DE in eg a ion which
leads o he conclusion ha he p esen ed amewo k is add essed o o ganiza ions ha need guidance
on unde s anding DE be o e hey a e able o mo e on o a mo e ad anced s a egy planning.
Ne e heless, he e iew cycles could be a good s a o assessing he di e en li ecycles as hey
desc ibe a cons an assessmen o he en i onmen and in e nal IS capabili ies and esou ces. A majo
con ibu ion o he expe in e iews was p o ided by he aspec o secu i y ha is a c i ical conce n
among he indus ies. Thus, he eason o he upb inging o secu i y conce ns shows ha companies
s uggle wi h secu ing hei da a he mos and ea he lack o con iden ial in o ma ion. Ne e heless,
he demand o he le el o de ail on secu i y aspec s may exceed he ame o he gi en s udy. Ye ,
an ini ial isk assessmen was included in he empla es o he high-le el amewo k. The e o e, he
assump ion is close ha he p esen a ion o he high-le el amewo k migh ha e aken o ocus away
on he addi ional empla es ha a e a majo pa o he design a i ac . A mo e de ailed amewo k,
howe e , would ha e led o ailu e ega ding he objec i e o a high-le el amewo k ha is easy o
unde s and. Consequen ly, i can be assumed ha an o e all unde s anding on app oaching DE
in eg a ion can only be achie ed when all he empla es a e aken in o conside a ion. A majo
modi ica ion on he SISP amewo k is he inclusion o lexible elemen s. As he amewo k is including
a gap analysis cycle, an IS, IT, IM cycle as well as he e iew cycles, i isualized he ac ha all ac i i ies
a e ne e concluded which e lec s a dynamic and lexible en i onmen .
The de eloped s udy and he e alua ion o he expe ’s insigh s shows ha he amewo k can suppo
he managemen in a ge ing he in eg a ion o DEs in o hei SISP. As i was highligh ed ha he
amewo k aises awa eness on he impo ance o DE in pa icula , o ganiza ions a e p o ided wi h a
new pe spec i e on app oaching SISP. Thus, he design a i ac p o ides u ili y and alue. Due o he
DE design a i ac s, mo e o ien a ion is p o ided ega ding he assessmen o DE oppo uni ies ha
comes wi h bene i s and isks. This amewo k has he po en ial o mo i a ing o ganiza ions o ac i ely
deal wi h ecosys em while unde s anding ha hey a e ac ually ac ing wi h and wi hin many
ecosys ems. Consequen ly, his design a i ac encou ages o ganiza ion o explo e di e en
ecosys ems o new oppo uni ies and inno a i e pa ne s along hei jou ney.
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5. CONCLUSION
5.1. SYNTHESIS OF THE DEVELOPED WORK
The p esen ed s udy deals wi h exis ing concep s on SISP and ecosys ems o he pu pose o
de eloping a design a i ac based on he DSR me hod. As o ganiza ion’s ace challenges in s aying
compe i i e and in he in eg a ion o new echnologies, new s a egic app oaches a e equi ed. A lack
on exis ing esea ch on ecosys em is ackled by his esea ch ha comes along wi h a amewo k o
guide he managemen in in eg a ion a DE s a egy in o hei SISP. SISP a e a c i ical ac i i y as an IS
s a egy suppo s he achie emen o business objec i es. The e o e, he ac i i y wi hin he SISP need
o be s eng hened by u he componen s. Since DE o e many bene i s such as cos sa ings, access
o aluable da abases and IS capabili ies, hey also ha bo d awbacks as o ganiza ion’s a e aced wi h
unce ain y ha a ise wi h he in eg a ion o ecosys ems. As ew s udies ake hese d awbacks in o
accoun and lea e execu i es in o belie ing ha DE only p o ide bene i s, a amewo k was es ablished
ha p o ides execu i es a neu al iew on DE s a egy app oaches by highligh ing bo h, bene i s and
d awbacks wi h insigh s based on scien i ic esea ch. Fu he mo e, he SISP model was upda ed on
con empo a y elemen s o e lec he impo ance o p o iding agile and lexible amewo ks o guide
he managemen h ough a dynamic en i onmen . The es ablished amewo k is suppo ed by se e al
empla es and igu es ha we e c ea ed o he speci ic pu pose o in eg a ion DEs in o SISP. Thus, he
p esen ed s udy o e s a di e en app oach which b eaks away om he simple applica ion o exis ing
models o a p oblem.
5.2. LIMITATIONS
Du ing he p ocess o app oaching he challenge o de eloping an app oach on in eg a ion DE in o
SISP, a amewo k has been es ablished h ough modi ica ion o he Th ee S age model (Bowman e
al., 1983) while upda ing ha model by con empo a y insigh s om ecen SISP publica ions. Due o
his app oach, he gi en amewo k design is limi ed o he e alua ed SISP models. The e o e, di e en
esul s migh occu when o he SISP amewo ks a e used. Howe e , as he li e a u e e iew on SISP
has shown simila i ies be ween all SISP amewo ks, de ia ions should no be oo signi ican .
Ne e heless, i should be said ha he SISP amewo k design was limi ed since he addi ion o u he
ac i i ies and componen s would ha e made i mo e c owded which ha bo s he isk o making i less
easy o apply which would esul in ailing he achie emen o he de ined objec i e. In iew o he
scope o ime, he conduc ed in e iews only p o ided a limi ed ime ame o he explana ion and
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Zu shi, A., & G ilo, A. (2019). De eloping a Digi al Pla o m A chi ec u e and analysing i s impac on
Indus ial Enginee ing. Compu e s & Indus ial Enginee ing.

74
ANNEXES
Appendix 1 – RACI Ma ix
Appendix 2 – S a egic planning o IS & DE
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Appendix 3 – Vendo / pa ne e alua ion
Appendix 4 – SWOT Analysis
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Appendix 5 – Business Model Can as
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Appendix 6 – DE S a egy Fo mula ion F amewo k
Appendix 7 – Risk & Oppo uni ies Assessmen Templa e
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Appendix 8 – DE Pu pose Guiding F amewo k

79
Appendix 9 – DE Openness Le el Assessmen
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Appendix 10 – Complemen a y Assessmen
Appendix 11 – DE Oppo uni ies o In o ma ion Re ie al
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Appendix 12 – DE Resou ce/Ac ion Planning
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Appendix – Expe In e iew 1
1. Ques ion:
In e iewe : So, he i s ques ion is o you is, i you conside he p oposed amewo k as use ul and
why, and i no , why do you belie e ha is no use ul?
E1: Well, cong a ula ions on you wo k. I 's qui e in e es ing. Yeah, I hink i 's use ul and in he hing is
ha you don' adop single solu ions anymo e. You a e always adop ing a ull ecosys em, whene e
you wan i o no , i 's some hing ha 's he way i is now. So, I hink a amewo k o deal wi h ha , is
e y use ul. On he so wa e enginee ing side, he e a e lo s o esea ch abou he so wa e
ecosys ems, how o de elop a new so wa e ecosys em, and all o ha , he e's a lo o wo k, lo s o
wo k abou ha . Bu on he in o ma ion planning side, I don' hink he e’s a lo . So, i hasn' been e y
s udied. And i eminds me o he imes when each endo ied o be he only endo wi hin he
company. And i was like a wo ld domina ion game, i hey could sell hei solu ion, hei solu ion will
be ully closed, and hey will hen p o ide all he applica ions o he company. And wi h ecosys ems
i 's no as adical as ha . The e a e many ways o in eg a e solu ions o in e ope a e wi h change da a.
Bu o a ce ain poin , i 's kind o a simila s o y. I you’ e on he consume side, i you adop , like an
Apple ecosys em, hen you ha e a ull se o applica ions and sys ems ha hey can be in eg a ed wi h
o he s, bu i 's much simple o use hem as a s andalone. So, I hink you app oach, i 's an in e es ing
wo k, and I hink i 's posi i e and i will be e y, e y use ul. Then he e's ano he ques ion. No his
one's you a e asking, bu he nex ques ion o you o esea ch is ha in some cases, companies canno
li e wi h only one ecosys em, hey will ha e o deal wi h se e al ones. And I hink ha i will be he
ue esea ch ield in he ue ques ion, which is how do you build you ecosys em, in eg a ing pa s
om o he ecosys ems? I mean, I can ha e a g ea inancial solu ion om one company, I can ha e
ano he g ea logis ics solu ion om o he endo and o he company. And in ac , hey a e jus no
solu ions. They ha e hei own ecosys ems wi h o he componen s and o he pa s. Bu he ac is ha
I jus wan hese solu ions and I wan hem oge he because i 's wha gi es me mo e alue. And so,
you ha e o in eg a e hese hings and you ha e o c ea e like you own ecosys em whe e you ha e
se e al di e en solu ions o se e al di e en sou ces ha hey ha e hei own ecosys ems, bu hey
will ha e o li e oge he . And you ha e o deal wi h se e al issues. Like hei li e cycle, hey will no
li e o e e , e e y hing has a li e cycle. I will s a , i will be use ul o a ime and hen i will phase ou
hei li ecycle he way hey li e oge he . I can be icky, bu i is echnically an in eg a ion sys em. Bu
i 's no only in eg a ion, i 's mo e p o ound han ha , because hey ha e hei own pla o ms, and you
wan hem o wo k oge he o a long ime o hei whole li espan. I hink you wo k is g ea and o
a mas e ’s deg ee, I hink i 's e y in e es ing.
89
ha e like 100% o he use 100% o e e y in o ma ion sys em ha we in eg a e o he componen , we
ha e o do his ype o analysis, be o e we we e going o p o ide any in o ma ion sys em o o a piece
o o ge any in o ma ion sys em inside o o ganiza ion. Yes, because he en i onmen is always
changing he equi emen s and he gaps. P obably he gap ha you ha e oday is no he gap ha
you' e going o ha e omo ow. So, hen hese cycles ha you used, eally show ha you ha e o
always e ise hese gaps and see i hese gaps s ill exis on you en i onmen , you know. I hink his is
he way you pu i .
4. And do you ha e any ecommenda ions o sugges ions o u he imp o emen s?
I hink yes. I hink you should y o look a he policies close . Rega ding he policies, as we know,
o ganiza ion own con iden ial in o ma ion. And i can be some hing ha , when we join he
ecosys em, hey can ge he con iden ial in o ma ion ha we as companies, we know he e will be
in o ma ion in he cou o business. And i we don’ analyze hese policies and ines ha come wi h
he ecosys em whe e people could join ha you don’ us , hey can ge all in o ma ion ha hey
need. And you canno do any hing abou i , you know? Tha 's why joining his ype o ecosys em
some imes migh be icky, and you ha e o igu e ou how o con ol how people a e going o use
ha con iden ial in o ma ion. Ecosys ems ha e pay a en ion on wha is going o happen when o he
companies o he ecosys em a e lea ing and ake he in o ma ion wi h hem. Tha is he only
ecommenda ion I can p o ide. Yeah. I hink you' e doing a e y good job.

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