Digital Business as a Field for Research and Education

Hess, Thomas; Riedl, René; Becke , Luc
A icle — Published Ve sion
Digi al Business as a Field o Resea ch and Educa ion
Elec onic Ma ke s
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Sp inge Na u e
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Hess, Thomas; Riedl, René; Becke , Luc (2024) : Digi al Business as a Field o
Resea ch and Educa ion, Elec onic Ma ke s, ISSN 1422-8890, Sp inge , Be lin, Heidelbe g, Vol. 34,
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POSITION PAPER
Digi al Business asaField o Resea ch andEduca ion
ThomasHess1· RenéRiedl2,3· LucBecke 1
Recei ed: 29 Janua y 2024 / Accep ed: 1 Augus 2024 / Published online: 16 Sep embe 2024
© The Au ho (s) 2024
Abs ac
Digi al echnologies igni e new businesses and o ce exis ing companies o es uc u e hei business models. Va ious
independen academic esea ch s eams discuss he po en ial o digi al echnologies o business. Howe e , hese s eams’
esea ch indings a e published ac oss ou le s in a ious communi ies, and an app oach o b inging hese s eams oge he is
missing. In his posi ion pape , we p opose o in eg a e hese s eams unde he concep o Digi al Business. We see Digi al
Inno a ions as he co e o Digi al Business and o e a amewo k o s uc u ing he ield. Using his amewo k, we desc ibe
he ield’s de elopmen o da e and p o ide h ee ideas o u he in eg a ing he ield in he u u e. Al oge he , a key aim o
his pape is o c ea e a concep ual basis ha s uc u es bo h esea ch and educa ion in he ield Digi al Business.
Keywo ds Digi al Business· Digi aliza ion· Digi al T ans o ma ion· Digi al Inno a ions· Elec onic Business
JEL classi ica ion M15
F agmen a ion o ag owing ield
asap oblem
Topics ela ed o he digi al ans o ma ion o es ablished
businesses, he c ea ion o new digi al companies (e.g., so -
wa e s a -ups), and he change o o ganiza ional s uc u es
and p ocesses due o digi al echnologies a e gaining a en-
ion in in o ma ion sys ems (IS) esea ch. Nume ous scien-
i ic jou nals in he IS ield a e de eloping he b ead h and
dep h o hese opics by publishing pape s and o ganizing
special issues (e.g., MIS Qua e ly Volume 37–2 (MISQ,
2013), IS Jou nal Volume 26–5 (ISJ, 2016), and Eu opean
Jou nal o IS Volume 32–3 (EJIS, 2023)). Mo eo e , many
IS con e ences deal wi h hese opics in a ious con e -
ence acks. Figu e1 shows he numbe o acks a leading
in e na ional IS con e ences (ICIS, ECIS, AMCIS, PACIS1)
whe e he e ms “digi al” o “ ans o ma ion” a e pa o
he ack’s i le. F om only en acks in 2017, he numbe
soa ed o 30 in 2023. This end, especially he su ges in
2022 and 2023, highligh s he opic’s g owing signi icance.
De ails on he speci ic names o he acks a e p o ided in
Appendix 1 (see Supplemen a y In o ma ion).
A close look a he e ms in Appendix 1 e eals signi ican
di e ences. The no able di e si y in speci ic opics exposes
ha a ious con e ence acks explo e new app oaches in
business based on digi al echnologies, ye only wi hin hei
speci ic opic ealms. Specializa ion is bene icial because i
ensu es opics a e ackled in dep h, os e ing de ailed de el-
opmen . I also inc eases p ac ical ele ance, which is c ucial
o ansla ing esea ch esul s in o indus y- ele an appli-
ca ions and consolida ing a opic’s aison d’ê e. Howe e ,
his kind o scien i ic ocus en ails wo majo d awbacks.
Responsible Edi o s: Raine Al and Hans-Die e Zimme mann
* Luc Becke
becke [email p o ec ed]
Thomas Hess
[email p o ec ed]
René Riedl
ene. iedl@ h-s ey .a ; ene. [email p o ec ed]
1 Ins i u e o Digi al Managemen andNew Media, LMU
Munich School o Managemen , Ludwigs aße 28,
80539Munich, Ge many
2 Digi al Business Ins i u e, School o Business
andManagemen , Uni e si y o Applied Sciences Uppe
Aus ia, Weh g abengasse 1-3, 4400S ey , Aus ia
3 Ins i u e o Business In o ma ics – In o ma ion Enginee ing,
Johannes Keple Uni e si y Linz, Al enbe ge S asse 69,
4040Linz, Aus ia
1 In e na ional Con e ence on IS (ICIS), Eu opean Con e ence on IS
(ECIS), Ame icas Con e ence on IS (AMCIS), Paci ic-Asian Con e -
ence on IS (PACIS).
Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:4646 Page 2 o 13
Fi s , he p oli e a ion o speci ic opics inc eases he isk
o edundan esea ch. Fo ins ance, esea ch on p o iding
applica ion se ices online was coined “applica ion se ice
p o iding” (ASP) in he la e 1990s and ea ly 2000s (e.g.,
Susa la e al. (2006)), which was ollowed by “so wa e-as-
a-se ice” (SaaS) in he la e 2000s (e.g., Benlian and Hess
(2011)), un il he phenomenologically simila concep “cloud
compu ing” (e.g., Kau man e al. (2018)) ook up he o ch.
Wi h his in mind, we aise he ques ion: A e simila con-
cep s being e-examined unde new e minologies, po en-
ially neglec ing p e ious esea ch? Second, agmen a ion
may obscu e o e a ching de elopmen s and mechanisms. Fo
example, o mula ing he ne wo k e ec heo y in he in e ne
economy would equi e a comp ehensi e iew beyond iso-
la ed sub-ma ke s. Conside ing he in e connec ed na u e o
digi al pla o ms, ocusing solely on sub-ma ke s would no
cap u e he ull ex en o ne wo k e ec s. The e o e, a holis-
ic app oach — a he han a agmen ed one — is essen ial
o de eloping insigh s ha a e o mula ed as heo ies wi h
high p edic i e po en ial and o unde s anding he b oade
implica ions o hese heo ies.
Viewed mo e gene ally, a ield o esea ch is buil on
common language, esea ch o ien a ions, and ag eed-upon
knowledge ha c ea es cohesion be ween a ious s akehold-
e s (Sa ke e al., 2019). The s a ing poin is ha s akehold-
e s — including schola s, s uden s, and p ac i ione s — sha e
a common unde s anding o he ield (Klein & Hi schheim,
2008). Howe e , esea ch on he po en ial o digi al ech-
nologies o companies lacks de ini ion and concep ualiza-
ion (Riedl e al., 2023). In u n, s akeholde s su e om
agmen ed esea ch, nons anda d eaching, and discon inu-
ous connec ion o p ac ice. In his posi ion pape , we aim o
ackle agmen a ion and consolida e hese di e en esea ch
s eams in o he uni ying ield o Digi al Business.
This posi ion pape is s uc u ed as ollows. Fi s , we
explo e a ious exis ing concep ualiza ions o Digi al Busi-
ness and in oduce ou own e ined de ini ion. Second, we
concep ualize Digi al Business by ancho ing i in Digi al
Inno a ions and de elop a amewo k o desc ibe academic
ac i i ies on Digi al Business. Thi d, we use his amewo k
o examine he e olu ion o he ield. Fou h, we iden i y key
le e s in esea ch, educa ion, and p ac ice ha will acili a e
he ield’s in eg a ion in he u u e. We conclude he pape
by ea i ming ou posi ion ha Digi al Business is a majo
ield in IS.To highligh he signi icance o Digi al Inno a-
ions and Digi al Business, hese e ms a e bo h capi alized
and i alicized, wi h all amewo k e ms i alicized.
De ini ion
The e m Digi al Business has been used again and again in
he li e a u e bu in e y di e en ways. Be o e del ing in o
he esul s o an ex ensi e sea ch o iden i y de ini ions in
( ex )books, we epo he obse a ion ha usually no o -
mal de ini ions o he e m can be ound in scien i ic pape s
wi h he e m “digi al business” in hei i les (p esumably
because mos o hese pape s epo he esul s o empi i-
cal s udies, and hus, he p o ision o a o mal de ini ion is
deemed unnecessa y). I is in e es ing o no e ha , by a ,
he mos equen ly ci ed academic a icle wi h he e m
“digi al business” in i s i le does no p o ide a o mal de i-
ni ion ei he . In a seminal pape ci ed 4690 imes (Google
Schola , Ma ch 27, 2024), Bha adwaj e al. (2013) do no
di ec ly de ine Digi al Business. Howe e , hey p o ide a
“wo king de ini ion” o digi al business s a egy: an “o gan-
iza ional s a egy o mula ed and execu ed by le e aging
digi al esou ces o c ea e di e en ial alue” (p. 472, i alics
in o iginal). Thus, i ollows ha Digi al Business can be
de ined as “le e aging digi al esou ces o c ea e di e en ial
alue.” Bha adwaj e al. (2013) no e ha hei use o he
e m “ esou ces” is based on he esou ce-based iew o
s a egy (e.g., Ba ney (1991), We ne el (1984)). Mo eo-
e , hey emphasize ha hei link o c ea ing di e en ial
business alue “ele a [es] he pe o mance implica ions o
IT s a egy beyond e iciency and p oduc i i y me ics o
Fig. 1 Numbe o acks a lead-
ing IS con e ences wi h a ocus
on digi al ans o ma ion
1211
65
23
3
2
6
77
4
8
9
9
5
79
3
2
464
4
9
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
skca T o ebmuN
ICIS
ECIS
AMCIS
PACIS
Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:46 Page 3 o 13 46
Table 1 De ini ions o Digi al Business as iden i ied in books wi h “digi al business” in he book i le
Book e e ence [numbe o ci a ions pe
yea (as o Ma ch 27, 2024)]
De ini ion o he e m “digi al business” and ela ed concep ualiza ions
Cha ey e al. (2019) [170.80] “How businesses apply digi al echnology and media o imp o e he compe i i eness o hei
o ganiza ion h ough op imising in e nal p ocesses wi h digi al and adi ional channels o ma ke
and supply” (Cha ey e al., 2019, p. 612).
Wi z (2019) [43.40] Digi al business is equa ed wi h elec onic business (e-business): “Digi al o e-business is one o he
mos signi ican ields o applica ion o digi al in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies.” Fu -
he , e-business comp ises i e majo dimensions (see Fig.3.2 in Wi z (2019, p. 53)): e-communi-
ca ion, e-in o ma ion/en e ainmen , e-educa ion, e-comme ce, and e-collabo a ion. E-business, and
hence digi al business, is de ined as: “[ ]he ini ia ion as well as he pa ial o ull suppo , ans-
ac ion, and main enance o se ice exchange p ocesses be ween economic pa ne s h ough
in o ma ion echnology (elec onic ne wo ks)” (Wi z, 2019, p. 62). Pages 61–62 summa ize and
discuss se e al e-business de ini ions om he li e a u e and summa ize he si ua ion as ollows: “In
he con ex o he In e ne economy, he e a e a ious e ms and de ini ions. In gene al, he cu en
li e a u e has a he e ogeneous unde s anding o he e m e-business. Fu he mo e, he exis ing
de ini ions equen ly o e lap o some ex en , which is exempla y o he e minological inconsis -
ency o he e m’s applica ion. Table3.2 p esen s some impo an de ini ions o e-business” (Wi z,
2019, p. 61).
Weill and Woe ne (2018) [35.33] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book
Wi z (2021) [22.00] I compa ed o Wi z (2019), i is no ewo hy ha he e m “digi al business” is used ins ead o
“e-business” (suppo ing he no ion ha bo h e ms a e used as synonyms; howe e , he newe
e m now seems o be eplacing he olde one). Digi al business comp ises i e majo dimensions
(see Fig.1.2 (Wi z, 2019, p. 5)): digi al communica ion, digi al in o ma ion/en e ainmen , digi al
educa ion, digi al comme ce, and digi al collabo a ion. Pages 16–17 summa ize and discuss se e al
“digi al business” de ini ions om he li e a u e. Howe e , hese de ini ions esemble hose dis-
cussed as e-business de ini ions in Wi z (2019).
Libe e al. (2016) [18.25] Book is no a ailable as ull ex (howe e , he e m “digi al business” is no indica ed in he book
index).
Aagaa d e al. (2019) [17.80] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book.
Vaz (2021) [10.00] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book.
Mo abi o (2014) [8.60] Book is no a ailable as ull ex (howe e , pa s o he book a e a ailable online, and no de ini ion o
he e m “digi al business” was ound in hese pa s).
Milani (2019) [8.60] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book.
Kaplan e al. (2015) [6.89] Book is no a ailable as ull ex (howe e , he e m “digi al business” is no indica ed in he book
index).
Jelassi and Ma ínez-López (2020) [5.50] Chap e 1.1 summa izes key e minology. Howe e , no o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was
ound, nei he in his speci ic chap e no in o he chap e s o he book. I is possible, howe e ,
ha he au ho s use he e ms “e-business” and “digi al business” as synonyms, and hey de ine
“e-business” as “ he use o elec onic means o conduc business in e nally and/o ex e nally”
and i is u he s a ed ha “[i]n e nal e-business ac i i ies may include p oduc ion, de elopmen ,
main enance o IT in as uc u e, and p oduc managemen . Fo example, i may include he linking
o an o ganiza ion’s employees wi h each o he h ough an in ane o imp o e in o ma ion sha ing,
acili a e knowledge dissemina ion, and suppo managemen epo ing” (Jelassi & Ma ínez-López,
2020, p. 4). Fu he , ex e nal e-business ac i i ies may “include suppo ing a e -sales se ice
ac i i ies and collabo a ing wi h business pa ne s. Fo example, i ual eams in wo i ms in
di e en loca ions may collabo a e ia a secu e ex ane on esea ch o new p oduc de elopmen ”
(Jelassi & Ma ínez-López, 2020, p. 4).
Coupey (2005, 2016) [5.38] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book (nei he in he 2005 1s edi ion no
in he la es 2016 2nd edi ion).
Howe e , Coupey (2005) “ ocus[es] on he In e ne as he p ima y o ce behind digi al business” (p.
18). A majo eason o he cen al ole o he In e ne is ha “mo e people a e amilia wi h he
In e ne han wi h o he me hods o digi al ansmission [… and] his amilia i y and adop ion o
he echnology ha has led o he high le els o in e connec i i y, e lec ed in he amoun o com-
munica ion be ween people ia he In e ne , which makes he In e ne an impo an componen o
business s a egy” (p. 18, bold in o iginal). Mo eo e , Coupey (2005) indica es ha “[s]uccess ul
s a egies o digi al business in eg a e he capabili ies o he In e ne wi h aspec s o he
company’s esou ces, cons ain s, and objec i es; and wi h he consume ’s needs and expec a-
ions” (p. 20).
Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:4646 Page 4 o 13
hose ha d i e compe i i e ad an age and s a egic di e -
en ia ion” (p. 472) and ha “[ ]he o ganiza ional abili y o
ecognize and espond o he as -paced na u e o inno a ion
[…] is undamen al o a i m’s compe i i e success and su -
i al unde digi al business condi ions” (p. 476). Howe e ,
he lack o an explici de ini ion o Digi al Business, e en
in such a p ominen esea ch agenda pape , is no ewo hy.
Based on his obse a ion, on Ma ch 27, 2024, we used
he “Publish o Pe ish” ool ( e sion 8.9.4538.8589) o
sea ch he Google Schola da abase o all sou ces wi h he
e m “digi al business” in he i le. O he op 200 sou ces
iden i ied, 18 we e ca ego ized as “book” in e ms o sou ce
ype and had an English i le. We hen u he analyzed hese
18 books, assuming ha o mal de ini ions a e mo e likely
o be ound in ( ex )books han in schola ly a icles, which
p ima ily epo empi ical s udies. We so ed he books by
“ci a ions pe yea ” and sea ched he digi al e sion o each
book o he e m “digi al business.” In addi ion, we iden i-
ied, whe e a ailable, he chap e in each book ha deal
wi h concep ual ounda ions, and we checked whe he he
e m “digi al business” was included in he index o each
book. The esul s o his analysis p ocess a e summa ized in
Table1. Below, we p esen he key indings o ou analysis.
In essence, con a y o wha one migh expec , no all books
p o ide a o mal de ini ion o Digi al Business. Howe e ,
we also analyzed signi ican s a emen s om hese books
(p edominan ly iden i ied in he concep ual ounda ions
chap e s) o iden i y he majo cha ac e is ics o he Digi al
Business concep . As se e al de ini ions and desc ip ions
a e ela i ely comp ehensi e, we ha e highligh ed wha we
conside o be he key aspec s in bold.
Table1 and he subsequen analysis e eal ha mos
books do no o mally de ine Digi al Business. Ins ead, a i-
ous concep ualiza ions o Digi al Business, including de ini-
ions and concep ualiza ions o ela ed phenomena such as
e-business, exis . Thus, he e is a he e ogeneous unde s and-
ing o wha Digi al Business is and he e is a lack o a clea
and b oadly accep ed de ini ion.
Table 1 (con inued)
Book e e ence [numbe o ci a ions pe
yea (as o Ma ch 27, 2024)]
De ini ion o he e m “digi al business” and ela ed concep ualiza ions
Da ics (2015) [4.22] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book
The publishe desc ibes he book as ollowsa: “This book p o ides a imely and comp ehensi e snap-
sho o he cu en digi al communica ion p ac ices o oday’s o ganisa ions and wo kplaces,
co e ing a wide spec um o communica ion echnologies, such as email, ins an messaging, mes-
sage boa ds, Twi e , co po a e blogs, consume e iews and mobile communica ion echnologies”.
Choi (2017) [3.14] “[T]he alue c ea ion based on he ha monized ne wo king managemen ” (p. 1).
No e ha Choi (2017, p. 1) uses he e ms “digi al business” and “web business” as synonyms.
Choi (2017) u he cla i ies ha “[w]e li e in he in e dependen socie y, and hus each one o us
belongs o hese in e dependen ne wo ks, such as human ne wo k, in o ma ion ne wo k, coope a-
i e social ne wo k, business ne wo k, e c. Un o una ely, some ne wo ks a e no wo king p ope ly
due o he missing links among he ac i i ies o pa ne s. To p omo e sus ainable pe o mance o all
hese ne wo ks, he e o e, we despe a ely need o ind ou he go e nance ac o s o he in e ope -
able mechanism among he pa icipan s” (p. 1).
Jabłoński and Jabłoński (2020) [3.00] Based on Wi z (2019), Jabłoński and Jabłoński (2020) de elop a “lis o selec ed e-business de ini-
ions” (see Table1.4 in Jabłoński and Jabłoński (2020, p. 14)). Based on en de ini ions, hey
deduce he dis inc i e ea u es o each de ini ion. In essence, Jabłoński and Jabłoński (2020) use he
e ms “digi al business” and “e-business” as synonyms because hey w i e ha he “[a]nalysis o
selec ed e-business de ini ions clea ly indica es he o ien a ion o ansac ion heo y in c ea ing
economic alue” (Jabłoński & Jabłoński, 2020, p. 14).
Hammond (1996) [2.00] Book is no a ailable as ull ex (howe e , he e m “digi al business” is no indica ed in he book
index).
Co allo e al. (2007)[1.12] No o mal de ini ion o “digi al business” was ound in he book.
Howe e , Co allo e al. (2007) w i e: “The di usion o in o ma ion and communica ion echnol-
ogy (ICT) has allowed o ganiza ions wi hin business ecosys ems o use In e ne -based echnolo-
gies in conjunc ion wi h ace- o- ace in e ac ion in o de o unde ake and coo dina e join asks.
Value gene a ed in In e ne -enabled business […] can p o ide unique and cus omized solu ions o
indi idual cus ome s. Each o ganiza ion adds one o mo e dis inc aspec o p oduc /se ice alue
o he alue gene a ed by he ecosys em, by exchanging digi al knowledge wi h o he membe s: he
business ecosys em e ol es in o he digi al business ecosys em” (Co allo e al., 2007, p. 2). A digi-
al business ecosys em is de ined as “ he e-business in as uc u e enabling a business ecosys em
wi h each o he ecosys em playe s as pa icipan s. The digi al business ecosys em is he space in
which digi al o ganiza ions in e ac , compe e, collabo a e and co-e ol e a ound inno a ion,
using e-business echnology” (Co allo e al., 2007, p. 6).
a See sec ion “Abou his Book”: h ps:// link. sp in ge . com/ book/h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1057/ 97811 37405 579# abou - his- book

Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:46 Page 5 o 13 46
To de ine Digi al Business, we d aw upon he wo k-
ingde ini ion om Bha adwaj e al. (2013), whe e Digi-
al Business means “le e aging digi al esou ces o c ea e
di e en ial alue [ o companies]” (Bha adwaj e al., 2013,
p. 472). Addi ionally, we add B adley e al.’s (2016) pe -
spec i e ha “[ ]he mos signi ican cha ac e is ic o digi al
business is ha he mu ual in e ac ion be ween he c ea i e
applica ion o inno a i e ICT [In o ma ion and Communica-
ion Technology] and he digi al business model” (B adley
e al., 2016, p. 13), which emphasizes he inno a ion aspec .
Agains his backg ound, we p opose ha Digi al Business
should be unde s ood as ollows:
Digi al Business e e s o an o ganiza ion’s inno a-
i e use o digi al esou ces o gene a e alue ha
con ibu es o gaining and/o sus aining compe i i e
ad an age.
S uc u e
In he p e ious sec ion, we concep ualized Digi al Business.
Nex , we p opose a s uc u e o he ield. Fo a long ime, IS
esea ch ocused on how digi al echnologies a e used o c e-
a e alue (e.g., Aga wal & Lucas (2005) and Mel ille e al.
(2004)). The emphasis was placed on p ocess al e a ions
p omp ed by new business equi emen s. When i comes o
new p oduc s, new business models, o new o ganiza ional
s uc u es, he co e issue is always he ques ion o he in e -
play be ween new echnical possibili ies and new business
concep s. And his is ha dly add essed by he es ablished
concep s.
The concep o Digi al Inno a ions o e s a solu ion o
his p oblem (Yoo e al., 2010a). Digi al Inno a ions e e s
o “ he c ea ion o (and consequen change in) ma ke o e -
ings, business p ocesses, o models ha esul om he
use o digi al echnology” (Nambisan e al., 2017, p. 224).
The e a e wo dis inc ways o his c ea ion. T adi ionally,
new business equi emen s ini ia ed he sea ch o and de el-
opmen o inno a i e echnological a i ac s (“ echnology
pull”). In ecen imes, eme ging digi al echnologies such as
cloud compu ing, big da a analy ics, o gene a i e a i icial
in elligence ha e p o ided oppo uni ies o he de elopmen
o no el echnological a i ac s (“ echnology push”) (Wies-
böck & Hess, 2020). So, we unde s and Digi al Inno a ions
as a combina ion o wo dis inc a i ac s: an inno a i e
digi al ( echnical) solu ion and a complemen a y business
concep . Schola s ha e ag eed ha he concep o Digi al
Inno a ions goes beyond a me e echnical a i ac and has
gained emendous popula i y among esea che s (Fichman
e al., 2014; Hund e al., 2021; Kohli & Mel ille, 2019; Yoo
e al., 2010a, b). The socio echnical cha ac e shapes and
challenges i ms ega ding o ganiza ional opics, e.g., s uc-
u es, p ocesses, and cul u al aspec s, as well as he echnical
side, e.g., in o ma ion echnology (IT) a chi ec u e. Thus,
Digi al Inno a ions as a amewo k mu ually combining
business and echnology componen s can se e as a e e -
ence poin o he concep o Digi al Business.
We p opose ou undamen al pe spec i es on Digi al
Business (see Fig.2). Fi s , we emphasize ha ou ame-
wo k is based on he socio echnical pe spec i e, which is
essen ial o he IS discipline (Sa ke e al., 2019). The ech-
nological pe spec i e allows us o examine igge ing ech-
nologies, such as echnological ad ances in senso s, da a
s o age, da a p ocessing, and connec i i y, which enable he
de elopmen o inno a i e digi al solu ions (e.g., p edic i e
main enance o indus ial machines). The social pe spec-
i e (which includes he business pe spec i e) enables us
o examine how o ganiza ions apply Digi al Inno a ions o
a ious domains, imp o ing hei business concep s, c ea -
ing complemen a y ma ke o e ings, o changing alue-c e-
a ing and suppo ing p ocesses (e.g., new elec onic paymen
se ices based on blockchain echnology). Second, we adop
bo h a p ac ice-o ien ed and esea ch-o ien ed pe spec i e.
Unde lying concep ual ounda ions help o heo ize compa-
nies’ unde s anding o digi al echnologies, Digi al Inno a-
ions, and applica ion domains, while me hods o implemen-
a ion desc ibe how companies adop digi al echnologies
in p ac ice.
Following his app oach, we can dis inguish Digi al Busi-
ness om o he ields. Fi s , he Digi al Business ield si s
be ween he na ow-scoped Digi al Inno a ions li e a u e and
he b oad economic pe spec i e o he Digi al Economy. The
Digi al Economy akes a b oad iew o economic ac i i ies,
ye Digi al Inno a ions can encompass b oade concep s om
he Digi al Economy. Fo example, blockchain echnology has
Fig. 2 S uc u ing he ield o
Digi al Business
T igge ing Technologies Domains
Me hods o Implemen a ion
Concep ual Founda ions
Digi al Business
Digi al
Inno a ions
Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:4646 Page 6 o 13
e ol ed beyond i s c yp ocu ency o igins and is now cen al
o discussions on he digi al economy. Howe e , explo ing
conc e e echnological solu ions is essen ial o unde s anding
digi al echnologies’ oppo uni ies and isks o businesses.
We a gue ha he Digi al Economy’s b oad iew has (un o u-
na ely) only been selec i ely adop ed in academia — likely due
o he heigh ened p ac ical ele ance o he Digi al Business
iew. Second, he e m e-business was widely used p io o
he e a o Digi al Business. Fo ins ance, he e ms a e ela ed
as Wi z (2019) ini ially de ined e-business in an ea lie wo k
and la e upda ed he e m o Digi al Business (Wi z, 2021).
E-business ypically encompasses all p ocesses ha a company
ca ies ou ia he In e ne . Howe e , Digi al Business co e s a
b oade ange o digi al echnologies beyond he In e ne . F om
a business s andpoin , e-business uses echnology and so wa e
o suppo business ac i i ies (e.g., Cus ome Rela ionship
Managemen So wa e, Supply Chain Managemen So wa e,
and En e p ise Resou ce Planning So wa e) (Ma kus, 2000).
In con as , in Digi al Business, o ganiza ions use all o ms
o digi al esou ces — including hose ela ed o ac ua o and
senso echnologies, o example, which go beyond he adi-
ional so wa e applica ions and he In e ne in gene al — o
c ea e alue and compe e in he ma ke . In Appendix 2, we
summa ize majo di e ences be ween e-business and Digi al
Business (see Supplemen a y In o ma ion). The elabo a ion
o he di e ences is based on he wo ks ci ed in his pape , in
pa icula hose wo ks ha we summa ize in Table1. Finally,
we a e cu en ly wi nessing he eme gence o “digi al wo k.”
Howe e , hese and simila e ms such as “digi al leade ship”
ypically add ess speci ic opics ela ed o echnology use in a
business con ex , making hem na owe in scope han Digi al
Business.
Majo opics
We discussed how Digi al Inno a ions se e as an ancho o
Digi al Business and de eloped a amewo k o s uc u e he
ield. Using he pe spec i es in his amewo k, we iden i y
majo opics in Digi al Business. In Fig.3, we posi ion hese
opics wi hin he ou pe spec i es acco ding o when hey
i s eme ged, he e o e p o iding a his o ical iew. We hen
discuss each opic wi hin i s espec i e pe spec i e, no ing
ha while some opics ha e diminished in ele ance, o he s
ha e emained highly signi ican . Mo eo e , we emphasize
ha he discussed opics a e key examples, and we do no
claim ha he opics in Fig.3 and he co esponding discus-
sions cons i u e an exhaus i e lis .
Concep ual ounda ions
Fi s , obse ing he concep ual ounda ions o Digi al Busi-
ness helps us unde s and how companies ha e his o ically
unde s ood digi al echnologies. Du ing he 1980s, he
ocus was on how digi al echnologies enable en e p ises
o s uc u e da a and o ganize in o ma ion, known as in o -
ma ion managemen .2 In o ma ion managemen ensu es a
company’s op imal use o in o ma ion o business goals
(Riedl e al., 2017). Un il he la e 1990s, digi al echnologies
we e p edominan ly IT-cen ic. In his phase, he IT depa -
men was he o ganiza ion’s p ima y main aine and d i e
o digi al echnologies. T ansi ioning in o he 2000s, he
Fig. 3 Time when majo opics ela ed o Digi al Business we e discussed o he i s ime
2 No ably, in o ma ion managemen se es as a ounda ion o bo h
Digi al Business and IT managemen (Hess and Ba hel (2017); Riedl
e al. (2017)), while Digi al Inno a ions se e as an ancho poin o
Digi al Business.
Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:46 Page 7 o 13 46
IT-enabled o ganiza ional ans o ma ion (ITOT) concep
eme ged, ma king a signi ican shi in pe spec i e. ITOT
explo ed he in e play be ween IT and o ganiza ional s uc-
u es, aiming o unde s and he success ac o s behind IT-
based ans o ma ion, ocusing on he digi al ans o ma ion
o p ocesses. Digi al ans o ma ion esea ch, unlike ITOT,
ex ends beyond obse ing p ocesses and ocuses on he
impac o digi al echnologies on a ious economic aspec s
o o ganiza ions (Ca oll e al., 2023; Ma kus & Rowe,
2023). In a di e en ein, Digi al Inno a ions esea ch
has eme ged, concen a ing on c ea ing and implemen ing
o ganiza ional solu ions based on new digi al echnologies
(Yoo e al., 2010a). This app oach was used in he p e ious
sec ion as a concep ual basis.
T igge ing echnologies
Second, we obse e ha he e a e igge ing echnologies o
new o ms o Digi al Business. In he 1980s, da abase ech-
nologies laid he g oundwo k o in o ma ion managemen ,
ep esen ing he i s majo s ide in digi al echnologies.
The 1990s saw a shi om he cen alized main ame a chi-
ec u e o dis ibu ed sys ems. This ansi ion included he
adop ion o dis ibu ed compu ing a chi ec u es (Hi schheim
& Klein, 2012) and dis ibu ed p ocesses (Ma kus & Rowe,
2023), challenging he p e iously dominan main ame
pa adigm.
Wi h he widesp ead accessibili y o he in e ne in he
la e 1990s, he esea ch ocus pi o ed o unde s anding
communica ion and connec i i y. In he 2010s, digi al pla -
o ms allowed he connec ion o mul iple g oups, such as
p oduce s and consume s, enabling ansac ions a a la ge
scale, and cloud compu ing echnology changed compa-
nies’ and esea che s’ pe cep ions o compu ing powe and
s o age. This e a also wi nessed he ise o alue o e ings
such as SaaS, ans o ming how businesses u ilized so -
wa e (Benlian & Hess, 2011). La e in he 2010s, ad ances
in ha dwa e echnology led o he p oli e a ion o com-
pac and powe ul connec ed de ices. Sma phones domi-
na ed cus ome ma ke s, while he in e ne o hings (IoT)
became in eg al o business ope a ions. Cu en ly, machine
lea ning is a pi o al echnology, p o oundly in luencing
nume ous esea ch s eams. Globally, i is a key enable
o Digi al Inno a ions in digi ally suppo ed companies
(Padmanabhan e al., 2022). This echnology e en chal-
lenges ou unde s anding o human and compu e capabili-
ies (Schue z & Venka esh, 2020).
Domains
Thi d, Digi al Inno a ions in dis inc business domains con-
s i u e ano he Digi al Business pe spec i e. This pe spec i e
was once e med “IT-based o ganiza ions” and concen a ed
on p ocess edesign (Ma kus & Benjamin, 1997). Howe e ,
i s scope has expanded o include changes in p oduc s, se -
ices, and business models. I has hus widened in o “digi al
ans o ma ion” (Ca oll e al., 2023; Riedl e al., 2023),
and we hus ca ego ize domains in o he business li ecycle
phase, he indus y in which he inno a ion is used, and he
business unc ions ha ha e adop ed Digi al Inno a ions
o e ime.
In he domain o business li ecycle phases, Digi al Inno-
a ions we e ini ially adop ed by es ablished businesses in
he 1980s. These businesses a e conside ed digi ally sup-
po ed companies because digi al echnologies we e ypi-
cally no cen al o hei alue c ea ion. These businesses
nei he sell so wa e no ha dwa e, and hei op ions o
de ia ing om hei co e alue p oposi ion a e limi ed
(Ma e al., 2015). Thei co e se ice p ocesses, howe e ,
a e based on digi al solu ions, allowing hem o be mo e e i-
cien and p o ide be e alue o cus ome s han compe i o s.
Resea ch on an ea lie business li ecycle phase — s a -ups
— has ecen ly gained impo ance. IT plays a subs an ial
ole in suppo ing en ep eneu ial ac ions in his con ex ,
highligh ing he deep in e winemen o digi al echnologies
and business (S eininge e al., 2022). Resea ch on s a -ups
p ima ily ocuses on he speci ics o digi al en u es a he
in e sec ion o change esea ch and en u ing, o en e e ed
o as “digi al en ep eneu ship.”
Ou second domain, indus ies, shows how app oaches o
applying Digi al Inno a ions di e . Wo k low managemen
sys ems deeply impac ed he manu ac u ing indus y because
hey allowed o e icien and da a-d i en p ocesses. Today,
his indus y applies Digi al Inno a ions in “sma ” manu-
ac u ing sys ems ha use senso , ne wo k, and da abase
echnologies o un hei ope a ions (Van De Aals e al.,
2016). In banking, he inno a i e use o IT has been playing
a signi ican ole since he ea ly 1990s (Bebbing on e al.,
1991; Ho & Mallick, 2010). Se ice p o ide s we e nex o
adop Digi al Inno a ions in o hei alue c ea ion and in e -
nal p ocesses, digi izing hei se ice o e ings and ende ing
hem mo e accessible o cus ome s. Digi al-d i en companies
ha e digi al solu ions embedded in hei co e alue c ea ion,
p oduc ion, and cul u e. The i s examples eme ged in he
media indus y. These a e closely ollowed by inancial (Fin-
Tech) and insu ance echnology companies wi h ully digi al
ope a ions (Chanias e al., 2019) and e ailing (S ieninge
e al., 2019), whe e Amazon and Alibaba a e ma ke leade s.
Elec onic Ma ke s (2024) 34:4646 Page 8 o 13
Ou hi d domain conce ns business unc ions. P oduc-
ion di isions we e among he i s o adop IS in he 1980s,
when many companies in oduced compu e -in eg a ed p o-
duc ion (Schee , 1986). New o ganiza ional o ms, known
as new managemen sys ems (Pico e al., 2023), ep esen
one o he ea lies esea ch s eams ocusing on s uc u es.
These sys ems ha e e ol ed using digi al echnologies o
add ess spa ial, empo al, and esou ce-based cons ain s.
O en s a ing wi h accoun ing, sp eadshee p og ams we e
adop ed company-wide in many o ganiza ions in he 1990s
due o hei high usabili y (G anlund & Mou i sen, 2003).
The in e ope abili y o sp eadshee s and businesses’ empha-
sis shi o co e p ocesses led o ou sou cing becoming a
p e alen business p ac ice (Dibbe n e al., 2004). On he
cus ome side, ma ke ing and consume beha io esea ch
we e undamen ally changed by IT use (S one e al., 2007).
Finally, no el capabili ies o machine lea ning and p ocess
managemen ha e gi en way o adop ing Digi al Inno a ions
in human esou ce p ocesses as well as o he unc ions o
business (e.g., Flo kowski and Oli as-Luján (2006)).
Me hods o implemen a ion
Finally, Digi al Business can be iewed om he pe spec-
i e o me hods o implemen a ion. We di e en ia e his
pe spec i e in o managemen app oaches and a i ac s o
implemen ing Digi al Inno a ions in businesses. Al hough
implemen ing hese is inhe en ly in e disciplina y, ou dis-
cussion ocuses on changes ele an o he socio echnical
lens o in o ma ion sys ems.
CxOs mos ly d o e managemen app oaches. The chie
in o ma ion o ice (CIO) o ganiza ion eme ged when IT
shi ed om i s suppo ing ole o becoming a compe i-
i e ad an age. CIOs led o ganiza ions o adop business-
d i en app oaches o u ilize in o ma ion and IT (Peppa d
e al., 2011), and e iews indica e ha CIOs ha e ope a ed
in di e en oles, such as echnology p o ide o in eg a ion
ad iso (Hü e & Riedl, 2017). Howe e , as equi emen s
e ol ed om gaining compe i i e ad an ages o s a egically
implemen ing changes o p ocesses, p oduc s, and business
models, he ole o a chie digi al o ice (CDO) eme ged
(Singh & Hess, 2017). The CDO o ganiza ion ocuses on
d i ing “business alue om digi al echnologies” (Tumbas
e al., 2020, p. 122).
Me hods o implemen a ion also encompass a i ac s. In
he mid-1980s, businesses began employing p ocess man-
agemen me hods o align in e nal ope a ions (Hi schheim
& Klein, 2012). These me hods e ol ed om wo k low
managemen o business p ocess edesign, business p ocess
managemen , and p ocess mining ( an de Aals , 2016). By
he ea ly 2000s, he ad en o he in e ne spa ked esea ch
in o me hodological a i ac s o de eloping business mod-
els and ma ke o e ings, a key aspec o Digi al Business.
Seminal me hodologies, such as he Business Model Can as
(Os e walde & Pigneu , 2011), acili a ed he de elopmen
o adap a ion o alue p oposi ions and business models.
Consequen ly, a pa adigm cen e ed a ound alue p oposi-
ions eme ged: combining digi al echnologies and business
concep s in o Digi al Inno a ions o c ea e ma ke o e ings
(Wiesböck & Hess, 2020). Subsequen ly, so wa e-based and
p oduc -cen ic ecosys ems eme ged (Benlian e al., 2015;
Tiwana e al., 2010). Ecosys ems should be dis inguished
om digi al pla o ms, which a e concep ualized as ig-
ge ing echnologies (see Fig.3). Digi al pla o ms a e ech-
nological amewo ks ha connec mul iple g oups, such as
p oduce s and consume s, enabling in e ac ions and ans-
ac ions. Digi al pla o ms a e cha ac e ized by in e media-
ion, ne wo k e ec s, scalabili y, and da a-d i en ope a ions,
wi h common e enue models including ansac ion ees
and o he o ms o paymen (Ceccagnoli e al., 2012; Pa ke
e al., 2017). P ominen examples include Ube and Ai bnb.
In con as , digi al ecosys ems a e in e connec ed ne wo ks
o pla o ms, echnologies, se ices, and s akeholde s ha
collabo a e o c ea e and cap u e alue (Tan e al., 2015).
They emphasize in e connec edness, co-c ea ion, inno a ion,
adap abili y, and complexi y, exempli ied by Apple’s ecosys-
em, which includes ha dwa e (iPhone, iPad), so wa e (iOS,
macOS), se ices (iCloud, Apple Music), and hi d-pa y
app de elope s.
Bo h pla o ms and ecosys ems ely on digi al in as uc-
u e, aim o c ea e alue, bene i om ne wo k e ec s, and
use a ious mone iza ion s a egies. Howe e , pla o ms
a e usually single en i ies wi h speci ic ocuses (e.g., Ube ,
Ai bnb), while ecosys ems encompass b oade se ices,
in ol ing mul iple independen en i ies (e.g., Apple’s eco-
sys em). Pla o ms ypically inno a e in e nally, whe eas
ecosys ems le e age open inno a ion om di e se pa ici-
pan s. Unde s anding hese nuances helps businesses e ec-
i ely use pla o ms and ecosys ems o enhance compe i i e-
ness and d i e g ow h. Mo eo e , while so wa e is cen al
o economic ac i i y in ecosys ems and pla o ms, esea ch
has shown ha hei go e nance is c i ical o hei p ope
unc ioning (Benlian e al., 2015).
Th ee le e s o p omo ing hein eg a ed
iew
Concep ualizing and de ining a e only ini ial s eps owa d
in eg a ing an academic ield. While he agmen a ion
and di e ging unde s anding o opics can h ea en he
cohesion o scien i ic disciplines and ields (Sa ke e al.,
2019), cohesion mus also ansla e in o esea ch, eaching,
and p ac ice. The e o e, we p esen h ee s a ing poin s
ha could suppo he in eg a ion o he Digi al Business
ield.