Tal Berman, Daniel Schallmo and Sascha Kraus
To augment sales revenue, B2B digital start-ups aim to create and sustain commercial relationships with industry incumbents. However, since these incumbents have traditionally…
Abstract
Purpose
To augment sales revenue, B2B digital start-ups aim to create and sustain commercial relationships with industry incumbents. However, since these incumbents have traditionally struggled with implementing disruptive digital artifacts, most studies have almost exclusively concentrated on their challenges, leaving the digital start-ups' side underexplored. Therefore, this study seeks to understand how digital start-ups navigate digital implementation (DI) hardships to ultimately achieve digital entrepreneurship success.
Design/methodology/approach
An abductive explanatory multi-case study of four industries that pose a variety of implementation challenges for B2B digital start-ups (agriculture, insurance, real estate and construction, and healthcare) was conducted using data collected from 40 interviews with Israeli experts and relevant digital data observations.
Findings
This study articulates two main observations. (1) Throughout their journeys, digital start-ups have utilized newly created and/or refined dynamic capabilities (DC) to successfully implement their digital artifacts. Simultaneously, successful DI has enabled digital start-ups to create new DC or sustain and evolve current DC. (2) We provide empirical evidence outlining how digital start-ups using continuous learning have combined causation and effectuation logic throughout their DI journeys.
Originality/value
This study answers a call to explore more explicit digital-related drivers (i.e. DI) for digital entrepreneurship success by studying a highly-ranked country on the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) to achieve this. Moreover, it illustrates how digital start-ups evolve throughout their commercial relationships with industry incumbents, thereby enabling an effective approach for successful DI. Such an approach can be considered very valuable for both practitioners and policymakers. Consequently, it advances digital entrepreneurship as an independent research topic.
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Mehreen Malik, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq, Naukhez Sarwar and Madiha Gohar
We explore the skills required for digital leadership for reshaping existing business models toward digital models. Digital leadership is pivotal in gaining a competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
We explore the skills required for digital leadership for reshaping existing business models toward digital models. Digital leadership is pivotal in gaining a competitive advantage and achieving successful digital transformation. However, little is known with regard to the underlying mechanisms related to digital leadership and transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected through semi-structured interviews involving 20 participants from five Pakistani textile companies. Thematic analysis was employed as a data analysis tool.
Findings
Findings show that certain skills such as technological know-how, innovativeness, adaptability, ability to lead and steer, honesty, integrity, transformative vision, communication and collaboration are conducive to successful digital transformation in textile manufacturing firms. Similarly, digital leaders can significantly enhance business model innovation, create value for the firm, help develop new products (value proposition) and create Ecosystem partnerships (value network).
Originality/value
This article bridges gaps between existing literature on digital transformation and leadership. Digital leadership skills for digital transformation and the role of digital leaders in business model innovation have not been explored before. The conceptual framework is put forth, propositions are proposed and the findings offer some future research directions.
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Mehreen Malik, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq, Naukhez Sarwar and Adeel Tariq
Scholars and practitioners acknowledge that digital leadership can help organizations gain a competitive advantage. This article focuses on the characteristics, styles and skills…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars and practitioners acknowledge that digital leadership can help organizations gain a competitive advantage. This article focuses on the characteristics, styles and skills needed for effective digital leadership. It looks at the role of digital leaders in innovating business models and introducing organizational change required for a successful digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a comprehensive literature review of digital transformation, digital leadership, business model innovation, and organizational culture. It draws on institutional theory (INT) the neo-institutional theory (NIT). It draws from Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar publications. A proposition and a conceptual framework are developed based on evaluating and synthesizing the literature.
Findings
We find that specific leader characteristics (agility, participative, innovativeness and openness), styles (democratic and transformational) and skills (cognitive, social, technological and digital) enable successful business model innovation and organizational change, all of which allow successful digital transformation of firms.
Originality/value
The literature on digital transformation has not been well integrated with the leadership literature. This is particularly true in terms of the role digital leaders play in the successful digital transformation of firms. The conceptual framework and a way forward proposed in this paper introduce future research directions on the topic.
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Kumar Saurabh, Ridhi Arora, Neelam Rani, Debasisha Mishra and M. Ramkumar
Digital transformation (DT) leverages digital technologies to change current processes and introduce new processes in any organisation’s business model, customer/user experience…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital transformation (DT) leverages digital technologies to change current processes and introduce new processes in any organisation’s business model, customer/user experience and operational processes (DT pillars). Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in achieving DT. As DT is touching each sphere of humanity, AI led DT is raising many fundamental questions. These questions raise concerns for the systems deployed, how they should behave, what risks they carry, the monitoring and evaluation control we have in hand, etc. These issues call for the need to integrate ethics in AI led DT. The purpose of this study is to develop an “AI led ethical digital transformation framework”.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the literature survey, various existing business ethics decision-making models were synthesised. The authors mapped essential characteristics such as intensity and the individual, organisational and opportunity factors of ethics models with the proposed AI led ethical DT. The DT framework is evaluated using a thematic analysis of 23 expert interviews with relevant AI ethics personas from industry and society. The qualitative data of the interviews and opinion data has been analysed using MAXQDA software.
Findings
The authors have explored how AI can drive the ethical DT framework and have identified the core constituents of developing an AI led ethical DT framework. Backed by established ethical theories, the paper presents how DT pillars are related and sequenced to ethical factors. This research provides the potential to examine theoretically sequenced ethical factors with practical DT pillars.
Originality/value
The study establishes deduced and induced ethical value codes based on thematic analysis to develop guidelines for the pursuit of ethical DT. The authors identify four unique induced themes, namely, corporate social responsibility, perceived value, standard benchmarking and learning willingness. The comprehensive findings of this research, supported by a robust theoretical background, have substantial implications for academic research and corporate applicability. The proposed AI led ethical DT framework is unique and can be used for integrated social, technological and economic ethical research.
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This article aims to explore legal challenges regarding the regulation and supervision of Islamic Fintech and to construct Sharia compliance regulations to strengthen the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore legal challenges regarding the regulation and supervision of Islamic Fintech and to construct Sharia compliance regulations to strengthen the supervision of Islamic Fintech operation.
Design/methodology/approach
This type of research is legal research, adopting the statute approach, comparative approach, and conceptual approach. The focus of the study is Indonesia with comparative studies with Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
Findings
Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom are all on the top five countries in the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Index. The list comprises countries that are most conducive to the growth of the Islamic Fintech market and ecosystem. However, weak supervision and low Sharia compliance are still becoming prominent challenges in the implementation of Islamic Fintech, while Sharia compliance is the core principle for Islamic finance regulation. Another finding is that a good ecosystem of Islamic Fintechs needs supportive regulations and policies, a Sharia Supervisory Board, and standards of Islamic Fintech Shariah governance.
Research limitations/implications
This study examines the regulation and supervision of Islamic Fintech in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom countries whose Islamic Fintech industry is growing rapidly.
Practical implications
This study is a strong reference for countries with potential Islamic finance, especially when they are constructing the Sharia compliance regulations to strengthen the regulation and supervision of the Islamic finance industries.
Social implications
Sharia compliance regulations can be a subsystem in the Islamic financial ecosystem to encourage Sharia economic growth in various countries.
Originality/value
To ensure Sharia compliance, it is recommended to take some steps: (a) creating the Sharia compliance regulations; (b) creating the Sharia supervisory boards; and (c) standardizing the Sharia governance of Islamic Fintech.
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Álvaro Nicolás-Agustín, Daniel Jiménez-Jiménez, Francisco Maeso Fernandez and Christian Di Prima
This study presents a model for assessing the effects of employee ICT training on organizations’ results. It also introduces digital transformation as a mediator between the two…
Abstract
Purpose
This study presents a model for assessing the effects of employee ICT training on organizations’ results. It also introduces digital transformation as a mediator between the two concepts and studies the role of organizational commitment and human capital in terms of digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys were completed by the CEOs of 184 Spanish companies, and their responses were analyzed with Partial Least Squares.
Findings
The results empirically analyze the proposed theoretical model and highlight the fact that human capital and organizational commitment partially mediate the link between ICT training and digital transformation. Furthermore, there is a direct relationship between ICT training and company performance.
Practical implications
Directors and managers should invest more resources in the human capital of their company through ICT training. In fact, it can improve organizational commitment, encouraging employees to adopt innovative behaviors, thus allowing for the necessary digital transformation.
Originality/value
Despite heavy theoretical emphasis on the study of the conditions necessary for the digital transformation of companies, few studies have empirically analyzed the effects of adopting certain practices for its implementation. This paper focuses on analyzing the effect of ICT training, which is configured as a tool capable of improving staff knowledge and increasing employee commitment. This is essential for adopting organizational change such as digital transformation.
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The study aims to embrace the lingering call for more empirical studies that can theorize the role of digital platforms in digital entrepreneurship. Hence, this study seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to embrace the lingering call for more empirical studies that can theorize the role of digital platforms in digital entrepreneurship. Hence, this study seeks to reveal the liminal space entrepreneurial experience of third-party application developers, by investigating how the platform boundary resources promote third-party entrepreneurial actions, as they transition through the disoriented, uncertain and ambiguous processes of digital entrepreneurship development.
Design/methodology/approach
To conduct this investigation, an expert interview qualitative method was used. This approach is a well-established technique in the field of social sciences, which allowed a detailed exploration of the theory of liminality. Liminality refers to the transitional phase that individuals or groups experience when moving from one social or cultural context to another. The expert interview method is appropriate for this study because it involves engaging with knowledgeable individuals who have extensive experience and expertise in the subject area being investigated. Through in-depth and unstructured interviews, the experts were able to provide valuable insights and perspectives about the phenomenon investigated.
Findings
The research findings demonstrate that digital platform boundary resources play a significant role in the behaviour of third-party developers’ who engage in the development of digital entrepreneurship in today’s market. The study highlights three ways that show how these resources (software development kit (SDK), API, integrated development environment (IDE), libraries, frameworks) enable third-party developers to create new applications that are used to pursue entrepreneurship in a digital platform, leading to increased user engagement and revenue generation.
Originality/value
The research addresses the critical roles of digital platform boundary resources in digital entrepreneurship development processes. Also, using liminality theory, the research explicated the core experiences of third-party developers as they navigated the challenges and ambiguities experienced in the pursuit of entrepreneurship. Thus, contributing to the existing body of knowledge in literature and practice.
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Natasha Saqib and Mir Shahid Satar
Emerging markets are witnessing rapid changes in their economy owing to the ongoing liberalization and globalization. India, as one of the emerging markets in south Asia, is also…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging markets are witnessing rapid changes in their economy owing to the ongoing liberalization and globalization. India, as one of the emerging markets in south Asia, is also experiencing a dramatic change in its business ecosystem. This poses huge opportunities to the companies, both start-ups and established ones. In this direction, the business model innovation offers a strategic renewal mechanism. The study aims to explore the practices of an online transport network company (OLA) creating a distinctive place for itself in Indian taxi service sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodologically, an exploratory case study of an India-based online transport company (OLA) business model innovation is reported.
Findings
This paper reveals that OLA has been able to gain competitive advantage in the Indian emerging market by developing an innovative business model with its distinctive features of personalised customer service, asset sharing, usage-based pricing, collaborative ecosystem, agile and adaptive organising and successful expansion strategies.
Research limitations/implications
This study adds to current knowledge concerning the theoretical foundations and antecedents of business model innovation as a competitive advantage. The paper is explorative in nature because the analysis is mostly based on literature review. Furthermore, in consideration of the analysis of business model of a single company, further research is required to generalize the results.
Practical implications
The understanding of the intricacies of business model innovation can be of great concern to existing and prospective managers and entrepreneurs of emerging markets.
Originality/value
The paper discusses the features of innovative business models and how firms can make their business models more relevant to the competitive markets. As such, the study is hopeful to aid practitioners engaged in the pursuit of beating the competition with innovation driven business models.