Electronic Commerce (EC) companies are faced with a highly competitive environment today. Strengthening user engagement in digital ecosystems is a promising approach to increasing value co-creation. However, enterprise-oriented user engagement strategies examined in previous studies are relatively inadequate to meet today’s expectations. This paper looks to answer the question, “how to effectively strengthen user engagement to acquire a sustainable value co-creation system in EC.” A plausible user engagement strategy was revealed by analyzing a single case study in the music sector based on details of a digital ecosystem. Semi-structured interviews performed with company Xiami along with their users, show that the recognition of user-oriented needs and the expansion of user-driven demands are two key aspects for EC companies to maintain a sustainable growth of value co-creation.

A presente pesquisa apresenta um estudo das Capacidades Digitais a fim de compreende-las e examiná-las melhor, e analisar o impacto dessas capacidades digitais na performance de negócios digitais. A literatura indica que as Capacidades Digitais são um alicerce fundamental a partir do qual os negócios digitais podem transformar a experiência do cliente, os processos operacionais e os modelos de negócios. Do estudo teórico dessas capacidades emergiram as seguintes questões de pesquisa: quais são as capacidades digitais relacionadas a performance de negócios digitais? E, qual o impacto das capacidades digitais na performance de negócios digitais? Para responder essas questões os objetivos gerais estabelecidos são: entender quais são as capacidades digitais relacionadas ao desempenho dos negócios digitais e medir o impacto dos recursos digitais no desempenho dos negócios digitais. A pesquisa é apresentada em quatro artigos que foram desenvolvidos em sequência de acordo com o processo da pesquisa científica para responder à questão de pesquisa. O primeiro é uma revisão sistemática de literatura que foi desenvolvida para entender as capacidades digitais. Esta pesquisa é apresentada no artigo 1. Na sequência, foram desenvolvidos estudos qualitativos, com entrevistas e estudos de caso apresentados nos artigos 2 e 3. O segundo artigo examina as capacidades digitais e seu papel no desempenho dos negócios digitais. O terceiro trabalho foi desenvolvido para entender a relação entre os ecossistemas digitais e o valor dos negócios digitais. Após isso, o modelo de pesquisa foi ajustado e uma pesquisa quantitativa foi realizada para medir o impacto das capacidades digitais no desempenho dos negócios digitais, que é apresentado no artigo 4. Por fim, foi possível entender que um negócio digital necessita desenvolver capacidades a fim de monitorar o ambiente, ser responsiva, ter processos digitais eficientes e deve ser capaz de pertencer a outros ecossistemas, com isso ela conseguirá melhorar sua performance. Além disso, os principais resultados indicam que a capacidade de resposta é um recurso crucial que causa um impacto significativo no desempenho dos negócios digitais. / This research presents a study of digital capabilities in order to better understand these capabilities and the impact of these digital capabilities on digital business performance. The literature indicates that digital capabilities is a critical foundation from which digital business can transform the customer experience, operational processes, and business models. From the theoretical study of these capabilities emerged the following research questions: what are the Digital Capabilities that are related to digital business performance? And, what is the impact of digital capabilities on digital business performance? To answer these questions, the following general objectives were elaborated: to understand what are the digital capabilities that are related to digital business performance, and to measure the impact of digital capabilities on digital business performance. Then research started and is presented in here in four articles that have been developed in sequence in order to answer the research question. So, the first step was a systematic review that was developed in order to understand the digital capabilities state of the art. This research is presented in article 1. In the sequence, qualitative studies were developed, with interviews and case studies presented in article 2 and 3. The second paper examines digital capabilities and their role in the digital business performance. We could better understand the digital capabilities, but it was noticed that ecosystem capability needed more studies as it is a new and fundamental theme for understanding the impact of digital capabilities on the performance of the digital business. So, the third paper was developed to understand the relationship between ecosystems and digital business value. Finally, the research model was adjusted, and a survey was carried out in order to measure the impact of digital capabilities on the performance of the digital business, which is presented in article 4. Finally, it was possible to understand that a digital business should develop digital capabilities in order to be capable of monitoring, being responsive, having efficient digital process and able to belong to other ecosystems what will lead to a improve the digital business performance. In addition, the primary results indicate that responsiveness is a crucial capability that makes a significant impact on digital business performance.

Digital ecosystems are one of the most important strategic issues in the current digital economy. Digital ecosystems are dynamic and generative. They evolve as new firms join and as heterogeneous systems are integrated into other systems. These features digital ecosystems determine economic and technological success in the competition among digital platform systems. However, how these ecosystems evolve over time is not yet clearly known. I describe three empirical essays in order to understand the underlying mechanism of the evolution of a digital ecosystem: 1) the underlying architecture of a digital ecosystem, 2) the evolutionary pattern of a digital ecosystem, 3) and the co-evolution of a digital ecosystem. To explore these topics, I focus on the underlying generative structure of the ecosystem and its evolutionary pattern of WordPress, which is the world largest blog platform system. I collected a comprehensive set of information about the WordPress ecosystem including over 23,000 plug-ins from January 2004 to December 2014. To analyze the data, I apply a network approach to capture the generative nature of digital technology that assumes a fractal-like structure in which digital components such as Application Programming Interfaces (API) cluster into groups that generate other groups over time. As such, I can effectively capture the hierarchical structure of a network by exploring the topological structure of sub-networks that represent the fractal-like evolutionary dynamic system mechanism. The network approach, together with the conventional statistical approach, allows me to understand the unique nature of a digital ecosystem that is different from the boundary of a decomposable system, as the generative nature of system-agnostic digital components builds on a developmental combinable system. I also discuss underlying theory, methodology, data, result, and implications and conclude by highlighting the contributions of this study and the direction of future research to further explore the evolution of digital ecosystems. / Business Administration/Management Information Systems

This bachelor thesis is based on a internship on IBM Sweden within Södertörn University’s bachelor program ’IT, Media and Design’ during the spring semester of 2016, majoring Media technology. The thesis is based on a practical work, which treats the company’s digital presence where I, as a student, stepped in and helped the marketing and communication department. I’ve done a survey of their Swedish digital channels, and business intelligence where I’ve collected details about the Nordic IBM companies digital channel structure and linking between accounts. Maintenance of the Swedish IBMs social media accounts have also been included such as development of an suggestion of an digital ecosystem for future work with the company's digital presence. The information in this thesis is classified as open.

This paper explores the value propositions that exist within ecosystems comprised of organizational and individual actors. The concept of value in general and how value is cocreated in multi-actor networks is explored by using service-dominant logic. The ecosystem is further framed by the intrinsic traits of digital technology as portrayed in The Layered Architecture of Digital Technology. Together, both of these framing conventions create what the paper refers to as a digital service ecosystem. In order to understand the important characteristics of a digital service ecosystem this paper analyzes a case study involving several actors participating in an ecosystem project in northern Sweden. This paper identifies six overarching themes that serve as the basis for three value propositions. A model is introduced as a way to simplify the understanding of each value proposition and how they interact with one another.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-05-27T17:15:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosana Vieira de Souza.pdf: 10043069 bytes, checksum: 6a54f6c82f32e484efaa1ed37e7a5541 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-27T17:15:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosana Vieira de Souza.pdf: 10043069 bytes, checksum: 6a54f6c82f32e484efaa1ed37e7a5541 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-16 / FORD - Programa Internacional de Bolsas de Pós-Graduação da Fundação Ford / O objetivo geral deste estudo é compreender de que forma vêm sendo articuladas táticas de resistência cotidiana dos usuários do ecossistema iOS/Apple. De forma específica, buscamos (1) identificar em que medida os usuários destes sistemas percebem limitações na sua apropriação; (2) compreender como são manifestadas táticas de resistência cotidiana entre diferentes grupos de usuários do ecossistema iOS; (3) discutir possíveis fatores moderadores da percepção de limitações e das táticas de resistência; e (4) compreender de que forma o iOS atua em conjunto com estratégias corporativas de controle da experiência de consumo. Ao longo da trajetória da computação pessoal e da internet, a noção de “abertura” constituiu um valor central na experiência do usuário. O PC conectado e aberto a softwares criados por terceiros se consolidou como artefato generativo em essência (ZITTRAIN, 2006). Sua arquitetura flexível permitia ao usuário alterar os propósitos de usos ao longo da apropriação, para além das configurações imaginadas pelas empresas que os comercializavam. Propomos, assim, uma reflexão acerca do crescente protagonismo de ambientes menos generativos, como é o caso do ecossistema iOS, da Apple. Em conjunto, tecnologia e estratégia promovem o discurso de prover experiências mais personalizadas, otimizadas, estáveis e seguras, pois a generatividade deixa de ser espaço de criação do usuário para ser sinônimo de vulnerabilidade. A partir da Teoria Fundamentada (STRAUSS e CORBIN, 1990) com o auxílio de entrevistas em profundidade, investigamos quatro grupos de usuários: Fanboys, Usuário Padrão, Jailbreakers e Desertores. Os resultados oferecem indícios de que as manifestações e a intensidade da resistência são moderadas pelo envolvimento com a Apple e pela presença do ecossistema de produtos. / The aim of this study is to understand how the users articulate tactics of everyday resistance to iOS/Apple ecosystem. Specifically, we sought to (1) identify the extent to which the users of those systems are aware of its restrictions; (2) understand how tactics of everyday resistance are manifested among different groups of iOS ecosystem users; (3) discuss possible moderating factors of the perceived limitations and resistance tactics; and (4) understand how the iOS interacts with corporate strategies as a way to control the consumer experience. Along the history of personal computing and the Internet, the idea of "openness" has been a core value in the user experience. The connected PC was opened to softwares created by third parties and constituted a generative device in essence (Zittrain, 2006). Its flexible architecture allowed the user to change the purposes of use beyond the scripts defined by companies. Thus, we propose a discussion on the growing importance of less generative environments such as the Apple's iOS ecosystem. Together, technology and strategy promote the discourse of providing more personalized, optimized, stable, and secured experiences, since generativity is no longer a space for creativity to become synonymous with vulnerability. The study is based on the Grounded Theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) through in-depth interviews with four user groups: Fanboys, Standard User, Jailbreakers and Deserters. The present results provide evidence for a moderator role of the involvement with Apple and the ecosystem presence in the manifestation and intensity of resistance.

區塊鏈原為支援比特幣交易所提出的一項分散式演算法，然而，近期各個產業開始對其感到興趣，並在各領域催生出了許多破壞式創新的應用服務。然而其去中心化的特質，使得利害關係人的溝通和資源管理在區塊鏈生態系統中更具挑戰性，並且也興起了許多相關議題。 本研究以賦權理論的觀點去檢視這些議題，並提出方法論來解決改善這些議題，期望能夠加速輔助創業家或服務設計者建立去中心化生態系統的過程，並且讓每位利害關係人認知整個生態系統的共同的目標，進一步的為之作出貢獻，達到能力和資源的綜效。 / Blockchain, a de-centralized infrastructure which can breed many kinds of disruptive applications, is a promising platform for next generation digital ecosystems. All applications built upon blockchain benefits multiple advantages, including transactions manageability, scalability, security, visibility, affordability, high availability, etc. However, stakeholder management in blockchain-based businesses will become a very challenging issue for entrepreneurs to deal with their de-centralize characteristics. Without the management and enforcement of a central party, creating collective efficacy and achieving collective commitment among all stakeholders will be crucial for these entrepreneurs. This research adopts the empowerment perspective to propose a method to solve this issue and facilitate the design of a blockchain ecosystem toward collective efficacy. The method can be divided into three parts. The first is to analyze and collect necessary data from the source of business logic in the context of blockchain smart contract. The second is to utilize these data and liquefy the resources available in the current ecosystem so that the stakeholders can empower each other without the support of central party. The third is to measure the degree of collective efficacy and collective commitment in the ecosystem design in order to identify the effectiveness of our empowerment method.

I den aktuella avhandlingen kommer Alphabet Inc och Facebook Inc som är två av de fem stora techbolagen som ingår i det digitala ekosystemet att analyseras. Alphabet Inc och Facebook Inc har valts ut på grund av deras affärsmodell bygger på att använda privatdata som handelsvara. Dessa företag kommer att analyseras utifrån den privacy paradox som uppstår när användare har kännedom kring deras privata integritet samtidigt som de godkänner användarvillkoren utan att läsa dessa som motstrider deras integritet. Denna studie har använt en enkätundersökning som underlag för att stödja litteratur och författarnas hypotes för att kunna svara på den givna forskningsfrågan. Resultatet visar att dessa företag använder sig av svårförståeliga, långa och komplicerade användarvillkor vilket resulterar till att användaren inte läser igenom dem. Samtidigt finns det en medvetenhet kring den privata integriteten vilket skapar en paradox då användaren ej läser avtalen. De slutsatser som kommer med arbetet är faktorerna som leder till privacy paradoxen samt dess effekter. Samtidigt som implikationer gällande konsekvenser på samhället. / In the current thesis, Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc, which are two of the five major tech companies included in the digital ecosystem, will be analyzed. Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc have been selected because their business model is based on using private data as a commodity. These companies will be analyzed based on the privacy paradox that arises when users have knowledge of their privacy while still agreeing to the terms of service without reading those that conflict with their privacy.  This study has used a survey as a basis to support literature and the authors hypothesis to be able to answer the given research question. The results show that these companies use language that is difficult to understand, long and complicated terms of service, which results in the user not reading through them. At the same time, there is an awareness of the privacy paradox, which creates a paradox when the user does not read the user agreements. The conclusions that come with the work are the factors that lead to the privacy paradox and its effects. At the same time as implications regarding consequences on society.

Digital transformation has led to major shifts in the customer landscape and the roles of distribution channel partners, resulting in implications for the distribution channel strategy of manufacturing firms. Whereas previous research in the field focused primarily on the impact of the shifting customer landscape, a gap in the literature was identified concerning digital transformation in relation to a manufacturing firm's distribution channel strategy. This study therefore aims to explore how the distribution channel strategy of manufacturing firms is affected by digital transformation and what the main challenges are for manufacturers, in order to address these implications. Building on existing work on multi-channel strategies and technological advancements, the main research question is: How can manufacturing firms adapt their distribution channel strategy in the face of digital transformation? An exploratory case study on a manufacturing firm was conducted utilizing semi-structured interviews as the main source of data, and analysis of the case study indicates that digital transformation affects the strategic choices of manufacturing firms related to their end users and channel partners. Based on the findings, the thesis contributes with practical considerations: that manufacturers should adapt the distribution channel strategy by focusing on the transformation of culture towards a holistic ecosystem approach to an integrated multi-channel strategy and by promoting win-win channel partner relationships. Also, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution by generating empirical evidence from a case study of a manufacturing firm, highlighting strategic challenges in the face of digital transformation. / Den digitala transformationen har lett till skiften i hur produkter konsumeras av kunder och vilken roll återförsäljare har i leveransen av dessa, vilket haft konsekvenser för distributionsstrategin för tillverkande bolag. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på multi-kanalstrategier och hur dessa kan utformas av tillverkande bolag, medan färre studier gjorts på den direkta inverkan av den digitala transformationen på ett tillverkande bolags distributionskanalsstrategi. Således identifierades ett gap i tidigare forskning och därför ämnar denna studie utforska konsekvenserna för distributionskanalsstrategion för ett tillverkande av den digitala transformationen samt hur denna kan anpassas för att addressera dessa konsekvenser. Genom att bygga vidare på tidigare forskning inom dessa områden ställs den huvudsakliga forskningsfrågan: hur kan tillverkande bolag anpassa distributionskanalstrategin för att möta konsekvenser av digital transformation? Med den nuvarande forskningen som utgångspunkt genomfördes en undersökande fallstudie av ett svenskt tillverkande företag med semistrukturerade intervjuer som huvudsaklig datainsamling. Analysen av fallstudien visar att digital transformation påverkar de strategiska omständigheterna för ett tillverkande bolag kopplat till förändrande kundbeteenden och rollen av återförsäljare och betonar vikten av samarbete för att integrera distributionskanaler. Baserat på dessa resultat bidrar studien med praktiska överväganden för utformningen av en distributionsstrategi. Slutligen bidrar studien även till forskningen med empiriska data från en fallstudie av ett tillverkande bolag och visar på dess strategiska utmaningar till följd av digital transformation.

區塊鏈是一種高可行性的基礎建設技術，不僅能提高效率、降低建設成本，其交易透明化和避免篡改等特性更使之得以被廣泛應用。由於資訊科技蓬勃發展，互聯網革命伴隨著客戶主導邏輯的興起，平台思維對於服務設計而言早已不敷使用。因此，區塊鏈數位生態系統將成為下一代服務設計的解決方案，強調生態系統中利益相關者的價值共創欲目標追求。 以現況而言，仍有許多服務無法在現實中發展或得以維持，網路效應的影響在數位環境中是極為強大且不容忽視的。我們的研究旨在由此出發衡量區塊鏈數位生態系統的成敗。我們提出的方法能使設計師基於理解關鍵多數的實現和網絡效應水平的大小，來瞭解其設計的可適應性與競爭力，這是一個數位生態系統能否突破真空的關鍵。此方法還提供如何提升設計的指南，使服務設計能更有機會地進入網路效應的爆炸階段。 / Blockchain is an infrastructure technology not only restricted to the financial industry, but also feasible and affordable to facilitating the operation of service provision with efficiency, lower construction cost, information transparency and non-falsified characteristics. By virtue of the information technology booms swiftly, the revolution which Internet brings about, accompanies with the rise of customer-dominant logic, platform thinking is no longer sufficient for the service design. Consequently, blockchain-based digital ecosystem becomes a solution of the next generation’s service design aspect which stresses on value co-creation among all the stakeholders of the ecosystem and proceeds to the same proposition. However, there are many service provisions unable to launch or sustain in reality. The network externality of the Internet is the most powerful, indispensable and un-negligible effect in the digital environment. Our study aims to estimate and measure the success or failure of blockchain-based digital ecosystems from this perspective. We propose a method which enables blockchain-based digital ecosystem designers to comprehend with the adaptability and competitiveness of the fulfillment of the critical mass and the examination of network effect level. They are crucial to pass through the vacuum stage of ecosystem lifetime. The method also provides guides about how to improve the designs in order to have a greater opportunity to get into the explosion stage of ecosystem lifetime.