Welcome to the July issue of the Technology Innovation Management Review. This issue consists of a mixture of “Insights” into digital platforms, data analytics, data-driven business models, digitalization, international business, digital entrepreneurship, digital technologies, SMEs, foresight, and innovation, with uses cases in the food industry, the circular economy, and tourism.

The issue begins with “The Role of Analytics in Data-Driven Business Models (DDBMs) of Multi-Sided Platforms (MSPs): An exploration in the food industry” by Diane Isabelle, Mika Westerlund, Mohnish Mane and Seppo Leminen. The authors present research on digital platforms, a theme of growing familiarity in the TIM Review, with a study of DDBMs related to the food industry. They note that “many aspiring MSPs lack effective strategies for using data to establish a profitable data-driven business model” (p. 5), and that “[s]tudies on DDBM of MSPs in the food industry context are practically non-existent in spite of several fundamental changes in consumer behaviours, along with novel offerings and business models”. (p. 8) From their study, they identify eight key factors involved for companies with data-based analytics and value creation, as well as elaborating on the notion of “boosters” for MSPs, that can help companies integrate DDBMs in their strategic planning.

This is followed by Gabriel Linton and Christina Öberg’s “A Conceptual Development of a Business Model Typology in Tourism: the impact of digitalization and location”. Their primary aim is “to conceptually develop a business model typology in the tourism sector” (p. 17). The authors identify and discuss four business model archetypes: (1) bricks and mortar business models, (2) digitalized destinations, (3) create-a-destination, and (4) intermediary business models. The authors argue that “it is not only about matching business models with the tourism sector, but also about taking contextual factors into consideration” (p. 23). Their research takes a configurational approach to look at various features of digitalization, location, and technology in exploring how they impact tourism business models.

Annaële Hervé, Christophe Schmitt and Rico Baldegger continue the “Internationalization and Digitalization” theme from their previous article in the April 2020 TIM Review (https://timreview.ca/article/1343). Here they focus on SMEs in “Applying digital technologies to the internationalization process of small and medium-sized enterprises”. Their research on international business and digital entrepreneurship opens new ways of analyzing how companies are adapting and adjusting to incoming digital technologies, which they believe can be used to the advantage of SMEs. The strategies and models in this paper can be of value for companies looking to expand their products or services in global markets with the aid of online tools, services, and digital platforms.

The final paper is “Using Foresight to Shape Future Expectations in Circular Economy SMEs” by Anne-Mari Järvenpää, Iivari Kuuntu and Mikko Mäntyneva. The authors encourage companies and innovators to begin planning for the near future by using “foresight” principles, which they apply to the sustainability-focused topic of the “circular economy”. The attention on SMEs in their research involves “how companies predict future changes, challenges, and opportunities in their operational environment considering the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (PESTEL) aspects” (p. 44). They then apply the PESTEL framework to conduct a qualitative case study on seven Finnish circular economy-oriented SMEs. Their aim by comparing these SMEs is to identify competitive advantages for companies that are coming up with new innovations and customer solutions.

The TIM Review currently has a Call for Papers on the website for a special edition on “Aligning Multiple Stakeholder Value Propositions”. For future issues, we invite general submissions of articles on technology entrepreneurship, innovation management, and other topics relevant to launching and scaling technology companies, and solving practical problems in emerging domains. Please contact us with potential article ideas and submissions, or proposals for future special issues.

All Keywords:

Digital platforms, data analytics, data-driven business models DDBM boosters, food industry, business models, configurations, destination, digitalization, location, technology, tourism, typology, internationalization, international business, digital entrepreneurship, digitalization, digital technologies, SMEs, foresight, circular economy, SMEs, innovation, PESTEL.