DIGITAL VALUE CHAINS – A RESEARCH AGENDA

Abstract

Value chains have ever been subject to technological change. In recent years, digital technologies have enabled the rise of digital platforms that shaped how value chain players interact with each other whereby platform value chains reveal a specific architecture of a powerful platform core and a surrounding ecosystem of different players that participate in different ways in the value creation process. Most recently, new digital technologies such as Internet of Things and Distributed Ledgers like Blockchain are on the rise. These technologies can enable an interaction of different value chain players without the necessity of an intermediate, e.g., a platform core, which is subject to future research. This paper proposes a research agenda for this topic around three major areas: (1) the creation and maintenance of trust among value chain participants, (2) the way how coordination will happen between different value chain players and (3) which business models might evolve or disappear and how value creation and capture will look like once these digital technologies are utilized in value chains.