Even though enabling technologies have positive aspects regarding their pervasiveness and vast applicability, their economic impact uncertainty complicates their strategic adoption. 5G opens almost infinite application fields, it may constitute the base for future services. Thus, according to the literature, it may be considered an enabling technology (Teece, 2018). Additionally, only a players' small subset may directly use it at the cost of high investments. Players must face price wars and decreasing revenues. Thus, 5G may strategically overturn the current situation. 5G technology’s literature may be considered mature, given its depth in technology, requirements, application impact, and architecture. Alternatively, its strategic integration within a company suffers from a research lack. The research addresses that gap, investigating the mechanisms 5G may enable and how they could form plausible business models. It adopts a qualitative multiple-case study approach. The researcher collects data from online and semi-structured interviews to a telcos' set, online articles, and website pages. The case sample includes the three biggest physical Italian operators and the second biggest virtual Italian operator. The study elaborates on data through Gioia et al. (2013) and Grounded Theory's approaches, involving coding, within-case, cross-case analysis, and labeling concepts and grouping them into data structures at different levels. The study provides and organizes three main business archetypes within the 5G's strategic adoption: "Pure Carrier", "Vertical Service Provider", and "Orchestrator". The first focuses on providing technology performances and being a horizontal enabler. The second selects target industries and allows access to a specific service. The third one acts as the intermediary between a customer and a capable partner's network. It could help managers to evaluate the current directions and future possibilities. Lastly, the research investigates a phenomenon while it is happening, allowing it to preserve the current sentiment and directions that may be lost in a phenomenon post-analysis.
Nonostante le tecnologie abilitanti abbiano aspetti positivi riguardanti la pervasività e la vasta applicabilità, la loro incertezza nell’impatto economico complica la loro adozione strategica. Il 5G apre a quasi infiniti campi applicativi e potrà costituire la base per i servizi del futuro. Perciò, secondo la letteratura, può essere considerata una tecnologia abilitante (Teece, 2018). Inoltre, si inserisce in un contesto di pochi player diretti che devono fronteggiare guerre di prezzo e ricavi decrescenti, ed alti investimenti. Quindi, il 5G può strategicamente ribaltare questa situazione. La letteratura tecnica del 5G può considerarsi mature, data la sua profondità nella tecnologia, architettura, requisiti e impatto applicativo. Tuttavia, la sua integrazione strategica presenta una mancanza nella letteratura. Questa ricerca si rivolge a questo argomento, investigando i meccanismi che il 5G può attivare e come essi possano formare fattibili modelli di business. Esso adotta un approccio di multipli casi studio qualitativi. Il ricercatore ha collezionato i dati da interviste online e semi-strutturate ad un gruppo di aziende di telecomunicazioni (le tre fisiche più grandi e il secondo più grande virtuale in Italia), articoli online e pagine web. Lo studio ha elaborato i dati con gli approcci di Gioia et al. (2013) e Grounded Theory, utilizzando coding, analisi intra-caso e inter-casi, etichettando i concetti e raggruppandoli in strutture dati in livelli differenti. Lo studio fornisce tre archetipi di business chiave riguardanti l’adozione strategica del 5G: “Pure Carrier”, focalizzato sulle performance tecnologiche ed il diventare un abilitatore orizzontale, “Vertical Service Provider”, il quale sceglie specifiche industrie e ne garantisce un servizio ad hoc, infine “Orchestrator” che funge da intermediario tra il cliente ed una rete di partner fidati. Questo studio può aiutare i manager a valutare le direzioni correnti e future possibilità. Infine, dato che essa valuta un fenomeno in divenire, permette di preservare il sentimento attuale e direzioni che potrebbero essere perse in una analisi post-fenomeno.
the strategic adoption of an enabling technology from a business model perspective: the 5g case
BIANCHERA, SIMONE
2022/2023
Abstract
Even though enabling technologies have positive aspects regarding their pervasiveness and vast applicability, their economic impact uncertainty complicates their strategic adoption. 5G opens almost infinite application fields, it may constitute the base for future services. Thus, according to the literature, it may be considered an enabling technology (Teece, 2018). Additionally, only a players' small subset may directly use it at the cost of high investments. Players must face price wars and decreasing revenues. Thus, 5G may strategically overturn the current situation. 5G technology’s literature may be considered mature, given its depth in technology, requirements, application impact, and architecture. Alternatively, its strategic integration within a company suffers from a research lack. The research addresses that gap, investigating the mechanisms 5G may enable and how they could form plausible business models. It adopts a qualitative multiple-case study approach. The researcher collects data from online and semi-structured interviews to a telcos' set, online articles, and website pages. The case sample includes the three biggest physical Italian operators and the second biggest virtual Italian operator. The study elaborates on data through Gioia et al. (2013) and Grounded Theory's approaches, involving coding, within-case, cross-case analysis, and labeling concepts and grouping them into data structures at different levels. The study provides and organizes three main business archetypes within the 5G's strategic adoption: "Pure Carrier", "Vertical Service Provider", and "Orchestrator". The first focuses on providing technology performances and being a horizontal enabler. The second selects target industries and allows access to a specific service. The third one acts as the intermediary between a customer and a capable partner's network. It could help managers to evaluate the current directions and future possibilities. Lastly, the research investigates a phenomenon while it is happening, allowing it to preserve the current sentiment and directions that may be lost in a phenomenon post-analysis.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2023_07_Bianchera_Executive Summary_02.pdf
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2023_07_Bianchera_Tesi_01.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/206675