Now showing 1 - 10 of 20
  • Publication
    Understanding the Business Value: Towards a Taxonomy of Industrial Use Scenarios enabled by Cyber-Physical Systems in the Equipment Manufacturing Industry
    (Association for Information Systems, 2015-05) ; ; ;
    The trend of digitalization provides new opportunities for industrial equipment manufactures as sensor technology and ubiquitous connectivity become part of the equipment. In particular, cyber-physical systems (CPSs) enable digital innovation for the industrial product and service business by improving operational efficiencies, facilitating innovative hybrid business models, and fuelling servitization in manufacturing. Despite the new opportunities, so far no research has been conducted to investigate and classify configurations and affordances of this new technology. To gain both a broad and in-depth understanding of use scenarios and added-value of CPSs for the service business in the equipment industry, a multi-method approach is chosen: a systematic literature review as well as case study research are conducted. Grounded in existing literature and based on empirical data of 45 use scenarios, we propose a taxonomy to classify use scenarios enabled by CPSs in the equipment industry. This work contributes to the theoretical body of knowledge by proposing a taxonomy of use scenarios enabled by CPSs. The taxonomy can be (1) leveraged to categorize use scenarios of CPSs in the equipment manufacturing industry and (2) used as a framework for further research. Practitioners can use the taxonomy to classify and compare use scenarios as well as identify business model archetypes.
  • Publication
    Empowering Technical Customer Service by Cyber-Physical Industrial Equipment: Exploring Rationales, Opportunities, and Impediments
    (Association for Information Systems, 2015-07-06) ; ;
    Against the backdrop of digital innovation, new opportunities to empower technical customer service (TCS) for industrial equipment are emerging. Despite the currently available technological capabili-ties, organizations struggle to harness the potential of industrial equipment becoming cyber-physical. Cyber-physical capabilities of industrial equipment equipped with sensors, connectivity, and actua-tors, play a particularly pivotal role in providing more efficient and effective TCS support systems. This paper is an attempt to shed initial light onto this emerging topic. Based on 11 explorative case studies with organizations in the industrial service ecosystem, we first recognize changing service business models, the rise of independent TCS organizations, and a shrinking workforce as major ra-tionales for leveraging cyber-physical industrial equipment for TCS. Second, our inquiry identifies remote service, the ability to predict and trigger service activities, and the provisioning of operational equipment information to TCS staff as opportunities for application. Third, we pinpoint impediments to the fast implementation and adoption of cyber-physical capabilities to harness them for TCS pro-cesses. We believe that these findings may help practitioners to understand the relevance and potential of the embedded emerging digital capabilities and to pave the way towards effectively harnessing cyber-physical industrial equipment by identifying key impediments to successful usage.
  • Publication
    An E-mail Embedded Software Prototype for Knowledge Management
    (Association for Information Systems, 2016-05) ; ;
    Against the backdrop of today’s knowledge economy and a strong pervasion of e-mail in enterprises, the paper at hand presents an e-mail embedded software prototype for knowledge management. Although information systems literature esteems the research field of e-mail- related knowledge management as phenomenon, few contributions have been made in artifact- based and problem-oriented research. As existing software applications lack in specificity and currency, a tailored information technology artifact grounded on the unique characteristics of e- mail has been developed in a joint university-industry project following the design science research methodology. “Memoro” facilitates knowledge capture/creation and knowledge sharing/dissemination. Core functionality is the lightweight storage and extraction of e-mail- related information to and from a central repository. With the limitation of a customized prototype, first evaluation results indicate that integrating knowledge management into the daily e-mail routine enables knowledge-intensive businesses to deal with their knowledge in more effective and efficient ways. From a research perspective, “Memoro” might serve scholars as origin for further research. We contribute to the body of knowledge by providing (1) an early version of an innovative design artifact and (2) a concept-centric literature review.
  • Publication
    Understanding the Business Value of Intelligent Products for Product Development in Manufacturing Industries
    (Association for Computing Machinery, 2016-11) ; ;
    Intelligent products are transforming manufacturing industries and offer new opportunities for business innovation. As little is known about the business value of intelligent products for product development, this exploratory paper aims to provide guidance. Empirical data from case studies and focus groups and a structured literature review suggest that a positive impact on every product development stage exists. More specifically, findings propose that intelligent products enable (1) transparency generation on market opportunities, (2) specification of requirements, (3) customer- and user-centric product portfolio planning, (4) design and process planning for usage, (5) shortening and replacing of physical prototyping and field testing, and (6) superordinate benefits. With the inherent limitations of a case study approach, we supply scholars and practitioners with first exploratory insights into this emerging research field.
  • Publication
    Mapping the Field of Product Lifecycle Management: A Bibliometric Study
    (Institute of Information Management of the University of St.Gallen, 2018-01)
    In today’s competitive economy the systematic development and management of industrial products has become a central issue for manufacturers. In this paper, the field of product lifecycle management is mapped to tribute to its colorful past and promising future. Therefore, a set of well-established bibliometric methods – i.e. (1) citation analysis, (2) co-citation analysis, (3) bibliographic coupling analysis, (4) co-author analysis, and (5) co-word analysis – provides a suitable methodological vehicle. Essential results comprise (1) the documents, authors, and journals with the most impact, (2) the intellectual structure, (3) the intellectual structure of emerging literature, (4) the social structure, and (5) the topics associated with the field. Grounded on these insights, potential avenues for further research are highlighted. Within the characteristic limitations of this kind of literature review, the paper offers content-wise, method-wise, and discipline-wise contributions.
  • Publication
    Mobile Work Support for Field Service: A Literature Review and Directions for Future Research
    Advances in mobile technology and wearable devices as well as enhanced integration between information systems (IS) allow greater efficiency and new service offerings. Especially for location-dependent field service scenarios, new opportunities for hybrid value creation arise. Until now, leveraging sensor data of products and mobile work support for field service mostly remains a promising, yet unused potential. Also, first successes are scattered around various industries going digital. Thus, this paper explores the current state of research on mobile work support for field service by using the methodology of a systematic literature review (SLR). Based on a keyword search yielding 1899 contributions and 94 papers that were analysed in-depth, our contribution is two-fold: First, we present a comprehensive overview of the current state of research and central issues for mobile work support throughout the entire service lifecycle. Second, we outline directions for future research and relevant challenges in theory and practice.
  • Publication
    Digital Product Innovation in Manufacturing Industries - Towards a Taxonomy for Feedback-driven Product Development Scenarios
    (IEEE, 2017-01) ;
    Neiditsch, Gerard
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    In the light of pervasive digitalization, traditional physical products get augmented with digital components that create the potential of making the whole product lifecycle visible for product developers. As numerous opportunities sketch out how feedback such as sensor data might be leveraged for future products, a comprehensive model to describe, particularly a classification model to organize and structure these opportunities seems analytically useful. Hence, this paper pursues a scenario-based approach and proposes a taxonomy for feedback-driven product development scenarios in manufacturing industries. Grounded on (1) empirical data from case studies and focus groups and (2) a systematic literature review, we follow an established taxonomy development method employing the general systems theory as meta-characteristic. With the limitation of a (1) qualitative, interpretive empirical research design and a (2) representative literature review, we contribute to the body of knowledge by shedding light on feedback-driven product development from a classification perspective which may act as structuring and creativity fostering tool.
  • Publication
    Digital Twin Concepts in Manufacturing Industries - A Literature Review and Avenues for Further Research
    (Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers, 2016-10) ; ;
    Within the profound digitalization in manufacturing industries, the concept of a virtual, digital equivalent to a physical product has gained increasingly attention. Labeled as digital twin, product avatar, or cyber-physical equivalence, various manifestations in different contexts can be detected in existing literature. Although both practitioners and researchers predict those digital twin concepts a bright future, it is not clear what the current state of research is. Hence, guided by an established literature review methodology and grounded on an in-depth analysis of 38 articles published in the time period from 2001 to 2016, this paper (1) provides an overview on established concepts, (2) classifies the existing body of literature, (3) provides a lifecycle perspective on applications, and (4) suggests directions for further research. With the limitation of the representative and interpretive character, our review contributes by enhancing transparency and understanding of digital twin concepts and supplying ideas and directions for future work.
  • Publication
    Towards Understanding Closed-Loop PLM: The Role of Product Usage Data for Product Development Enabled by Intelligent Properties
    (Association for Information Systems, 2016-06) ;
    Stoeckli, Emanuel
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    Product lifecycle management (PLM) is a strategy of managing a company’s products all the way across their lifecycles. Empowered by new capabilities, intelligent products enable seamless information flow and thus enable closed-loop PLM. Hence, one phenomenon of particular interest is the appreciation of beginning of life activities through middle of life information. Grounded on empirical data from a multiple-case study in three distinct manufacturing industries, we explore this emergent role of product usage data for product development. In detail, we address rationales, opportunities, conditions, and obstacles. Findings indicate that (1) heterogeneous motives drive the exploitation, (2) a positive impact on every product development stage is perceivable, (3) some products and industry ecosystems are more suitable than others, and (4) technical, economic, and social obstacles challenge the exploitation. With the limitation of an interpretive, qualitative research design, our work represents a first step to understand the role of closed-loop PLM.
  • Publication
    The Evolution of IS Projects in Manufacturing Industries: The Case of Product Lifecycle Management
    In this paper, we explore the evolution of product lifecycle management information systems projects in manufacturing industries over time. There is critical need because initiated projects routinely fail in terms of time, budget, or quality to which the academic discourse has not given adequate consideration. Therefore, we build up on an in-depth case study within the project setting of a leading European automotive supplier kicked-off in January 2016. As central results, the paper provides insights (1) how product lifecycle management information systems projects develop over time, (2) what may be underlying causes, and (3) which implications on project management may be deduced. In view of the limitations by the applied case study research strategy, we illumine the specifics of these information systems projects for scholars. For project managers, an overview on essential developments and their implications supports the successful project execution.