BTECH research seminar

Title: Selling and Monetizing Data in B2B markets

Abstract:
Data has become a powerful source of competitive advantage in contemporary business markets, enabling vendors to create completely new and/or enhanced value propositions. However, while many firms can generate a lot of data from their business, they struggle to translate it into sellable offerings. Similarly, while a growing body of prior literature has explored how firms can create value from data, it has paid less attention on how firms can capture value from data. To address this issue, the purpose of this study is to examine how industrial firms can sell and monetize data in B2B markets. Based on an extensive multiple case study, this paper identifies four archetypical data-driven value propositions (data as a product, data-enhanced products, data-driven services, data-enabled performance outcomes) and illuminates the key data-related capabilities and challenges that are related to each value proposition. The findings of this study contribute to the contemporary business marketing, innovation, and technology management literatures by illustrating how industrial vendors can harness,  package, and monetize data in B2B markets. For managers, this study offers important insights on the alternative strategies and capabilities needed to sell and monetize data in B2B markets.

Bio:
Paavo Ritala is a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at the School of Business and Management at LUT University, Finland. His main research themes include ecosystems and platforms, the role of data and digital technologies in organizations, collaborative innovation, sustainable business models, and circular economy. His research has been published in journals such as Journal of Management, Research Policy, Journal of Product Innovation Management, R&D Management, Technovation, Long Range Planning, Industrial and Corporate Change & California Management Review, and received over 10 000 citations in Google Scholar. He is closely involved with business practice through research projects, executive and professional education programs, and in speaker and advisory roles. Prof. Ritala is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of R&D Management and he serves in the editorial review board of Journal of Product Innovation Management.