Value Proposition Design Pattern for IoT Businesses

This study extracts patterns of business models that leverage the Internet of Things (IoT). The authors have developed a digital innovation design method for IoT businesses. This method consists of four design steps—value design, system design, strategy design, and project design. However, for firms that are new to digital innovation, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, it is difficult to consider what type of value to propose using digital technology in the value design step. Therefore, this study analyzes 50 IoT business cases and extracts patterns of value design. These design patterns are expected to make digital innovation design more effective and efficient. Several studies have already identified characteristic items in the building blocks of the business model canvas for IoT businesses. This study extracts the patterns among these items of the building blocks and connects them to the digital innovation design method, which is a novel and original aspect of this study.