“Ideation is Fine, but Execution is Key”: How Incumbent Companies Realize Data-Driven Business Models

Realizing innovative ways of data usage and monetization are considered to be important for companies in many industries today. Hence, companies are developing multiple approaches for developing and realizing data-driven business models (DDBM). Current research provides the first methods to support the design of DDBM. However, empirically grounded knowledge on how incumbent companies realize DDBM is scarce. To close this gap, we interviewed experts from multiple industries to learn from their experiences. Based on 45 cases, we developed four DDBM realization case types. Grounded on the case analysis, we identified four execution periods that companies pass through during DDBM realization. Finally, we compared the findings from this study to a DDBM realization process, which was developed based on the synthesis of literature. The results contribute to a better understanding of DDBM realization by drawing on a rich set of cases.