Track: Engineering Management

Abstract

Adding internet technologies to mechatronic system solutions is the next step for Industry 4.0 and has a high potential for digital platform business models linked with cyber-physical system (CPS). The model of SGE – System Generation Engineering describes the development of systems on subsystem level. So far, no known research investigated a coherent definition explaining a digital platform business model in the model of SGE according to CPS. Within a four-phase methodology, a systematic literature analysis identifies and processes 55 relevant definitions and extracts a data set of 32 definitions after eliminating 23 duplicates. In a semantic analysis, crucial primary and externally linking terms, combined with five case study findings, reveal the artefact, an economic platform with five characteristics. After initially validating the artefact, a workshop and academic discussion result in an intermediate artefact, further validated in a subsequent expert workshop. Findings suggest the terms value added, infrastructure, exchange, interaction, and openness describe digital platform business models. Essential defining aspects must entail facilitating value added through a multisided market by integrating specific entities, providing an open and/or closed infrastructure for flexible and compatible networking components, integrating data between the CPS and the platform, creating trustworthy and economic value added through entities, and scaling by network effects. This paper shows how to extract a precise, coherent, valuable, and iteratively validated definition to create a common understanding within a research field. Practitioners can learn about the digital platform business model concept within the model of SGE, supporting knowledge creation, research, and product development of CPS in generations. The originality of this work lies in extracting a validated definition by applying sophisticated tools and methods to guarantee its robustness.