Authors: Jiamian Tian; Lei Shen; Paul Matthyssens
Industry 4.0 and the IIoT (Industry Internet of Things) are prevailing trends that influence nearly all industries, including the ' low-tech' textile industry. The purpose of this article is to explore what co-creation practices manufacturers can use to exploit the opportunity of platforms in an Industry 4.0/IIoT context. It also intends to identify the trajectories of change in companies’ platform strategies. Building on a platform typology, we describe platforms as IIOT-enabled environments containing dynamic relations of technologies, interactions, processes and humans, which act as a foundation where platform providers stimulate value co-creation with their network of complementors and gain competitive advantages by orchestrating resources and leveraging network effects. Using an interpretive methodology, we observe four cases of Chinese textile manufacturers transforming to a platform-based business model, thereby upgrading value co-creation. Based on the cross-case analysis, the start point and three distinct transition routes are identified: (1) starting from offering standard products (2) plus customer-centric offerings (3) plus value-adding service and (4) plus integrated personalized solutions. This study contributes to the IMP Group' s research by linking the recent focus of the network literature, the value co-creation view, and recent strategic management insights on network management to the recent value platform context. We highlight how platform leverage logics can be used to enhance value co-creation through upgraded business models.
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