Behind the Blackbox of Digital Business Models

In recent years global competition has undergone significant change as a result of the increasing digitalization or digital transformation of business and society. New forms of value creation have emerged, particularly through the emergence of companies such as Google and Facebook, and other digital disruptors. As a result of these developments, established companies face the challenge of aligning their business model with the new circumstances. One way of doing this is digitalization of the existing business model or designing a completely new digital business model. In this context, however, there is no commonly accepted definition and understanding of the nature of digital business models representing the context of Industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems, and the Internet of Things. So, this work is based on a literature review to help understand the concept of a digital business model. With this contribution, we enable scientific added value for business model research and at the same time help business practice to understand exactly what a digital business model is and which levers of transformation need to be considered.