Digitization capability and the digitalization of business models in business-to-business firms: Past, present, and future

• Published in: Industrial marketing management 2020-04, Vol.86, p.180-190
• Main Authors: Ritter, Thomas, Pedersen, Carsten Lund
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Business model; Business-to-business marketing; Digitalization; Digitization
• ISSN: 0019-8501; 1873-2062
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.11.019

While the use of data in business-to-business marketing is not a new phenomenon, the digitization and digitalization of business-to-business firms' business models have recently attracted a great deal of attention. With the aim of creating an overview and consolidating this stream of research, the present paper offers a brief historical overview of research on digitization and digitalization in business-to-business markets – concluding that this discussion has a long tradition and, thus, is not a new phenomenon. We develop a definition of digitization capability as a basis for discussing how a firm's digitization capability interacts with its business model to allow for data-enabled growth, i.e. its digitalization, and we highlight promising avenues for future research. •Academic interest in digitalization has a long history stemming back to the first volume of IMM.•The presented conceptualization of a firm’s digitization capability offers a foundation for further research.•Applying a business model framework offers a structured approach to consolidate the manifold contributions made.