Dynamic Capabilities for Business Model Innovation in Logistics: The Role of Digital Technologies

Abstract

The rising competition among firms necessitates new ways of doing business, especially in this digital era. This is fundamentally true of logistics companies as they strive to innovate their business models using digital technologies. Nevertheless, the dynamic competence gained by logistics firms while using digital technologies for BMI has not received sufficient research attention. Driven by the expedient research question, how do firms leverage digital technologies to develop dynamic capabilities for BMI, this study teases out the pathways to BMI by investigating how logistics companies engage digital resources to gain dynamic capabilities. Following the procedures established in Gioia methodology, we perform thematic analysis on qualitative data from the whitepapers of 20 logistics companies prominent for technology-enabled business models. Results reveal that while engaging digital technologies for their business processes, logistics businesses and their managers can sense opportunities for business expansion; seize these opportunities by mobilizing digital resources as well as reconfigure their processes to continue to take advantage of the recognized opportunities.  Our results contribute to the dynamic capabilities theory by building on its core arguments to explicate the theoretical foundations of BMI development. Additionally, three propositions emerge regarding the sources of dynamic capabilities in the utilization of digital technologies by digital logistics.