Resource-Based Interdependencies in Value Networks for Mobile E-Services

Abstract

The advent of new electronic platforms, such as fixed and mobile Internet, is forcing firms from a range of industries to come together in so-called value networks for the provision of innovative e-services. Firms from different industries have widely varying resources. Our analysis is aimed at specific types of interdependencies, relating the actors’ own and others’ resource contributions to the value creation involved in bringing the service about. To better understand these interdependencies, we draw on theories about firm resources and interorganizational relations. We analyze the importance and relevance of different resources in a number of case studies of mobile information and entertainment services in terms of the actors’ resources and contributions to value in the provision of such mobile services. In the cross-case comparison, we contrast the power structures in the different value networks and identify similarities and differences in terms of the types of industrial players that assume positions of greater or lesser importance. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for value network research.