Open Access

Jonas Wirth, Philipp Kallen, Thomas Bauernhansl

• In times of networked production systems and inexhaustible amounts of data, it seems presumptuous to fall back on traditional business models alone. Innovative and disruptive ideas are needed to create new paths for companies. The current literature already offers numerous theoretical approaches for the introduction of service-oriented and data-driven business models. Although specific attempts have been made to apply such frameworks in mechanical and plant engineering, the approaches to specific problems remain unoperationalized. This paper seeks to address this gap by presenting a structured and systematic approach to ensure operationalizability through the implementation of a process model. Employing the design science research methodology, a comprehensive action framework was developed, underpinned by an extensive information base. This was achieved through a systematic literature review, the identification of success factors and challenges via semi-structured expert interviews, and insights gained from expert workshops in the mechanical and plant engineering industry. The information and findings served as a foundation for the development of a new artifact. This artifact is embodied in the developed process model, which guides users through a structured and methodologically supported process, starting from an existing customer problem and leading to an implementable service-oriented and data-driven business model. The structure of this model is divided into two main parts: the problem-solving model and the evaluation model Each part has its own focus and is intended to provide a holistic view of the problem The result of this approach is an implementable service-oriented and data-driven business model, designed to support companies in opening up new monetization channels and promoting the diversification of their product portfolios.