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A Value-Creating Network Analysis from Software Business

Increasing global competition is a driving force pushing toward a networked way of doing business, as companies are forced to search for efficiency through co-operation with other companies. The underlying question is how well the companies combine and co-ordinate their value activities with other companies in order to together create an entity that is able to produce value for the end customer. These kinds of entities – namely, value-creating networks – are the focus of the present study. We explore value-creating networks empirically in a specific, dynamic industry setting. Software business is chosen as the empirical context as it represents a dynamic and contemporary industry. The paper presents an empirical research of a focal net consisted of three types of actors: a focal company building complex software systems to its industrial customers; the focal company’s suppliers; and the focal company’s customers. The research is carried out as a single-case study. In gathering and analyzing the empirical data qualitative research methods are followed. The empirical findings are reversed to theoretical debate on networks, and as an outcome of the study an empirically-grounded model for value-creating network analysis is presented. Additionally, the paper contributes to literature by increasing our understanding of software business characteristics from network point of view.