Co-creation of IT-value in a cluster of small enterprises

There is a growing emphasis on digital transformation in research and business practice. The creation of value from IT investments is a critical factor in digital transformation. Research has documented that the ability to realize IT-value is a very challenging endeavor, especially for small enterprises who because of resource poverty are dependent on external input and cooperation with other companies. There is a general lack of research on the phenomenon of how IT-value is co-created, particularly in small firms. This paper reports from a study of a cluster of performing arts organizations, Blender Collective. They realized that audience data is a key issue, and that they lack the tools to work strategically with audiences. Blender Collective members therefore engaged in a project to develop a collaborative approach towards strategic audience development. The results expand our understanding of the dynamics related to co-creation in a cluster of small businesses. We fmd that co-creation can be an important avenue for small enterprises to invest in IT and realize IT-value. We propose a modified IT-value framework to explain how networks of small enterprises would co-create IT-value. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)