Revisiting IoT Business Model Frameworks in the 5G Era: An Ecosystem Dynamics Perspective

Colin Song Chee Keong, Fauziah Sh Ahmad

Abstract


The convergence of 5th Generation Telecommunications (5G) technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) has introduced unprecedented opportunities and complexities, fundamentally reshaping the dynamics of digital ecosystems. However, existing IoT business models, primarily developed for earlier technological landscapes, are increasingly inadequate in addressing the unique demands of the 5G IoT environment. This study critically reviews the current body of research on IoT business models through a narrative literature review, aiming to evaluate their relevance and effectiveness within the evolving 5G ecosystem. The findings reveal significant gaps, particularly in addressing the dynamic, interconnected, and adaptive nature of 5G-enabled ecosystems. Current models fall short in areas such as scalability, stakeholder interdependence, and real-time data monetization, limiting their ability to capture the full potential of 5G IoT networks. This paper highlights the necessity for reimagining business models that are responsive to ecosystem dynamics, fostering value co-creation, adaptability, and collaborative innovation. The insights from this review offer a foundation for developing future-ready business models capable of maneuvering the complexities of the 5G IoT ecosystem, with implications for both academia and industry stakeholders.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al-Nasser, R. M., Alrashidi, A. Q., Al-Anazi, J. S., & Qasem, M. (2025). Smart Logistics using Internet of Things (IoT)- Study. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357940531_Smart_Logistics_using_Internet_of_Things_IoT-_Study

Amit, R. H., & Zott, C. (2010). Business Model Innovation: Creating Value in Times of Change. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1701660

Atzori, L., Iera, A., & Morabito, G. (2010). The Internet of Things: A survey. Computer Networks, 54(15), 2787–2805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2010.05.010

Baas, J., Schotten, M., Plume, A., Côté, G., & Karimi, R. (2020). Scopus as a curated, high-quality bibliometric data source for academic research in quantitative science studies. Quantitative Science Studies, 1(1), 377–386. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00019

Belter, C. W. (2016). Citation analysis as a literature search method for systematic reviews. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 67(11), 2766–2777. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23605

Bilgeri, D., Brandt, V., Lang, M., Tesch, J., & ... (2015). The IoT business model builder. … Paper of the Bosch IoT …, Query date: 2024-08-20 17:34:36. http://www.semar.de/dh/Whitepaper_IoT-Business-Model-Builder.pdf

Bo, H., & Huang, R. (2022). Enterprise Privacy Resource Optimization and Big Data Intelligent Management Strategy Oriented to the Internet of Things. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7280695

Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: State-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.07.007

Booth, A., Sutton, A., & Papaioannou, D. (2016). Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review (2nd, Ed.). SAGE Publications.

Bryman, A., Bell, E., Reck, J., & Fields, J. (2022). Social Research Methods. Oxford University Press.

Bucherer, E., & Uckelmann, D. (2011). Business models for the internet of things. Architecting the Internet of Things, Query date: 2024-07-05 23:31:14. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19157-2_10

Chan, H. (2016). Internet of Things Business Models. Journal of Service Science and Management, 08, 552–568. https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2015.84056

Chesbrough, H., & Rosenbloom, R. S. (2002). The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: Evidence from Xerox Corporation’s technology spin‐off companies. Industrial and Corporate Change, 11(3), 529–555. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/11.3.529

Chiang, M., & Zhang, T. (2016). Fog and IoT: An Overview of Research Opportunities. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 3(6), 854–864. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2016.2584538

Christensen, C. M. (2013). The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business Review Press.

Collins, J. C., & Porras, J. I. (1994). Built to Last—J. Collins. https://www.academia.edu/32646559/Built_to_Last_J_Collins

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE Publications.

Dijkman, R. M., Sprenkels, B., Peeters, T., & Janssen, A. (2015). Business Models for the Internet of Things. International Journal of Information Management, 35(6), 672–678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2015.07.008

Dixon-Woods, M., Cavers, D., Agarwal, S., Annandale, E., Arthur, A., Harvey, J., Hsu, R., Katbamna, S., Olsen, R., Smith, L., Riley, R., & Sutton, A. J. (2006). Conducting a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature on access to healthcare by vulnerable groups. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 6(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-6-35

Drucker, P. F. (1994, September 1). The Theory of the Business. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1994/09/the-theory-of-the-business

Dutta, P., Choi, T., Somani, S., & Butala, R. (2020). Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Operations: Applications, Challenges and Research Opportunities. Transportation Research Part E Logistics and Transportation Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.102067

Eiriemiokhale, K. A., & James, J. B. (2023). Application of the Internet of Things for Quality Service Delivery in Nigerian University Libraries. Indian Journal of Information Sources and Services. https://doi.org/10.51983/ijiss-2023.13.1.3463

Endres, H., Indulska, M., Ghosh, A., Baiyere, A., & Broser, S. (2019). Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) business model classification. International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS).

Escolar, A. M., Calero, J. M. A., & Wang, Q. (2020). Highly-Scalable Software Firewall Supporting One Million Rules for 5G NB-IoT Networks. ICC 2020 - 2020 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICC40277.2020.9149152

Evans, S., Vladimirova, D., Holgado, M., Van Fossen, K., Yang, M., Silva, E. A., & Barlow, C. Y. (2017). Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(5), 597–608. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1939

Fiol, G. D., Michelson, M., Iorio, A., Cotoi, C., & Haynes, R. B. (2018). A Deep Learning Method to Automatically Identify Reports of Scientifically Rigorous Clinical Research from the Biomedical Literature: Comparative Analytic Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(6), e10281. https://doi.org/10.2196/10281

Fleisch, E., Weinberger, M., & Wortmann, F. (2015). Business Models and the Internet of Things (Extended Abstract). In I. Podnar Žarko, K. Pripužić, & M. Serrano (Eds.), Interoperability and Open-Source Solutions for the Internet of Things (pp. 6–10). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16546-2_2

Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K., & Csik, M. (2019). The St. Gallen Business Model Navigator.

Gierej, S. (2017). The Framework of Business Model in the Context of Industrial Internet of Things. Procedia Engineering, 182, 206–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.03.166

Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Greenhalgh, T., Thorne, S., & Malterud, K. (2018). Time to challenge the spurious hierarchy of systematic over narrative reviews? European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 48(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.12931

Gupta, A., & Jha, R. K. (2015). A Survey of 5G Network: Architecture and Emerging Technologies. IEEE Access, 3, 1206–1232. IEEE Access. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2015.2461602

Guzzetti, F., Peruccacci, S., Rossi, M., & Stark, C. P. (2008). The rainfall intensity–duration control of shallow landslides and debris flows: An update. Landslides, 5(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-007-0112-1

Hart, C. (1998). Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. SAGE.

Harzing, A.-W., & Alakangas, S. (2016). Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: A longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison. Scientometrics, 106(2), 787–804. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1798-9

Himmat, M., Algazoli, G., Hammam, N., & Elsid Abdalla, A. G. (2022). Review on the Current State of the Internet of Things and Its Extension and Its Challenges. European Journal of Information Technologies and Computer Science. https://doi.org/10.24018/compute.2022.2.2.58

Hodapp, D., Remane, G., Hanelt, A., & Kolbe, L. (2019). Business Models for Internet of Things Platforms: Empirical Development of a Taxonomy and Archetypes. Wirtschaftsinformatik 2019 Proceedings. https://aisel.aisnet.org/wi2019/track14/papers/5

Hsu, C. L., & Lin, J. C. C. (2016). An empirical examination of consumer adoption of Internet of Things services: Network externalities and concern for information privacy perspectives. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 516–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.023

Johnson, M., Christensen, C. C., & Kagermann, H. (2008, December 1). Reinventing Your Business Model. Harvard Business Review, 87, 52–60. https://hbr.org/2008/12/reinventing-your-business-model

Ju, J., Kim, M.-S., & Ahn, J.-H. (2016). Prototyping Business Models for IoT Service. Procedia Computer Science, 91, 882–890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2016.07.106

Keiningham, T., Aksoy, L., Bruce, H. L., Cadet, F., Clennell, N., Hodgkinson, I. R., & Kearney, T. (2020). Customer experience driven business model innovation. Journal of Business Research, 116, 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.08.003

Khan, M., Salah, K., & Rehman, M. H. U. (2019). IoT Security: Review, Blockchain Solutions, and Open Challenges. Future Generation Computer Systems, 82, 395–411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2017.11.022

Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2004, October 1). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2004/10/blue-ocean-strategy

Kubler, S., Yoo, M.-J., Cassagnes, C., Framling, K., Kiritsis, D., & Skilton, M. (2015). Opportunity to Leverage Information-as-an-Asset in the IoT—The Road Ahead. 2015 3rd International Conference on Future Internet of Things and Cloud, 64–71. https://doi.org/10.1109/FiCloud.2015.63

Kulkarni, A. V., Aziz, B., Shams, I., & Busse, J. W. (2009). Comparisons of Citations in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar for Articles Published in General Medical Journals. JAMA, 302(10), 1092–1096. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1307

Kumar, S., Raut, R. D., Narwane, V. S., & Narkhede, B. E. (2020). Applications of Industry 4.0 to Overcome the COVID-19 Operational Challenges. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Research & Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2020.07.010

Lee, I., & Lee, K. (2015). The Internet of Things (IoT): Applications, investments, and challenges for enterprises. Business Horizons, 58(4), 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2015.03.008

Lehoux, P., Daudelin, G., Williams-Jones, B., Denis, J.-L., & Longo, C. (2014). How do business model and health technology design influence each other? Insights from a longitudinal case study of three academic spin-offs. Research Policy, 43(6), 1025–1038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2014.02.001

Leminen, S., Rajahonka, M., Westerlund, M., & Wendelin, R. (2018). The future of the Internet of Things: Toward heterarchical ecosystems and service business models. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 33(6), 749–767. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-10-2015-0206

Levy, Y., & Ellis, T. J. (2006). A Systems Approach to Conduct an Effective Literature Review in Support of Information Systems Research. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 9, 181–212. https://doi.org/10.28945/479

Li, H., & Xu, Z.-Z. (2013). Research on business model of internet of things based on MOP. 1131–1138. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38445-5_117

Lindgren, P., & Rasmussen, O. H. (2013). The Business Model Cube. In P. Lindgren, The Multi Business Model Innovation Approach (1st ed., pp. 45–68). River Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003339755-5

Manyika, J., Chui, M., Bisson, P., Woetzel, J., Dobbs, R., Bughin, J., & Aharon, D. (2015). The internet of things: Mapping the value beyond the hype [Report]. McKinsey Global Institute. https://apo.org.au/node/55490

Martin-Martin, A., Orduna-Malea, E., Harzing, A.-W., & Delgado López-Cózar, E. (2017). Can we use Google Scholar to identify highly-cited documents? Journal of Informetrics, 11(1), 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2016.11.008

Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass. https://www.perlego.com/book/995799/qualitative-research-a-guide-to-design-and-implementation-pdf

Metallo, C., Agrifoglio, R., Schiavone, F., & Mueller, J. (2018). Understanding business model in the Internet of Things industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 136, 298–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.01.020

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & Group, T. P. (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLOS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

Muller, J. M., Buliga, O., & Voigt, K.-I. (2018). Fortune favors the prepared: How SMEs approach business model innovations in Industry 4.0. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 132, 2–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.12.019

Niyato, D., Lu, X., Wang, P., Kim, D. I., & Han, Z. (2016). Economics of Internet of Things: An information market approach. IEEE Wireless Communications, 23(4), 136–145. https://doi.org/10.1109/MWC.2016.7553037

Omran, M. A., Saad, W. K., Hamza, B. J., & Al-Baghdadi, A. (2021). A Survey of Various Intelligent Home Applications Using IoT and Intelligent Controllers. Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijeecs.v23.i1.pp490-499

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.

Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., & Tucci, C. L. (2005). Clarifying Business Models: Origins, Present, and Future of the Concept. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.01601

Oughton, E. J., & Frias, Z. (2018). The cost, coverage and rollout implications of 5G infrastructure in Britain. Telecommunications Policy, 42(8), 636–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2017.07.009

Palattella, M. R., Dohler, M., Grieco, A., Rizzo, G., Torsner, J., Engel, T., & Ladid, L. (2016). Internet of Things in the 5G Era: Enablers, Architecture, and Business Models. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 34(3), 510–527. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSAC.2016.2525418

Parker, G. G., Alstyne, M. W. V., & Choudary, S. P. (2016). Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You. W. W. Norton & Company. https://books.google.com.my/books/about/Platform_Revolution_How_Networked_Market.html?id=Bvd1CQAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Paschou, T., Adrodegari, F., Perona, M., & Saccani, N. (2020). The digital servitization of manufacturing: A literature review and research agenda. Industrial Marketing Management, 89, 278–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.02.012

Pirola, F., Cimini, C., & Pinto, R. (2020). Digital readiness assessment of Italian SMEs: A case-study research. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 31(5), 1045–1083. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-09-2018-0305

Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 1496175). https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1496175

Porter, M. E., & Heppelmann, J. E. (2014). Creating value with the Internet of Things. Harvard Business Review, 92(11), 64–88.

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011, January 1). Creating Shared Value. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value

Qatawneh, M., Almobaideen, W., & AbuAlghanam, O. (2020). Challenges of Blockchain Technology in Context Internet of Things: A Survey. International Journal of Computer Applications. https://doi.org/10.5120/ijca2020920660

Radanliev, P., De Roure, D., Nurse, J. R. C., Montalvo, R. M., Burnap, P., & Ani, U. (2020). Cyber Risk at the Edge: Current and Future Trends on Cyber Risk Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in the Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 Supply Chains. Cybersecurity, 3(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-020-00052-8

Rao, S. K., & Prasad, R. (2018). Impact of 5G Technologies on Industry 4.0. Wireless Personal Communications, 100(1), 145–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-018-5615-7

Ridley, D. (2012). The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students (2nd, Ed.). SAGE Publications.

Schreieck, M., Wiesche, M., & Krcmar, H. (2017). The Platform Owner’s Challenge to Capture Value – Insights from a Business-to-Business IT Platform.

Schumpeter, J. A. (1943). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.

Shafi, M., Molisch, A. F., Smith, P. J., Haustein, T., Zhu, P., De Silva, P., Tufvesson, F., Benjebbour, A., & Wunder, G. (2017). 5G: A Tutorial Overview of Standards, Trials, Challenges, Deployment, and Practice. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 35(6), 1201–1221. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSAC.2017.2692307

Shafique, K., Khawaja, B. A., Sabir, F., Qazi, S., & Mustaqim, M. (2020). Internet of Things (IoT) for Next-Generation Smart Systems: A Review of Current Challenges, Future Trends and Prospects for Emerging 5G-IoT Scenarios. IEEE Access, 8, 23022–23040. IEEE Access. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2970118

Shirish, A., & Jyoti, P. (2022). Building and Bridging Security and Privacy-Related Technical Knowledge Amongst HR Professionals. International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijthi.306225

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Tang, Y., & Wang, D. (2020). Optimization of Sports Fitness Management System Based on Internet of Health Things. Ieee Access. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.3039508

Teece, D. (2010). Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation. Long Range Planning, 43(2–3), 172–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.003

Teece, D. (2018). Business models and dynamic capabilities. Long Range Planning, 51(1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2017.06.007

Tesch, J., Brillinger, A.-S., & Bilgeri, D. (2017). Internet of Things Business Model Innovation and The Stage-Gate Process: An Exploratory Analysis. International Journal of Innovation Management, 21, 1740002. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1363919617400023

Testa, J. (2009). The Thomson Reuters Journal Selection Process. Retrieved February., 19. https://doi.org/10.1080/19186444.2009.11658213

Timmers, P. (1998). Business Models for Electronic Markets. Electronic Markets, 8(2), 3–8. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10196789800000016

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

Turber, S., Vom Brocke, J., Gassmann, O., & Fleisch, E. (2014). Designing Business Models in the Era of Internet of Things. In M. C. Tremblay, D. VanderMeer, M. Rothenberger, A. Gupta, & V. Yoon (Eds.), Advancing the Impact of Design Science: Moving from Theory to Practice (Vol. 8463, pp. 17–31). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06701-8_2

Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2016). Institutions and axioms: An extension and update of service-dominant logic. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-015-0456-3

Villamil, S., Hernández, C., & Tarazona Bermúdez, G. M. (2020). An Overview of Internet of Things. Telkomnika (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control). https://doi.org/10.12928/telkomnika.v18i5.15911

Webster, J., & Watson, R. T. (2002). Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii–xxiii.

Westerlund, M., Leminen, S., & Rajahonka, M. (2014). Designing Business Models for the Internet of Things. Technology Innovation Management Review, 4(7), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/807

Xu, M., Ma, X., & Xue-mei, L. (2022). Optimization of Product Design Mode of Art Industry Based on Multiterminal Selection Algorithm of Internet of Things. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8341149

Yu, S., & Mai, Y. (2020). Research on Sports Fitness Management Based on Blockchain and Internet of Things. Eurasip Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13638-020-01821-2

Zhang, C., Patras, P., & Haddadi, H. (2019). Deep Learning in Mobile and Wireless Networking: A Survey. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 21(3), 2224–2287. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials. https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2019.2904897

Zhang, H., Liu, N., Chu, X., Long, K., Aghvami, A.-H., & Leung, V. C. M. (2017). Network Slicing Based 5G and Future Mobile Networks: Mobility, Resource Management, and Challenges. IEEE Communications Magazine, 55(8), 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2017.1600940

Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011). The Business Model: Recent Developments and Future Research. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1019–1042. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311406265




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/jebi.v12i1.23079

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Colin Song

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation  ISSN 2332-8851  Email: jebi@macrothink.org

Copyright © Macrothink Institute 

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domains to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', please check your 'spam' or 'junk' folder.