Toward advanced IoT-based services in manufacturing: how resource interfaces are changed in digital transformation

Abstract

This paper aims to examine how resource interfaces change as manufacturing firms move toward advanced IoT-based services in digital transformation. Through a qualitative case study of two manufacturers, Alpha and Beta, the study compares their resource networks and interfaces across two periods: when selling mainly analog machines versus after starting selling advanced IoT-based services along with digitalized machines. Grounded in the Resource Interaction Approach (RIA), this study uses the 4R-model to analyze technical, organizational and mixed resource interfaces. One key finding is that the complexity level of digital services offered by the manufacturing firms influences the type of resource interfaces involved in the resource combinations. The study reveals “bridging interfaces,” which enable manufacturers to navigate knowledge gaps to achieve novel resource combinations with specialized digital providers. It also shows that digital transformation increases the number of technical and mixed interfaces while introducing new actors, such as global cloud providers. The paper contributes to RIA literature by identifying “bridging interfaces” and proposing adaptations to the 4R model to better categorize digital facilities (e.g. cloud systems) and the service component of digital offerings. Managers should prioritize investments in human expertise and organizational interfaces, as technical connectivity alone is insufficient to sustain advanced IoT-based service models in digital transformation. The study uniquely adapts the 4R model for digital contexts, it applies snapshots as an approach for exploring structural resource interface changes, while it describes the configuration of technical, organizational and mixed interfaces in digital transformation.