CUP model: Purpose-driven digital twin configuration through enhanced user engagement

• Link DT configurations to purposes through user engagement. • Propose the Configuration-User-Purpose (CUP) model using TTF and PLM theories. • Provide a decision tree to guide practitioners in DT design and implementation. • Outline a research agenda on DTs in management, business, and marketing. Innovative organizations use digital twins (DTs) to link virtual systems and processes with their real-world counterparts. These DTs have diverse configurations (i.e., combinations of DT characteristics) for different purposes, complicating design decisions and successful implementation. However, research on purpose-driven DT configurations, i.e. determining the importance of each DT characteristic across implementations, is limited. This paper explains how DT configurations relate to their purposes by identifying underlying user engagement processes. To this end, we conducted a systematic literature review of 66 journal articles coupled with nine expert interviews. We used Task-Technology Fit (TTF) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) theories to analyze the data and derive our Configuration-User-Purpose (CUP) model. We supplement our model with a: (i) decision tree for practitioners which helps them enhance DT adoption and success across diverse contexts, and (ii) future research agenda to address gaps in the DT literature from the perspectives of management, business, and marketing.