Software-supported decision support for the foresighted planning of digital business models

To remain competitive, companies must continuously adapt their value proposition, especially in response to increasing demands for sustainability and digitalisation. Small and medium-sized enterprises often struggle to implement future-oriented digital business models. The aim is to develop decision support to help companies plan ahead and assess their value proposition, with a focus on foresighted planning. Based on literature research, expert interviews and the analysis of existing solutions, an understanding of “sustainable value” and requirements of decision support are defined. Decision support is implemented in a software. The main contribution is the setup of functions and content such as a list of influence factors, analysing influences and evaluating ideas, control questions and support for the implementation of digital business models. Validation through expert interviews and workshops in mechanical and plant engineering shows that the software supports enterprises in foresighted planning of value proposition and the selection of a concept for digital business models. It makes them robust towards the variety of future scenarios.