How Companies Effectively Use Data to Create Competitive Products and Services

Commoditization pressures and shifting consumer expectations have inspired many companies to use data to enrich core products and services, a phenomenon that we call wrapping. Companies wrap offerings with data to differentiate them and to add value to customers, which increases product- or service-related outcomes that include price, sales, and loyalty. The best companies build distinctive competencies for wrapping and then coordinate wrapping’s unique practices with those established to help organizations improve and/or sell. This study will investigate wrapping competencies for high-performing firms -- and identify the most effective ways that firms coordinate wrapping with improving and selling activities.

Research questions include:

(*) What practices do firms put in place to wrap in ways that differentiate products/services, add value to customers, and ensure legal and ethical data use?
(*) How do IT and the product management functions perceive the effectiveness of wrapping practices?
(*) How do wrapping practices impact important firm outcomes?
(*) How do companies effectively coordinate wrapping with improving and selling activities?