DECSUP-12929; No of Pages 11

Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Decision Support Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dss

Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls

Johan Frishammar a,⁎, Javier Cenamor b, Harald Cavalli-Björkman c, Emma Hernell d, Johan Carlsson e
a
Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Luleå University of Technology, SE -971 87 Luleå, Sweden
b
Department of Business Administration, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, S220 07 Lund, Sweden
c
re:newcell AB, Cardellgatan 1, SE-114 36 Stockholm, Sweden
d
HUI Research, SE-103 29 Stockholm, Sweden
e
EVRY Sweden AB, Olof Asklunds Gata 10, 421 30 Västra Frölunda, Sweden

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Digitalization is fundamentally changing the retailing ecosystem for shopping malls as digital and analogue ele-
Received 3 January 2017 ments get increasingly intertwined. We conceptualize shopping malls as two-sided markets whose primary func-
Received in revised form 30 January 2018 tion is connecting shoppers and retailers. By means of an interpretative case study, the article then presents an
Accepted 7 February 2018
omnichannel strategy typology for how shopping malls can meet the evolving digitalization challenge. We iden-
Available online xxxx
tify three generic strategies labeled digital awaiter, digital data gatherer, and digital embracer. The paper provides
Keywords:
implications for research in omnichannel strategies, digitalization, and two-sided markets by explicating differ-
Digitalization ent strategies that involve physical and digital resources, and different ecosystem agents, i.e., retailers and shop-
Two-sided market pers. It also provides insights for other organizations beyond retailing and which operate under a two-sided
Omnichannel strategies market regime.
Shopping mall © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Retailing
Interpretative case study

1. Introduction driver of retailers' day-to-day decisions [8]. Moreover, information

Retailing is a key sector in the modern economy, allowing the deliv-
ery of products and services to shoppers [1]. In 2014, there were more
than 114.000 shopping malls in the United States only, generating
$2.52 trillion in turnaround and providing 12.7 million people with a
job [2]. Shopping malls have become a globally distributed phenome-
non with more than 1.500 and 3.000 malls in the UK and Japan, respec-
tively. Examples of shopping malls include the Xanadú outside Madrid
in Spain, the Mall of America in Bloomington, US, or the Mall of Scandi-
navia in Stockholm, Sweden.
Shopping malls play a central role in the retail ecosystem by bringing
together groups of shoppers and retailers. The traditional activities of
shopping malls is managing physical facilities, such as security and
maintenance operations, that enable retailers to trade effectively [3,4].
Recently, however, digital technologies are seriously challenging tradi-
tional retailing [5,6]. Specifically, digital technologies are devices char-
acterized by easily programming a wide arrange of features; the
homogenization of data that can be efficiently stored, transmitted, proc-
essed, and displayed; and the network effects that accelerate their diffu-
sion [7]. For example, electronic word of mouth has become a critical
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Johan.Frishammar@ltu.se (J. Frishammar), javier.cenamor@fek.lu.se
(J. Cenamor), harald.cavalli-bjorkman@renewcell.com (H. Cavalli-Björkman),
emma.hernell@hui.se (E. Hernell), johan.carlsson@evry.com (J. Carlsson).
management on a massive scale now enables firms to combine digital
and physical elements to offer novel products and services [9,10]. In
this respect, an increasingly large number of retailers are implementing
digital technologies to exploit efficiency gains, to broaden their portfolio
of activities, and to enhance availability for shoppers [11–13]. In fact,
some physical retailers, such as music stores, have almost disappeared
because of the rapid spread of digital platforms [14]. Thus, digitalization
is changing retailers by providing alternatives to traditional business
models [15]. However, the role of the shopping mall in this emerging
digital context is poorly understood.
Digitalization represents a widespread, evolving phenomenon that
is attracting an increasingly large number of studies [16]. Broadly de-
fined, digitalization refers to the integration of digital technologies to
transform activities, processes, actors, and goods from analogue to dig-
ital to facilitate new forms of value creation [17]. The literature has ex-
tensively elaborated new ways for value creation enabled by diverse
digital technologies, like ICTs and sensors [18–20]. Regarding retailing,
the literature highlights the potential benefits for retailers to implement
shopping analytics [21] and omnichannel strategies [22]. For example,
some retailers are installing sensors to track consumer's behavior, and
screens in physical stores that allow shoppers to place online orders
with only a few clicks and receive products at home later. Thus, digital
technologies may leverage the value a mall's physical assets provide.
For example, the Australian mall Westfield launched an online mall al-
ready in 2011 to complement their physical activities.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
0167-9236/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
2 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
However, recent research highlights that the long-term success of
digitalization is far more complex than just turning all the physical to
digital [23,24]. The integration of multiple distribution channels implies
important resource and process decisions with uncertain reactions from
customers [25]. In this respect, indiscriminate digital initiatives can
erode a firm's competitive advantage [26]. Specifically, a substantial in-
vestment in developing new digital services may lead to new service of-
ferings without revenues compensating the higher costs [27]. For
example, online users need different signals when evaluating products,
especially those provided by unknown online sellers [28,29]. Moreover,
recent studies also defend the complementary role of physical assets,
and underscore the need for balancing digital and physical resources
[22,30]. In fact, important digital retailers are now integrating physical
assets into their business model [17]. For example, Amazon bought
the organic food chain Whole Foods in 2017 [31]. Thus, digital technol-
ogies are pushing firms to adapt their strategies toward digital-physical
resource orchestration, external interactions, and a focus on ecosystem
value creation [32]. This means that defining a digital strategy repre-
sents a complex challenge that must be addressed to ensure survival
[33]. In this respect, the literature has identified different types of mall
orientations [34]. However, the understanding of digital strategies is
still limited and mainly focused on individual retailers rather than shop-
ping malls [6,21,35].
A digital strategy typology for shopping malls, therefore, is relevant
for several reasons. First, digital technologies are transforming organiza-
tions, but a clear characterization of different digital strategies is lacking
[23]. Second, digitalization does not occur in isolation, so physical assets
will continue to play a key role by means of omnichannel logic. How-
ever, it is not yet clear what strategic options exist for a mall to bundle
physical and digital assets in an offer that is valuable to both retailers
and shoppers [36]. Finally, online competition from individual retailers
in a shopping mall may undermine revenues generated from physical
malls [see e.g., 37]. Shopping malls often struggle to compete with on-
line retailers' convenience, accessibility, and endless product selection
[38]. Thus, there is a need for shopping malls to find new avenues for
a broadened value proposition.
In the present article, we propose digital strategies for shopping
malls. Based on the idea that shopping malls bridge retailers and shop-
pers, we adopt a two-sided market approach [39]. We contribute to pre-
vious research on omnichannel strategies, digitalization, and two-sided
markets by proposing a strategy typology to better understand the role
of digital technologies and how these can be combined with physical el-
ements into omnichannel strategies. The present article, therefore,
speaks to owners of physical shopping malls (i.e., landlords) but also
to retail development managers, consultants, and others devoted to de-
veloping shopping malls. It also provides insights to other firms and to
academics interested in digital strategies for two-sided markets.
This article proceeds as follows: Section two presents the back-
ground of shopping malls as two-sided markets, whereas section
three presents the methods. Section four presents a digital strategy ty-
pology for shopping malls. In section five, we discuss our findings and
provide implications.
2. Digitalization and shopping malls: A traditional two-sided market
facing the digital era
Shopping malls' main activity is enabling interactions between two
groups of agents: retailers and shoppers. Shopping malls thus create
value by playing a role in a specific market structure, i.e. as platform
owner in a two-sided market [40]. Parallel examples include video con-
soles (with video game publishers and gamers), and payment cards
(with card-readers and card-holders) [41,42]. Unlike linear value chains
where suppliers provide firms with inputs, and firms deliver products
and services to customers, complementary firms and customers interact
through the platform [43]. In this context, the value provided by the
platform to each side is highly dependent on the size and the type of
Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
agents on the other side [39]. In two-sided markets, the decisions of
one side impact the other side, and vice versa [44]. For example, one ad-
ditional retailer increases the value to shoppers as product variety ex-
pands, and additional shoppers increase the value to retailers.
A platform owner's aim, therefore, is to get both sides of the market
on board [45]. Accordingly, a shopping mall's strategy must pay deliber-
ate attention to both sides and should assure value by clearly defining
the roles of the two sides. In this respect, shopping malls try to attract
agents from both sides by maximizing the value provided by their phys-
ical assets. Literature claims that attracting agents to one side of the
market is contingent on first attracting some on the other side [46]. Tra-
ditionally, choosing a location in close proximity to targeted shoppers
has been the key to attracting the shoppers and, subsequently, retailers
searching for those shoppers [47]. Popular retailers attract more shop-
pers that enhance the value of the shopping mall, benefit the rest of
the retailers in the mall, and feed a virtuous cycle. Distance has acted
as a barrier for competition, often creating local quasi-monopolies. Spe-
cifically, a platform tends to tip the market when the costs of adopting
several platforms are high [40]. In other words, physical distance limits
the number of shopping malls that shoppers visit. Consequently, in this
traditional structure, assuring that shoppers have access to the mall has
given some shopping malls bargaining power to obtain increasing reve-
nues from retailers [48]. Specifically, the shopping malls typically facili-
tate shoppers the access to their buildings and adapt their facilities to
maximize the shopping experience. In this respect, shoppers often re-
ceive shopping mall's services for free, like parking, while the shopping
mall charges rents to retailers for the physical space occupied by their
stores. Traditionally, the mall thus selects an attractive physical location,
assure an appropriate combination of stores, and sign exclusivity con-
tracts [49]. For example, exclusivity dictates that only one (or a few) re-
tailers of a certain type may operate in a certain area.
Digitalization is now changing much of this traditional logic. Digital
technologies have spread gradually and now represent a shift in busi-
ness strategies in many industries, including retailing [23]. Given the
wide variety of contexts, digital technologies have reached a broad
scope [17,50,51]. Compared to analogue, digital technologies enable
new functions and facilitate the management of data [7]. Thus,
implementing digital technologies is transforming how firms define
the source of value and the value proposition. In particular, the litera-
ture has highlighted the benefits of e-commerce [19,52] and argues
that firms can create value through digital technologies in the form of
efficiency, complementarity, novelty, and lock-in [53]. In this respect,
individual retailers have adopted digital technologies that allow them
to provide services at an unprecedented scale [11]. For example, some
retailers provide shoppers with real-time, customized experiences
with data collected from shoppers' smartphones [5], e.g. a social route
recommender mechanism for store shopping. Their customers can use
a mobile-based guidance service for in-store shopping that combines
users' shopping preferences, contextual information, and social infor-
mation [54]. Moreover, digital technologies may allow retailers to im-
prove their management operations and reduce their costs. For
example, as of August 2015, 87 million users in the US visited Walmart's
websites each month [55]. Thus, retailers have started to consider digital
technologies as an alternative platform that provides a direct relation-
ship with shoppers. In fact, the spread of digital technologies has led
to the emergence and growth of giant digital retailers. For example, Am-
azon started as an online seller of just books, but transcended success-
fully into delivering a diverse range of services [56]. For shoppers,
digital technologies save time and improve both the evaluation and ac-
quisition of products and services [57–60]. From the shopper's perspec-
tive, retailers' platforms often represent an efficient solution that can be
adopted with little or no cost.
In this rapidly changing context, digitalization is questioning the tra-
ditional value proposition of shopping malls for retailers and shoppers.
Many retailers can circumvent the mall and easily reach shoppers di-
rectly through their own digital platforms. Thus, by creating cross-
 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
channel free riding opportunities for customers, retailers can circum-
vent the physical shopping mall. New digital platforms are thus emerg-
ing as a potential substitute to shopping malls in the intermediation of
the interactions between retailers and shoppers [19,61]. However, re-
cent research criticize the total substitutability of physical resources
by defending the complexity of retailing and the need for omnichannel
strategies combining physical and digital resources [11,17,30]. In this
respect, physical resources, such as mall facilities, provide a unique
value in the buying experience that cannot be totally replaced. For ex-
ample, customers are increasingly using brick-and-mortar stores as
showrooms to try the product before buying it online later [62].
Therefore, the ongoing digitalization represents an array of opportu-
nities for shopping malls too. Specifically, the digital sphere offers shop-
ping malls a set of tools to better manage the interactions between
retailers and shoppers through connectivity enhancements and big
data analytics [63]. Moreover, they can also enhance shoppers' value
by leveraging the networked nature of digital technologies. Examples
include building relationships through apps to help shoppers locate
stores and building bonds through social media [64]. Despite the poten-
tial for value creation, however, a large number of shopping malls fail in
designing a successful strategy in the digital context [45]. While recent
research have identified different digitalization paths [33,65], high tech-
nological dynamism and the specific roles of the firms [52,66,67] limit
the application of previous findings to shopping malls. For example,
many of these prior studies focus on firms situated in a traditional
value chain, rather than those operating under a two-sided market
logic.
In sum, the insights into strategies for shopping malls facing the dig-
italization challenge are scarce and a deeper understanding of digital
strategies of shopping malls is critical, as no such typology yet exists.
Based on the digitalization and two-sided market literatures, we ex-
plored shopping malls' strategies, choices, and challenges. The next sec-
tion outlines our method for doing so.
3. Methods
3.1. Research strategy
Research on strategies to address digitalization of shopping malls is
nascent. We therefore adopted an interpretative case study as our re-
search strategy, which is appropriate when prior research is at the
early, formative stages [68,69]. Our study was guided by prior literature
on digitalization and two-sided markets, which created a theoretical
basis for the empirical study. While these literatures constituted our
basis, we followed prior advice for interpretative case studies and pre-
served a considerable degree of openness to the data, i.e. we allowed ini-
tial assumptions to be modified and codes and themes to be generated
from data [70,71]. The final output of our analysis is a strategy typology.
That is, we strive to build theory rather than to test or verify it [72].
3.2. Research setting and data collection
Our research setting is the shopping mall sector in the Nordic coun-
tries. While some descriptive survey data was collected in Denmark,
Finland and Norway, the clear majority of all data was collected in Swe-
den. The Nordic countries is an appropriate setting for a study like ours
because of a large shopping mall sector, with many shopping malls uti-
lizing digital technologies in their day-to-day operations [73]. The pres-
ent study's unit of analysis is thus shopping malls. Data collection took
place between November 2014 and November 2015, and combined
three sources of data as summarized in Table 1.
First, three large workshops gathered together owners and managers
of shopping malls, property owners, consultants, and researchers with
an interest and combined expertise in retailing, digitalization, and strat-
egy. The workshops provided in-depth information about the overall
shopping mall context, general trends and future challenges,
Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
3
omnichannel problems and opportunities, current digital transforma-
tion, and strategic initiatives of various types of malls. In addition, an ad-
ditional eight smaller workshops and work meetings were held to
develop the strategy framework. The first three workshops were critical
for the research process as they enabled fluent interactions with a large
number of stakeholders in real time. They also provided us with rich in-
formation and critical feedback for developing the strategy typology as
emergent versions were presented, discussed and subsequently revised.
The insights made during the first three major workshops also fed di-
rectly into the interview protocol and into the construction of the sur-
vey (see Appendices 1 and 2). At the fourth workshop, which was
held about ten months after the third, the final version of the strategy
typology was presented. The purpose of this final workshop was to val-
idate the strategy typology and to discuss its implementation in partic-
ipating organizations.
Second, a survey was sent to 1.173 members of the Nordic Council of
Shopping Centers, an association that represents the shopping mall in-
dustry in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. 70 completed surveys
were received, with respondents being retailers and property owners.
The survey complemented the workshops with descriptive background
information regarding digitalization and deepened the understanding
of digital technologies, services, and strategies of shopping malls. Specif-
ically, we gained insights into what characterized the current strategies
of different types of malls, that the locus of responsibility for developing
strategy may vary, which services, tools and digital platforms that
prevailed, capabilities and capability gaps of different actors, digital op-
portunities and challenges, the current use of digital tools, and the driv-
ing forces for investments in digital technologies. As some of our
questions were open-ended, we were also notified of malls believed to
be leading in digitalization, in both the Nordic countries and elsewhere.
The questions and items from the survey, some open-ended and others
with pre-defined decision alternatives are displayed in appendix 2. In-
sights from the survey and from the workshops were helpful for con-
structing pre-versions of the strategy typology, and for constructing
the protocol for the subsequent interviews.
Third, interviews were conducted with a broad set of actors with ex-
pertise in digitalization of retailing, including information technology
(IT) and service providers, marketing communications experts focusing
on real estate markets, shopping mall managers, and representatives
from firms specializing in shopper- and big data analytics. The inter-
views varied between 45 and 75 min with an average of 60 min and
provided input on strategy challenges, digitalization trends, activities,
and types of digital services offered to both retailers and shoppers/visi-
tors. Some of the later interviews were also helpful in validating the
emerging strategy framework.
3.3. Data analysis
We relied on thematic analysis to analyze the data. Thematic analy-
sis is a method for identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns and
themes within data which is consistent with the interpretative case
study approach [74]. The analysis was a constant moving back-and-
forth among data, emerging analysis in the form of ideas, codes and
themes, and literature. We adapted the phases proposed by Braun &
Clarke [74] to structure our analysis, although these by no means un-
folded sequentially.
3.3.1. Phase 1: Familiarizing yourself with the data
We continuously visited and reflected upon parts of the data during
data collection, e.g. after conducting workshops and interviews. When
all data was collected, we read it carefully to get familiar with the
depth and breadth of contents prior to starting formal coding (i.e. we
read the complete workshop notes, transcribed interviews and descrip-
tive survey data). This improved the contextual understanding of the
shopping mall sector and led to preliminary ideas regarding opportuni-
ties and threats for malls, sector-specific challenges, the role of digital
4 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Table 1
Descriptive overview of sample and data.

Data source Companies involved Position(s) Country Date

Workshop Vasakronan, Bring, Atrium Ljungberg, Jones Lang LaSalle, Business development manager, marketing director, business area Sweden 2014/11/06
United Minds, Luleå University of Technology manager, head of corporate solutions, senior consultant, analysts,
researcher
Workshop Vasakronan, Bring, Atrium Ljungberg, Jones Lang LaSalle, Business development manager, marketing director, business area Sweden 2015/01/20
Nordic Council of Shopping Centers, United Minds, Luleå manager, head of corporate solutions, CEO, senior consultant,
University of Technology analysts, researcher
Workshop Vasakronan, Atrium Ljungberg, Jones Lang LaSalle, Nordic Business development manager, marketing director, business area Sweden 2015/03/17
Council of Shopping Centers, United Minds, Luleå manager, head of corporate solutions, CEO, senior consultant,
University of Technology analysts, researcher
Survey 70 organizations Property owners, consultants Denmark, 2015/04/16
Finland, (2 reminders)
Norway,
Sweden
Interview Facility Lab CEO Sweden 2015/08/31
Interview Senion Lab Vice president Sweden 2015/09/01
Interview Dunnhumby Global capability manager United 2015/09/09
Kingdom
Group Bumbee Labs CEO, head of board Sweden 2015/09/18
interview
Interview AMF Fastigheter Business developer Sweden 2015/09/22
Group Innesco Account manager, managing director United 2015/09/22
interview Kingdom
Interview GeKås Store manager Sweden 2015/09/22
Workshop Vasakronan, Atrium Ljungberg, Jones Lang LaSalle, Nordic Business development manager, marketing director, business area Sweden 2015/11/13
Council of Shopping Centers, United Minds, Luleå manager, head of corporate solutions, CEO, project manager, senior
University of Technology consultant, analysts, researcher

technologies in this setting, and some preliminary ideas for codes and
themes.
3.3.2. Phase 2: Generate initial codes
We began coding by searching for segments or elements in data that
appeared interesting given our research question. Digitalization and
two-sided market literatures were helpful here as a “sensitizing devise”.
We coded and recoded the data over several weeks, paying particular
attention to prior theoretical insights while simultaneously trying to
avoid seeing only what prior theory suggested. Codes identify a feature
of the data that appear interesting [73]. Some of these features or in-
sights emerged inductively from the data, e.g. that different types of dig-
ital technologies were being used in malls, that digital service offers
varied, and that different internal functions, such as marketing or IT,
had different strategic engagements and commitments in different
types of malls. Other features were theoretically aligned from the outset.
For example, the fact that malls may differ in their value proposition to
shoppers and retailers, respectively, is consistent with prior research on
two-sided markets.
3.3.3. Phase 3: Searching for themes
We then moved to interpretative analysis at the broader level by
grouping the codes from phase 2 under potential overarching themes
by means of excel tables and mind maps. Some initial codes where
now further relabeled to form themes, whereas others remained
codes or sub-themes. Phase 3 resulted in four preliminary themes
(named Digital technologies, Focus of attention, Digital service scope
and Mall engagement in data collection) along with associated codes.
We also created a category named “Miscellaneous” to gather codes
that did not fit naturally into any other theme. Here, we also constructed
multiple draft version of the strategy framework by combining, adding
and removing emerging themes in different ways.
3.3.4. Phase 4: Reviewing, defining and naming themes
This phase began with a set of candidate themes that immediately
proved problematic. One theme−Digital service scope−were relabeled
and used as a code. Another theme−Mall engagement in data collection
−was not sufficiently supported with data. The remaining two candi-
date themes were further refined and renamed “Role of digital
technologies” and “Center of gravity”. These labels capture the “essence”
of what each theme is about, and constitute the key dimensions of our
proposed strategy typology. These two remaining themes were then
reviewed in two ways. First, we checked the data for each code orga-
nized under each of the two themes individually to assure they formed
a coherent pattern. Second, we analyzed whether our candidate the-
matic map (i.e. codes and themes overall) accurately reflected the
meanings in the full set of data, and that distinctions between the two
themes were clear. Our final set of themes and codes are displayed in
the first two columns of Table 2. As additional validation, a close to
final version of the strategy typology was presented at workshop 4,
where feedback were obtained on codes, themes, labeling and contents
of the different strategies.
3.3.5. Phase 5: Writing a draft report
Based on the analysis we crafted a draft text for each strategy in the
typology, i.e. an analytic narrative that illustrates each strategy. Each
text grounds in our data and analysis. According to Braun & Clarke
[74], such narratives must move beyond the pure description of data.
To accommodate this point, we also added examples of other malls
form around the world that seem to follow the different strategies
that constitute the typology. The next section contains the final versions
of these narratives.
4. A digital strategy typology for shopping malls
The data collected from the survey highlight that digitalization is
transforming shopping mall activities. Among respondents, 41% found
developing digital services to be a challenge, and 61% reported
connecting with consumers on new platforms to be a key challenge.
Furthermore, in our survey, 44% of respondents reported that a great
challenge for shopping malls is to develop a coherent digital strategy,
and only 37% said they had some sort of strategy in place to address dig-
italization. Also, the level of development of digital capabilities varied
considerably. Our findings revealed that only 25% of survey respondents
agreed or strongly agreed that they currently possessed the capabilities
needed to digitalize shopping malls. During workshop two, a represen-
tative from a mall owning company also told us:

Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 5

Table 2
Overview for all three strategies.

Themes Analytic dimensions Digital awaiter Digital data gatherer Digital embracer
(codes)

Role of digital Type of digital Basic, generally accepted Big data Big data and interactive tools
technologies technologies used
Digital service Low for center owner (and by extension Low for center owner (but may be high for High for center owners and high for
complexity low for shoppers and retailers) retailers and shoppers) retailers and shoppers
Key Marketing (to run FB, webpage, etc.) IT (often in collaboration with Top management (because big tech is part
department/function technological supplier) of bus. strategy)
Center of Main direction of Center → Shoppers (through webpage; no Shoppers → Center → Retailers Cross- and same-side loops
gravity digital value flows mediating)
Digital value Find basic information (e.g. opening hours; More adapted physical experience New services, value, experiences, etc.
proposition to store location, etc.) (“INDIRECT” proposition) (“DIRECT” proposition)
shoppers
Digital value Provide basic information to shoppers More revenue due to efficient operations New transactions, increased sales,
proposition to and analytics (“DIRECT” proposition) coordinated actions (“DIRECT” proposition)
retailers
Intensity of demand- Low-intensity contribution for retailers and Low- to medium-intensity contribution for Medium- to high-intensity contribution for
and supply-side shoppers retailers and low for shoppers both (e.g., shoppers: sharing purchase
contribution inform, opinions, ideas; retailers: sharing
purchase information, collaborating with
other retailers to joint campaigns)
Examples of digital Postal services (i.e., getting merchandise in a Analysis of data to simplify and improve Platform for e-commerce (not of great
services mall that has been ordered online from an logistic services, flow measurements, find an interest for retail chains but valuable for
actor in the mall or one outside), empty parking lot (alternatively, find your smaller actors), common customer-specific
collaboration with other service providers car), measurement of size footfall, heat maps, platform by purchase and search history
(e.g., home delivery), free wifi, Information beacons, etc. (geofenced; messages can be individualized),
through web-page, Basic social media (e.g., bundled offerings (e.g., buy a book, get a
information through FB). coffee in another store), common platform
that allows retailers to send messages to
customers (i.e., iBeacons including geofencing
options)

“Crafting a digital strategy for our mall is difficult. There are so many di-
mensions to take into account…the retailers, their customers… us of
course, our competitors…all situated in a rapidly changing context. Plus
there is the threat of e-commerce.”
Combined, these data underscores the need for an integrative strat-
egy framework, which allow shopping malls to analyze their strategic
position and to define their future path. Specifically, we identified
three digitalization strategies for shopping malls, which we label digital
awaiter, digital data gatherer, and digital embracer (Fig. 1).
The typology is based on the following fundamentals. None of these
strategies is better than any other as such. As we will describe, examples
of highly successful (and less successful) malls are found in each quad-
rant. Moreover, all strategies are omnichannel strategies in the sense
that they combine digital and physical elements. Thus, although the
role of the different elements varies by strategy, digital and physical el-
ements exist in all of them.
Two themes allowed us to delineate the strategies: the role of digital
technologies and the center of gravity. First, the role of digital technolo-
gies refers to the importance that shopping malls attribute to
implementing digital technologies. It may vary from insignificant to
highly significant. The specific codes/elements underpinning this
theme are the type of digital technologies used, digital service complex-
ity, and the key department/function for pursuing digital technologies.
Second, center of gravity refers to the focus of shopping malls in provid-
ing value. Specifically, some shopping malls target their value offering
mainly toward one side of the market (typically the supply side, i.e. re-
tailers), whereas others focus on both sides (i.e. retailers and shoppers).
In delineating this theme, we propose differences in the direction of
digital information flows, the digital value proposition to shoppers,
the digital value proposition to retailers, and the intensity of demand
and supply side contributions. For themes and codes/elements, see
Table 2.

4.1. Digital awaiter

Digital awaiters use commonly accepted, mature digital technologies,

Fig. 1. Strategy typology for digitalization of shopping malls.
such as infrared beams, which count consumers that walk into and
out of the mall. These are basic and generally accepted technologies.
However, the digital awaiter position does not necessarily imply a neg-
ative attitude toward digitalization; it is more that shopping malls fol-
lowing this strategy do not currently believe in, or need, the added
value from implementing advanced digital technologies. In the words
of one of our interviewees, a business developer at AMF Fastigheter,
who owns the Mood gallery mall in Stockholm, Sweden:

Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
6 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
“We are reluctant to using fancy digital technologies…I'm sure they can
be great, they are probably very useful, but I would like to underscore
that we are not really…we are not there yet.”
In this respect, digital awaiters offer simple services like free Wi-Fi
and official websites with simple information such as opening hours.
Digital services offered have low complexity because they interact
with other elements in the mall in a rather simple way. For example,
91% of the malls in our survey used social media like Facebook. In
doing so, a majority of respondents claimed malls following this strat-
egy to view digital technologies or services as a secondary resource
with a non-critical impact on their operations. As such, digitalization is
considered and addressed by the digital awaiter as a set of communica-
tion decisions involving resources at the functional level. In fact, our
workshop discussions show that the decisions related to digital technol-
ogies are usually assumed by the marketing department/function. As
one of the workshop participants phrased it:
“Marketing tools is a marketing responsibility. It is their responsibility to
keep the webpage updated, and to make our voice heard on Facebook
and Youtube. These are important channels for our visitors.”
Different center of gravity exists for the digital awaiter strategy.
Some digital awaiters are supply-side centered. This means that
they focus directly on the retailers and only indirectly on the shop-
pers. Others are two-sided in their orientation. In other words, they
consider both sides of their market as equally important. In the for-
mer case, shopping malls deploy their resources and capabilities to
enhance the retailers' sales. Thus, they provide a basic marketplace
where supply and demand meets. Two Swedish malls - Nordstan in
Gothenburg and Caroli in Malmö – are representative according to
our workshop participants.
In contrast, malls with a stronger two-sided orientation attend to
both sides of the market by attracting potential buyers to the re-
tailers and offering more complex services to shoppers, including,
for example, educational and entertainment activities. Even so, the
more advanced services are in the physical rather than digital do-
main for the digital awaiter, such as fashion shows that connect re-
tailers and shoppers.
The value proposition to shoppers via digital technologies features
one-way communication of basic information to the shoppers, such as
information about opening hours, store locations, and which retailers
are present in the mall. From the supply side perspective, digital
awaiters' main digital value proposition is to complement the more spe-
cific information that most individual retailers provide with a basic and
common digital platform where shoppers can easily find general facts,
for example, through a home page on the web.
Moreover, the demand and supply side active contributions in digital
value creation are low. In other words, retailers and shoppers receive
the digital value the shopping mall creates with only a small contribu-
tion to the process. In this respect, the malls' digital role is related to dif-
fusing basic information. Examples of other services common to digital
awaiters are digital postal services, such as ordering online from a re-
tailer at home and picking it up in the mall or home delivery service of
items purchased online. The click & collect service offered by Field's in
Denmark, or Mall of Scandinavia in Solna, Sweden, are representative
examples.
An representative example of a digital awaiter is Gekås Ullared, a
highly successful shopping mall in southern Sweden. This mall is one
of Sweden's top tourist destinations, and shoppers often travel far to
spend a day or two at the mall. The mall's approach is minimizing in-
vestments in digital technologies in the short term and delivering a
unique value proposition focused on retailers, location, and low prices.
In the words of one of our interviewees, the store manager at Gekås:
“Gekås never pioneer anything. We adapt when something is already
well tried out somewhere else. A digital world look expensive and
Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
upscale, and that does not fit our philosophy. We strive for the simple;
our whole concept is built upon low prices.”
However, malls following this strategy exist also outside the Nordic
countries. An additional example of a digital awaiter is BR Malls, which is
Latin America's largest shopping mall owner. In its San Paolo mall, they
focus on physical assets and two-sided interactions. For example, they
offer a space inside the mall to facilitate the exchange of clothing
among shoppers [75].
4.2. Digital data gatherer
Shopping malls following the digital data gatherer strategy go a step
further and use increasingly sophisticated and complex digital technolo-
gies, such as beacons or geo-fencing solutions, to collect vast amounts
of big data from shoppers in the physical world. They use this data to op-
timize store location, cut “cold corners” or to facilitate the flow of shop-
pers in and out of the mall. First and foremost, however, they feed this
data to the retailers that populate their malls. Kamppi in Helsinki, Fin-
land, or Herning Centret in Herning, Denmark, are representative exam-
ples according to our workshop data. In the words of a workshop
participant:
“With better information from advanced analytics it is possible to max-
imize the usage of the mall, for example by creating better contracts or
optimizing store locations. Information can also be sold or given to ten-
ants, and sometimes to external advertisers.”
With the focus on advanced digital technologies, our workshop data
clearly pictures the key department/function that executes this strategy
to be Information Technology (IT), often in partnership with one or
more external technology suppliers. About 7% of the respondents in
our survey claimed that the IT department is in charge of digitalization
strategy. Thus, digital technologies constitute a powerful resource for
digital data gatherers.
The center of gravity for digital data gatherers is on the supply side.
As a two-sided market, the mall may, of course, also work with the
shoppers to some extent, but the clear locus of efforts is on the retailers.
Shoppers may benefit by extension (based on what individual retailers
do with the data the mall collects.
In other words, the digital data gatherer collects data from one side
of the market (shoppers) and feeds it to the other side (retailers), either
directly or indirectly. Because shopping malls use digital technologies to
collect and analyze data from shoppers, to deliver more substantiated
decisions and detailed reports to retailers, the main direction of digital in-
formation flow is from shoppers, via the shopping mall, to the retailers in
that mall. In the words of one of our interviewees, a VP at Senion lab:
“If you own a mall, you can do things to boost sales of the retailers, or at
least increase their general happiness with the mall. By giving them in-
formation. But the effect on your bottom line is indirect, because you do
not sell more. But in extension, you can charge more if others sell more,
and then it is a win-win.”
According to workshop participants, one example is property owner
Unibail Rodamco who uses customer apps and scanning of visiting vehi-
cles to increase insights for retailers at their mall in Täby Centrum, Swe-
den. Another example is the loyalty program to collect shopper data by
the Emporia mall in Malmö, Sweden, which is then fed to the retailers in
that mall.
Like the digital awaiter, the digital data gatherer makes a digital value
proposition to shoppers that centers on basic digital information, such as
opening hours or store location. However, they may also offer a more
adapted physical experience to shoppers by reconfiguring physical as-
sets to fit shopper's needs more effectively (or allow their retailers to
do this). Thus, the value proposition to shoppers based on digital tech-
nologies is indirect. However, shopping malls strive to enhance retailers'
 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
performance by increasing the efficiency of their core operations and of-
fering new opportunities to create value based on data analytics.
These digital technologies are often invisible to shoppers' eyes. Typ-
ically, sensors are located in strategic places to collect valuable data
without interfering with the shopping experience. Shoppers' active con-
tribution is thus low, although it may be low- to medium for retailers
given their commitments. Specifically, shoppers using the mall are pro-
viding valuable data, although they may not always be aware they are
participating. The digital data gatherer, however, is usually not the
party that launches all the complex digital services in the mall. Rather,
they feed data to individual retailers, which may use it to launch ser-
vices or customize shopping experiences. In the words of a participant
at our workshop:
“Our mall is a good example…we do not have, or plan to have, sophis-
ticated services. That is not really our core competence. We have sophis-
ticated analytics, but I don't think our core competence is to launch
services based on data generated from those analytics.”
To illustrate, think of Fisketorvet, one of Denmark's largest shopping
malls, which was frequently mentioned during our workshops. They
gather digital data about consumers thorough a loyalty card [76]. The
data is used for marketing purposes to consumers' through personalized
offerings and services. It is also used as insights to the customers in the
form of information about who the consumers are demographically and
what their habits and behaviors are. Beyond the Nordic countries, Tres
Aguas is a shopping mall in Madrid, Spain, that uses the Ubicua experi-
ence platform [77]. They have created one of the first “smart” shopping
malls in Europe. Using wifi and a single registration in a mobile applica-
tion, Tres Aguas offers a unique experience where its sophisticated
geolocation system tracks shoppers during their visit, analyzes their be-
havior, captures preferences, obtains a pattern, and launches automated
offers and promotions from the retailers. Yet another example is the Pal-
isades Center in New York, US, which is owned by Pyramid Management
Group. Here, data is gathered with the help of the free wifi, which allows
the mall to build profiles of its shoppers. It then shares this data with po-
tential tenants [78].
4.3. Digital embracer
Malls following a digital embracer strategy attribute high signifi-
cance to digital technologies and use these digital technologies to create
advanced digital services themselves. To do so, they develop a position
and capabilities close to that of a sophisticated retailer. Like the digital
data gatherer, the digital embracer uses increasingly sophisticated and
complex digital technologies such as iBeacons or geofencing solutions.
However, the digital embracer uses these technologies not only to
feed information to its retailers, but also to create its own advanced dig-
ital services and offerings. In the words of one of our interviewees, a
global capability manager at Dunnhumby:
“Such malls track customers via their smartphones. Based on unique
customer profiles they can stock data and then push a personalized and rel-
evant product recommendation. We can also give advices and recommen-
dations in real time for products the customers do not even know anything
about. And that is only the beginning!”
Thus, as a complement to basic services such as official websites and
basic social media, both our interviews and workshop data underscores
that the embracer relies on advanced services and may use its own plat-
forms for e-commerce to create bundled digital offers, such as buy
sports equipment at one retailer and get coffee at another. This strategy
also implies advanced services in the physical world, similar to that of a
two-sided digital awaiter. With the focus on advanced services in both
the physical and digital domains, the digital embracer strategy may be
the most difficult to follow, but a very rewarding one for those malls
that succeed. Unlike the digital awaiter and digital data gatherer,
where the key department/function is marketing and IT, respectively,
Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
7
there was great consensus among our workshop participants that the
digital embracer requires the dedicated commitment of top manage-
ment. Indeed, digitalization under this strategy regime is a top business
priority rather than a functional choice. Digitalization is thus an inte-
grated part of business strategy.
Digital embracers are two-side centered, meaning their center of
gravity is on both retailers and shoppers, and they actively provide
value to both sides of the market. In other words, shopping malls exe-
cuting this strategy focus on both cross- and same-sided interactions.
In the words of a workshop participant:
“We offer buzz, footfall and a matchmaking role. We are thus a step up
in the value chain and actively engaged in facilitating space for meet-
ings, interactions, and product and service development, rather than
just a facilitator of space for hire. But for that to succeed we really rely
on the contributions from our retailers and their customers.”
Specifically, digital embracers offer a direct value proposition to re-
tailers based on new transactions, that is, so-called cross-sided interac-
tions. For example, Westfield has developed an online mall that
integrates offers from different retailers in a combined offer. In doing
so, they complement the physical world with digital services, such as
digital pre-ordering and augmented reality. Moreover, digital em-
bracers coordinate actions among retailers and boost interactions
among shoppers (same-sided loops) via digital platforms. One of our
workshop participants expressed her admiration:
“Westfield are just outstanding, and have been doing this for the past
four to five years. We are much smaller but currently work on ideas
and concepts similar to theirs.”
The demand- and supply-side active contribution is medium to high
with a digital embracer strategy. Although each individual retailer and
shopper can ultimately decide on his or her contribution level, there is
a deliberate emphasis on value co-creation. In facilitating value co-cre-
ation, the mall strategically designs the mechanisms to motive partici-
pation from each side and coordinates their interactions toward the
interests of all the members. For example, there were multiple exam-
ples in our interviews about how shoppers can share their purchase ex-
periences, thus helping other shoppers in an online platform. Or,
shopping malls can supply information on individual purchases of sim-
ilar products, thus using big data analytics to help guide shoppers.
Beyond the Nordic cases, multiple international examples exist of
malls currently executing the digital embracer strategy. A prime exam-
ple is Westfield's mall in London, UK. Westfield uses advanced technolo-
gies, such as license plate recognition and browsing history in
smartphones. These technologies allow them to guide shoppers to the
products or stores that they need. Westfield also has a global platform,
Westfield's app, through which retailers can communicate easily with
shoppers at each mall [79].
Another outstanding example of the digital embracer is Quartz in
Villeneuve-la-Garenne North of Paris, France. Through Quartz's app,
shoppers can access digital product information, price comparisons,
search engines for all the products sold in the mall, and personalized
loyalty programs. In addition, geolocation service for the tenants enable
better relationships between brands and consumers [80]. Finally,
Boxpark in London, UK, acts as a platform for both physical and online
retailing, thereby generating revenue from both sides of the retail
value ecosystem [81,82]. Fig. 2 provides a visual representation of the
logic of each strategy.
5. Discussion and implications
The retail ecosystem is currently undergoing major changes. Online
shopping is gaining importance, and digital technologies open up new
interactions among shopping malls, shoppers, and retailers [38]. This
is not all bad news for physical shopping malls. In this new retailing
8 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
Fig. 2. Representation of value flows per strategy.
landscape, some traditional malls may benefit greatly as new digital
technologies and services leverage the value their physical assets pro-
vide, thus creating new sources of revenue and value. However, others
suffer when investments in digital technologies drive costs but fail to
generate revenues. Some malls may thus fail to realize potential syner-
gies between physical assets and digital investments. In fact, a recent
cross-industrial study by PwC shows that the retail industry is weakest
of all regarding knowledge of how to use digital technologies [83]. At
the same time, recent research has shown that retailers may benefit
more from implementing digital technologies than other industries
[21].
The purpose of the present article was to develop a strategy typol-
ogy. Our findings have important implications for researchers working
on digitalization, omnichannel strategies, and two-sided markets. The
typology highlights different sources of value creation that provides
business logic to investments in digital technologies. In this sense, the
present article adds to research on digitalization [33,65] by explicating
the integration of digital technologies that leverage the value proposi-
tion of shopping malls. Some literature has traditionally defended the
benefits of digitalization leading to maximizing the investment of digital
technologies [17]. We identify that shopping malls can create value by
managing different digital technologies, digital service complexity, and
organizational functions involved. These findings also extend prior in-
sights on omnichannel strategies [11,30] by delineating different strate-
gies for integrating digital technologies. Although research on
omnichannel strategies has defended the importance of creating com-
plementarities between channels, the understanding of specific strate-
gies may be further developed. In this line, our paper provides insights
into how firms manage their physical resources along with different
digital technologies. By adding the center of gravity, we identify differ-
ent strategies for firms assigning a significant role to digital technolo-
gies. Thus, the strategy typology shed light on the complexity of
digitalization by proposing digital strategies that involve not only digital
technologies, but also firm resources and ecosystem agents as a whole.
Moreover, our findings highlight the importance of getting different
actors on board in developing advanced services through each strategy.
In this respect, we extend insights in digitalization [19,52] by highlight-
ing contributions of ecosystem agents in networked value creation. In
this respect, prior literature in digitalization has focused on the digital
technologies integrated by retailers [6,21,35]. Our typology thus
Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
transcends firm boundaries and describes the management of the inter-
actions among different ecosystem agents as a critical factor in digitali-
zation. Thus, our typology highlights the importance for shopping
malls in identifying the added value from different ecosystem agents
in defining their strategic goals. Finally, our typology examines several
value flows and roles in value creation in a two-sided market. In this re-
spect, our paper contributes new insights into two-sided market litera-
ture [18,32] by explaining different strategies in changing contexts
where analogue and digital channels coexist. The platform literature
has traditionally elaborated platform strategies in digital contexts
based on IT [84]. The rapid emergence of new sectors, mainly based in
the digital world, has attracted attention toward cases where winners
take all the market by rapidly attracting adopters through subsidies.
However, in many other contexts, the pace of digitalization is slower
and it does not fully substitute the physical resources in the value prop-
osition, like retailing. Our study extends previous studies in platform re-
search [85,86] by distinguishing different roles of digital technologies in
a traditional two-sided market. Specifically, we propose that firms in
a traditional two-sided market can compete with different combina-
tions of physical and digital technologies to attract agents to the
ecosystem.
From a managerial standpoint, the strategy typology proposed in
this article was designed to help owners of shopping malls, retail man-
agers, and consultants understand key opportunities and threats, and to
craft more effective mall-specific strategies to manage the transition to
an increasingly digital world. The strategy typology, comprised of the
three strategies, digital awaiter, digital data gatherer, and digital em-
bracer, constitutes a sense-making device, which can help shopping
malls navigate an increasingly complex retail environment. It could
also help property owners and other actors to proactively approach dig-
italization, create a better alignment with a continuously dynamic and
evolving environment, and integrate internal operations. In applying
the framework, none of the strategies appear better than any other as
such, nor are there any intrinsic reasons why a shopping mall should ex-
cessively digitalize just for the sake of it. Thus, the key challenge for
malls may be to learn by analogy and define their strategic position re-
garding use of digital technologies. This means thoroughly thinking
through the role of digital technologies and what they can accomplish,
while at the same time reflecting upon how to create value for retailers,
shoppers, or both.
 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
In putting the typology to practical use, a first step is trying to under-
stand a certain mall's current position in the framework by considering
the role of digital technologies and center of gravity. A second step is
then to initiate a discussion about strategic change. In this respect, our
typology may allow mall owners to identify a new position for which
to aim with regard to digital technologies. Or, the typology can confirm
that their current strategic position fits their business goals. If a new
strategic position is sought or the current position needs to be rein-
forced, the dimensions delineated for each digital strategy may guide
malls in achieving their goals. In this respect, our typology may facilitate
specifying new goals, assist in evaluating required resources and deci-
sions, and be helpful in assessing the risk for each strategy.
Finally, this study has the following limitations, which motivate fu-
ture research. First, our findings are based largely on descriptive data
generated through case study research. While we deem this as a useful
method for the current study, the limitations and constraints of the case
study method that produced it should be kept in mind in applying the
framework. In particular, because the purpose was to build theory
rather than to test it, future research may extend our contributions by
conducting quantitative analysis of the different strategies. Moreover,
the framework is based on a diverse but limited number of shopping
malls. Further research may extend our insights by analyzing a larger
number of malls. Third, the framework is emergent in the sense that it
was developed based on data of shopping malls that have addressed
digitalization recently. However, both retailers and shoppers are
adopting digital technologies. Given the high dynamism of the phenom-
enon and the potential opportunities for critical changes, future re-
search may track the evolution of these strategies. In this respect,
future research could complement our insights by introducing dynamic
responses from all the actors in the market. Finally, we aggregated data
from different countries to identify common digital strategies. Future
research may introduce institutional, cultural, and technological differ-
ences among countries.
6. Conclusions
Digitalization is reshaping the retailing ecosystem and represents a
critical challenge as well as endless opportunities for shopping malls. Al-
though defining and implementing a digital strategy may require signif-
icant efforts for shopping malls, the absence of a clear digital strategy
may lead to deficiencies in priorities and resource allocation, and finan-
cial losses. The strategy typology we propose is designed to help miti-
gate these problems. It is designed to help owners of shopping malls
to craft better digitalization strategies of an omnichannel nature to
manage the transition to an increasingly digital world. In addition, it
also helps other actors in the ecosystem such as retail managers, cus-
tomers and consultants, to better understand mall-specific challenges.
In sum, the strategy typology constitutes a sense-making device that
can help not only shopping malls but also partners in the ecosystem
to navigate an increasingly complex retail environment.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for comments provided by James Marsden,
Christy Cheung, Yang Chen, Chee‐Wee Tan and two anonymous re-
viewers. The research was funded by the Swedish Governmental
Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA).
Appendix 1. Interview protocol
1. Can you shortly tell us about yourself, your background and what
you work with?
2. If I say digitalization of shopping malls, what is the first thing that
comes to your mind?
3. How do you work specifically with digitalization of retail spaces/
shopping malls?
Please cite this article as: J. Frishammar, et al., Digital strategies for two-sided markets: A case study of shopping malls, Decision Support Systems
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.003
9
4. In what way will customer analytics help shopping malls to create
value?
5. How do physical shopping malls have to adapt and utilize digitaliza-
tion to compete with digital (on-line) competitors?
6. What are your thoughts for changing the physical shopping mall for
the future?
7. What are your customers' expectations on the products and ser-
vices they receive via a shopping mall?
8. How would you describe the typical customers in a mall?
9. What are the greatest challenges for your firm in working with
customers?
10. What type of value does your firm offer to customers in the shop-
ping mall?
11. Which problem/conflicts do you see between different stakeholders
at a shopping mall? For example between retailers and the mall
owner?
12. Do you experience any pressure from individual retailers to develop
new technologies and methods of analysis?
13. Who (or what) are the drivers of digital development in shopping
malls?
14. Which are the major technological developments that allow you to
better understand and track customer behavior?
15. How do you work with different partners around the shopping mall,
and what does the relationship look like? Owners? Retailers? Logis-
tics? Consultants? Customers?
16. How do you work with digitalization as a mean for real time com-
munication and interaction with your customers to enhance the
customer experience in shopping malls?
17. Which actors do you think a shopping mall have to work closer with
to enhance their work with digitalization in the future?
18. What key activities are most important for a shopping mall to inte-
grate customer analytics?
19. What are the core competences that will be needed by the retail ac-
tors and shopping malls for them to take advantage of
digitalization?
20. How do you think revenue streams will change for shopping malls
as a result of digitalization?
21. Which costs do you think will be added (and possibly increased) as
digitalization changes the retailing ecosystem?
22. How do you think the role of the shopping mall will change in the
future?
23. How do you think digitalization will change shopping malls within
the next five years?
24. Which actors do you think are the ones who have come furthest in
their work with digitalization of shopping malls?
25. If you were allowed to speculate, which new technologies do you
think will have the most influence over the development of malls
in the future?
26. Is there anything you think we have missed talking about during
the interview that you wish to bring up?
Appendix 2. Survey items1
1. Does your organization have an expressed strategy to address the
future opportunities and threats of digitalization? (Response for-
mat: Yes; No; No, but a strategy is under development; I don't
know).
2. How would you describe your organizations strategy to address the
ongoing digitalization? (Response format: Open ended).
3. Which department/function in your organization has the main re-
sponsibility for digitalization? (Response format: Sales; Marketing;
R&D; Business development; Top management; IT; Maintenance;
Other; No particular department is responsible; I don't know).
1
Only the survey items and questions that were used in the results section are
displayed.
10 J. Frishammar et al. / Decision Support Systems xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
4. Does your organization use any of the following digital tools/appli-
cations/platforms? (Response format: e-commerce; Indoor posi-
tioning systems; Heatmaps over consumer flows; Free Wi-Fi;
Social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram); Mobile aps for
consumers; Mobile apps for internal use; Click-and-collect services;
Shoppable windows; Big data analytics; Self-checkout; Mobile pay-
ments; Digital loyalty programs).
5. What are the main drivers for your organization's investments in
digital technology? (Response format: Open ended; Create more
touch points with customers; Keep pace with competition; Increase
efficiency; Lower costs; Increase sales; Development of new ser-
vices; Optimizing the design of retail space; Meet customer de-
mand; Improve business intelligence through big data analytics;
Improve shopping experiences; Increase consumer loyalty; Create
seamless omni-channel shopping experiences).
6. My organization today possesses the necessary capabilities to ad-
dress the digitalization of shopping malls (Response format: 1
strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree).
7. Our digitalization efforts are primarily focused on building internal
capacity rather than changing consumer experiences of the physical
retail space (Response format: 1 strongly disagree to 5 strongly
agree).
8. Digitalization investments in my organization today drive costs
more than revenues (Response format: 1 strongly disagree to 5
strongly agree).
9. In the future, which role or roles should shopping centers play in the
digital context? (Response format: Open ended; Offer retailers a
shared infrastructure and platform for consumer data collection
and analytics; Coordinate logistics and click and collect solutions
for retailers; Market the physical retail location and brand through
digital channels; Offer retailers solutions for seamless omni-chan-
nel shopping experiences; Offer flexible and temporary retail spaces
for online retailers; Offer shared platforms for and integration of re-
tailers customer loyalty programs; Offer retailers new rental con-
tract models; Drive innovation in ancillary digital services;
Optimize design of retail spaces through the use of data collection;
Offer solutions for location-based consumer marketing to retailers).
10. What are the greatest challenges for shopping malls in the context
of digitalization? (Response format: Open ended; Developing a co-
herent digital strategy; Acquiring internal digital capabilities; De-
veloping digital consumer services; Deciding on technology
investments; Cyber security and data protection; Connecting with
consumers on new platforms; other).
11. What are the greatest opportunities for shopping centers in the
context of digitalization? (Response format: Attracting new con-
sumer segments; Increasing consumer time spent at the shopping
mall; Improving consumer insight for the benefit of retailers and
other tenants; Optimizing design of retail space and retailer mix; In-
creasing points of contact with consumers through digital media;
Developing new revenue models and revenue streams; other).
12. How will digitalization affect shopping malls within the next five
years? (Response format: Open ended).
13. In your view, who is the industry leader in the digitalization of
shopping malls? (Response format: Open ended).
14. Thank you for participating in our survey. If you have any other com-
ments or thoughts on the digitalization of shopping malls, please
write them in the box below. (Response format: Open ended).
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