Digital Business: Key Trends, Emerging Models, and Collaborative Relationships

This report discusses the key trends and advantages of digital technology, emerging digital business models, and the impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology. It focuses on the organizational context of Currys, a major British retailer dealing in electronic products. The report also covers the implications of managing virtual businesses in the global environment, cyber security and ethics, and the impact of crypto currency such as Bitcoin on businesses.

Digital Business

Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Key trends and advantages of digital technology and implications for managing virtual
................................................................................................................................................3
business in the global environment.....................................................................................3
New and emerging digital business models in the context of key business issues such as
................................................................................................................................................6
cyber security and ethics......................................................................................................6
Impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital
technology..............................................................................................................................8
Impact of crypto currency such as Bitcoin on businesses.................................................9
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
In the modern business landscape, the need to be hyper competitive is a necessity as there
are many disruptions in the external and internal environment which disturbs the operational
flow of companies in a regular basis. One of the major ways for companies to sustain their
competitive edge in the market is through use of digital technologies as they help increase the
reach and capabilities of business while also enabling transformation in the infrastructure from
physical to digital (Martínez-Caro, Cegarra-Navarro and Alfonso-Ruiz, 2020). Digital
transformation is a necessity in modern business scenario as in the post pandemic world, strict
dependency on physical outlets and traditional business models has been disastrous for firms as
the entire world has mostly embraced e-commerce and internet based utility offerings (Gebauer,
and et.al., 2021). This report will be done in the organizational context of Currys which is a
major and highly established British retailer dealing in all types of electronic products. The
company was established as a bicycle retailer in 1927 and is currently headquartered in Acton,
London. There will be focus on the growing importance and benefits of using digital
technologies along with different emerging trends in the field with the focus on strategic
collaborations and emergence of crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
MAIN BODY
Key trends and advantages of digital technology and implications for managing virtual
business in the global environment
Digital technologies refers to the combination of electrical systems comprising of various
tools, systems and devices which are integrated in the working capabilities of a business to
generate and analyse data resulting in new operational channels and increased efficiency (Pihir,
Tomičić-Pupek and Furjan, 2018). The need for such advanced solutions for businesses is
extremely high in modern times as social media and the internet has converted the world into one
single large hub and conducting trade with such a large audience size is very lucrative for firms
despite of their size and infrastructure. Some recent trends and new processes related to digital
technologies have been listed herein.
 Robotic process automation – Just like other major digital solutions such as Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, Robotic Process Automation or RPA is also

helping automate jobs around the globe. This technology involves the use of smart
software and advanced information systems to perform functions ranging from complex
business calculations and analysis to sending e-mails to staff. The benefits that businesses
can reap from using these technologies are numerous such as increase in efficiency and
boos to revenue and customer service but the price paid in the long run is not enough as
multiple jobs are being threatened and erased due to automation taking over. Currys has
successfully automated a lot of systems involved in its e-commerce business through
RPA such as its production line operations and warehouse functions.
 Block chain – It is a new technology that is paving the way for businesses to keep a
digital record of their transactions that occur at different places and time in one place.
Block chain is basically a shared and immutable ledger and it is primarily used for the
purpose of keeping an electronic record of trading transactions and tracking both tangible
and intangible assets in a massive business network such as cash, land and intellectual
property rights (Vigliotti and Jones, 2020). This technology is currently in massive trend
worldwide due to its design and structure making it immune to hacking and third party
disruptions which makes it a secure system for businesses to manage their daily
operations. Currys also uses this technology as its e-commerce business contains a large
volume of daily transactions of electronics which have to be stored digitally.
 Virtual reality and augmented reality – These technologies are often used and grouped
together but are slightly different as Virtual Reality provides a new environment to get
immersed in while Augmented Reality enhances the natural environment around people.
Both AR and VR solutions have been used in the past mostly in the video gaming
industry but their modern usage is quickly expanding into areas such as designing
training and development curriculums, marketing, smart education and helping
institutions like Museums offer a deeper historical and customer driven experience
(Santos, Murmura and Bravi, 2018). Another reason behind these technologies trending is
that their future growth is projected to be quite robust as the industry will be worth more
than 200 billion dollars by the end of 2022. Currys has recognized this growth and has
begun preparing in advance by making high quality and cheap VR headsets and games
available for purchase on their e-commerce website.

Digital technologies come in many different forms and offer different utilities to all types
of businesses but the advantages that they allow a business to take advantage of cannot be denied
as most firms which have shifted from physical to online retail and built sales channel on the
web have significantly increased their reach and profit margins. Some major advantages of
digital technologies have been described below.
 Improved performance – Digital technologies help a firm optimize and streamline their
existing processes which results in better operational efficiency and ability to expand the
existing capabilities into new and creative directions. Currys has many digital systems
integrated within its working environment and on its website which helps achieve better
performance by providing employees with great working conditions and giving
customer’s convenience through smart search and recommendation options online.
 Better customer experience – By using these technological solutions, companies can
service customers in a faster, safer and more proactive way by saving time and effort
from both ends. Currys started out as a physical retailer but by building online sales
channels and e-commerce platforms, it allows people of UK to shop from a range of
products at one place including PC components, video games, home appliance, cameras
and so much more. Robust data security and privacy – Businesses have to be pay keen attention to the data
they collect from their customers and to keep it safe at any cost. Digital technologies help
safeguard both the customer data that firms collect and the sensitive information that
businesses generate themselves (Sousa and Wilks, 2018). Currys needs to be better in this
department as its website has been hacked in the past and the company does collect a lot
of data and keeps it for a long time according to its privacy and cookie policy (Currys PC
World fined £500,000 for cyber attack that put 14million credit cards at risk, 2022).
Virtual businesses management is very crucial for firms which have successfully adopted
various systems powered by the internet in their operational and departmental working as major
use of internet in activities comes with their own set of errors and complications. When it comes
to international business management, digital technologies are very helpful as solutions such as
Artificial Intelligence, block chains and AR can be easily integrated with internet capabilities to
provide better and more secure services worldwide. Currys is a virtual business as most of its

business is conducted online and it uses smart technologies to excel digitally such as SEO
(search engine optimization) and e-commerce portal development to name a few.
New and emerging digital business models in the context of key business issues such as
cyber security and ethics
Businesses have been moving away from traditional methods and models of undertaking
trade related operations in their target market and there are a large variety of business models
which are successfully conducting trade while being powered through robust digital
technologies. With the advent of digital solutions and infrastructure getting installed in major
business systems, there is also a growing concern within the general public regarding ethics and
cyber security as the amount of data and its sensitive nature is increasing at an alarming rate
(Nissen, 2018). Businesses are also ignoring cyber security systems in a bid to get quick online
presence which can also be disastrous for their customers. Some emerging models of digital
business are listed below along with their related business issues.
 Freemium model – This model is one of the most extensively used digital business
approaches used by companies as it much more profitable and sustainable than the free
model in the short and medium term and also gives the customers the decision to spend
on the service to get exclusive benefits or keep using it for free. In this model, most of the
users get a free and basic version of the application or service which they can use to their
hearts content or as a free trial which is very limited in use and subsequent up-gradations
of the service require either a one time or monthly payment systems (Deibert, 2018). A
great example of this model is seen on Spotify as the utility of music listening is free for
all audiences but to get rid of advertisements and get advanced features, one has to pay
for the service. This model is also seen in the mobile games industry which is also a
multimillion dollar market segment.
 Free-Model (Advertisement integration) – This is also a widely used model in the
modern business landscape which is typically employed by well established companies
which have access to a large number of audience to cater its service towards without any
costing. The major reason behind this model being sustainable even when the market
offering is completely free because in such cases the customer themselves are the
products which the company sells. A great example of this model is Google which

provides search engine facility for free but collects data regarding customer preferences
and searches to recommend them products and they also sell this data to the highest
bidder in many cases.
 E-commerce model – This is the most extensively found business model in modern
times as most sellers and retailers prefer to sell with online channels rather than physical
stores in the post pandemic world. This model usually involves customers purchasing
goods and services from companies through websites and portals found on the internet.
The e-commerce model has been highly successful due to the alternate routes it opens up
for firms to target a much broader audience and this model is also very lucrative as once
business picks up, the investment made is quickly paid off. Currys is a major example of
such model as the company sells a vast majority of the electronic products from its own
website which is built to facilitate convenient and smart methods of shopping online. Ecosystem model – It is one of the most powerful digital business model in work
currently which involves a business using interconnected tools and models of strategic
management and digital technologies to build a large portfolio of services for customers
to indulge themselves in. These massive portfolio based models extend across different
industries and businesses have to spend massive money to manage cross departmental
operations and boost their diverse business operations. A major example of such
ecosystem was Currys before it integrated its four brand offerings into a single brand
overhaul. The company used to offer computer, laptop and gaming products under Currys
PC World, and retail operations at Dixon, Car phone Warehouse for smartphone business
and Team Knowhow for solution services (Currys rebrand: Four brands become one as
it ‘invests hard’ in simplified proposition, 2022).
Currys currently operates under one branding and website for all its product and uses an
e-commerce model which is a drastic change from the digital ecosystem model it followed
before 2021 and both these models have different ethical and security issues that the company
must take care of. While using a digital ecosystem, businesses must ensure that all their
departments are in sync with each other and while marketing one business on a separate website,
the information which is displayed must be true and there should be no false advertisements. The
data collected through large ecosystems is also very sensitive in nature and must be protected at

all costs. Now that Currys has switched to an e-commerce model and operates with a single
website, it has to be careful about building robust servers to handle customer traffic and upgrade
its current data collection policies as it is not transparent and is rather ambiguous. Cyber security
issues have also occurred before with the company and must be remedied using strong antivirus
and hacker protection systems.
Impact of new collaborative relationships and strategic alliances through digital technology
The global business environment is quite tough to navigate for a company on their own
as it requires access to a massive pool of resources and a robust organizational and infrastructural
capabilities to sustain in the market without any help. In order to save some costs and conduct
their business operations more efficiently, companies often collaborate and enter into strategic
alliances with each other. Strategic alliances refers to the arrangement which takes place between
multiple companies which dictates their decision to share resources for easy achievement of
business projects (Romito, Vurro and Russo, 2020). When it comes to virtual businesses and
projects which require collaboration involving digital technologies, entering into partnerships
and strategic alliances can have the following impacts on Currys.
 Ease of entry in new market segments – Before expanding the service and product
portfolio and lines in the market, businesses have to undertake complex and exhaustive
processes such as market research, segmentation and targeting tactics and niche
optimization. Use of strategic alliances can help Currys further expand its electronic
product offerings and can also help divide the work for market research involved in
creating brand new product lines.
 New skills and technological integrations – Each company possesses workforce and
capabilities which contain unique skills and technological systems and whenever strategic
alliances take place between firms, they also exchange and help each other in learning
new forms of digital technologies resulting in both companies improving their
competencies and productivity. Currys can benefit from entering into alliances with other
firms specializing in e-commerce technologies to help support its new brand merger and
overhaul.
 Enhanced distribution channels – Most companies enter into partnerships when they
encounter barriers in the market which they cannot avoid or overcome without help of

other enterprises. Businesses which are looking for expansion or are scaling their
production to match market demand to undergo growth face supply chain bottlenecks and
entering into alliances help this problem by increasing the number of suppliers the firm
has access to and its supply chain network broadens its reach. Currys supply chains have
been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit which has resulted in electronic
product shortages and entering into collaborative partnerships and strategic alliances can
help the firm regain its foothold in UK's electronic retail industry.
Impact of crypto currency such as Bitcoin on businesses
At its core, crypto currency is the brand new form of decentralized monetary units which
are designed to be exchanged over the internet for a fixed value and their introduction all the
back in 2008 was met with much scepticism. However after more than a decade later, the
concept has grown leaps and bounds with multiple crypto currencies floating in the market such
as Bitcoin and Ethereum and many major brands and countries have acknowledged the presence
and potential lucrativeness and negative effect of them on the global economy (Sharma, and
et.al., 2020). Bitcoin in particular is the most popular and widely used crypto currency in the
world and uses peer to peer digital technologies to facilitate easy, instant and seamless payments.
The impact of such forms of currencies on businesses has been discussed herein.
 Highly volatile and inconsistent adoption – However lucrative these currencies might
seem in the long run, they are extremely volatile market instruments whose values
fluctuate daily based on minute events which makes their mass usage a gamble for any
business regardless of their budget. Another major impact that Bitcoin will have on
businesses is an unclear policy of legal adoption as there are too many alternatives
available.
 Lower costs and promise of larger profits – Crypto currency are the next step cowards
currency evolution and the best planning for growth businesses can undergo is to be
ready for bringing the next highly anticipated change or trend in the market. Many
businesses are increasingly adopting crypto and are saving money as the transactional
fees on Bitcoin and its alternatives are next to nothing and they are faster than
traditionally currency oriented transactions.

 Robust business and data security – Since all the transactions involving Bitcoin and
other alternatives are recorded and executed via block chain technology and digitals
crypto wallets, they are very secure means of conducting business as third party
interference chances are next to none. If the need for data protection and privately
making business deals and transactions exceed current norms then the impact of crypto
adoption could be seen on a global level.
Legal adoption of Bitcoin as a currency by a government for all operations in their country is a
controversial move which was executed by El Salvador in September 2021 as they country
started backing official crypto wallets for facilitating Bitcoin exchanges through the country.
This move seemed futuristic and ground-breaking on paper but the reality is quite grim as just
after a few months, the current situation of the crypto system adopted by the government is
cracked and riddled with operational errors as the government helpline is slow and unresponsive
and the prices are outrageous and volatile. Bitcoin adoption is tricky waters as the situation of El
Salvador is even getting requested by global bodies such as the IMF to repeal the Bitcoin system
to get its loan appeal approved (IMF urges El Salvador to strip Bitcoin’s legal tender status,
2022).
CONCLUSION
The above report went into detail regarding the importance and growing need of digital
adoption of latest technologies as they help the business develop and maintain competitive edge
in their respective market segments. There were detailed discussions held on the importance of
such technologies for established retail companies operating in UK such as boost in
organizational efficiency and better customer serving along emerging trends like artificial
intelligence and virtual reality applications. Various models of digital business were studied in
detail along with their benefits and disadvantages related to ethics and cyber security such as
digital ecosystems, e-commerce portals, freemium and free models which are all used
extensively in the modern business landscape. The report also included the role of strategic
alliances and collaboration between businesses to push forward such advanced technologies and
it was concluded with brief discussion on crypto currencies and their impact on the businesses

going forward along with commentary on the legal adoption of Bitcoin by El Salvador in
September, 2021 by explaining how the move backfired.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Martínez-Caro, E., Cegarra-Navarro, J.G. and Alfonso-Ruiz, F.J., 2020. Digital technologies and
firm performance: The role of digital organisational culture. Technological Forecasting
and Social Change, 154, p.119962.
Gebauer, H., and et.al., 2021. Digital servitization: Crossing the perspectives of digitization and
servitization. Industrial Marketing Management, 93, pp.382-388.
Pihir, I., Tomičić-Pupek, K. and Furjan, M.T., 2018. Digital transformation insights and trends.
In Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (pp. 141-149).
Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varazdin.
Santos, G., Murmura, F. and Bravi, L., 2018. Fabrication laboratories: The development of new
business models with new digital technologies. Journal of Manufacturing Technology
Management.
Sousa, M.J. and Wilks, D., 2018. Sustainable skills for the world of work in the digital age.
Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 35(4), pp.399-405.
Nissen, V., 2018. Digital transformation of the consulting industry—introduction and overview.
In Digital transformation of the consulting industry (pp. 1-58). Springer, Cham.
Vigliotti, M.G. and Jones, H., 2020. The executive guide to Blockchain: Using smart contracts
and digital currencies in your business. Springer Nature.
Deibert, R.J., 2018. Toward a human-centric approach to cybersecurity. Ethics & International
Affairs, 32(4), pp.411-424.
Romito, S., Vurro, C. and Russo, A., 2020. Let Your Light Shine: The Effect of Stakeholder
Orientation on Strategic Alliance Formation. In Academy of Management Proceedings
(Vol. 2020, No. 1, p. 20725). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Sharma, S.K., and et.al., 2020. Impact of application of big data on cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology Applications, pp.181-195.
Online referencing
Currys rebrand: Four brands become one as it ‘invests hard’ in simplified proposition, 2022
[online] available through https://www.marketingweek.com/currys-carphone-warehouse/
IMF urges El Salvador to strip Bitcoin’s legal tender status, 2022 [online] available through
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/1/25/imf-urges-el-salvador-to-strip-bitcoins-legal-
tender-status#:~:text=El%20Salvador%20in%20September%20made%20the%20cryptocurrency
%20legal%20tender%20alongside,adopted%20Bitcoin%20as%20legal%20tender.
Currys PC World fined £500,000 for cyber attack that put 14million credit cards at risk, 2022
[online] available through https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/currys-pc-world-fined-500000-
21251653