The European Journal of Information Systems provides a distinctive European perspective on the theory and practice of information systems for a global audience. We encourage first rate research articles by academics, but also case studies and reflective articles by practitioners. We provide a critical view on technology, development, implementation, strategy, management and policy.

Purpose – To construct and test, through its application to a real case study, a methodology that generates contingencies for the evolution of a company or an industry's reference business model (BM) under the impact of a technology innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on theoretical predicaments of organizational development and scenario planning as well as more recently published works (2001-2004) on BM design and change in order to build the primary steps of the methodology. A contingency approach is applied for selecting among alternatives the most suitable future BM. The usefulness and applicability of the provided methodology are proved through a real case study that concerns changing the exhibition's industry reference BM under the impact of a mobile innovation. Findings – The proposed methodology is primarily useful in cases where a strategic manager wishes to draw and assess not one totally new BM but a set of scenarios that reflect alternative configurations for its current BM evolution. Such a methodology needs to be complemented with a contingency framework for guiding the selection of the scenario that better suits the internal and external environment of the company. Research limitations/implications – It is expected that related theories, such as the theory of Industrial Organization and the theory of Network Economics, also need to be examined under the light of BM change to identify and cross-validate factors that contribute to the design and assessment of BMs. Practical implications – The ultimate utility of the proposed methodology is as a road-map for leading change in the value-creation logic of a firm, taking advantage of an advanced technology solution. By continuously changing their BM, and identifying new ways to deliver value to their customers, firms aspire to obtain and sustain a competitive advantage in high-velocity environments. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified research gap for a structured approach towards changing the BM of a firm, which introduces a technology innovation by keeping the principles of the old (traditional) business logic and taking into account the effects incurred from the firm's internal and external environment.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue for the role of the blockchain, i.e., distributed ledger technology, in building innovative business models, including machine money, autonomous economic agents and decentralised organisations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is conceptual/argumentative. As such, it draws on research on (e-)commerce, theories of markets, disruptive innovation and extant studies and conceptual work at the intersection of cryptocurrencies, machine-to-machine commerce and the Internet of Things. Findings: The authors highlight three application areas for blockchains, whereby they can function as applications, can help develop autonomous economic agents and can lead the development of decentralised autonomous organisations. With regards to the question of market disintermediation, the authors suggest that, rather than complete disintermediation, the most probable scenario is that of new types of intermediaries finding previously unthinkable roles to play in mediating blockchain-based economic transactions. With regards to the inhibitors that slow down the technology’s adoption and, therefore, the development of new business applications, the authors posit that these relate mainly to the inherent risk of the technology, infrastructure requirements, scepticism of early decision makers and the lack of required new skills and competencies. Originality/value: The authors examine how new forms of digital money and technologies embedding trust in decentralised networks will alter markets and commerce, at a time when many regulatory issues remain unresolved; in doing so, the authors focus on how blockchain-enabled technologies can be used to enable and further develop decentralised trusted peer-to-peer transaction ledger systems and applications and lead to sustainable business models.

Wireless positioning determination has received increased attention during the past few years. Several wireless applications have been envisaged when mobile terminal location can be determined with sufficient accuracy at any time. In this paper, we attempt to identify the various indoor and outdoor positioning techniques that can be used for the provision of mobile and wireless applications and services. In order to maximize the benefits of this research in the area of positioning technologies, we propose a novel taxonomy with detailed analysis and evaluation of these techniques based on the accuracy that is needed for various mobile location-based services.