Me Too: Value Creation by Digitalization and Data Privacy

The paper analyzes two timely business trends: Digitalization and Data Privacy which are deepening their roots globally. Businesses are overwhelmed with enormous quantities of data processed by their internal operations such as website cookies, mobile applications, surveillance cameras, etc. Some even purchase data from data vendors who have better capacity to process it to suit specific business targets. More companies are developing new business models to capture value from the digitalization process. Such business models include Apple Pay, Google Pay, Ali Pay and Lufthansa Miles & More purchase enabled loyalty card which were traditionally companies offering mobile phones, advertising and travel services and core businesses respectively. Other companies are digitalizing partially or wholly their business processes to improve security, these include banks, create convenience by using personal identifying techniques such as fingerprint or facial recognition while others process data and invent business solutions for future use to compete in the market. Previous studies addressed the topics of Business Models without much emphasis on the digital trends and evolving issues such as Data Privacy and Digital Ethics. Comparatively, the topic of Data Privacy has also been argued in biased ways by previous scholars either from a utilitarian point of view where they claimed that privacy should be accorded great importance for businesses only and not individuals or as a basic human right by social scientists and law scholars. We suggest a checklist to minimize risks from both the utilitarian and ethical points of view for enterprises in the digital era.