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How ESL Devices Transform into Connected Label Solutions: A Perspective of Actor Interaction and
Information Rebundling

of human-machine collaboration. It also generates robust evidence of value creation to
win important trust and attract various ecosystem actors. At each stage, management must
consider how to attract diverse actors, which depends on how these actors can contribute
to the digital transformation.

Relevant technology adoption further demands consideration of information
as another aspect of digital transformation. Digital transformation can dematerialize
information and change it into a digital format. It remains unclear what kind of information

can be dematerialized, as the consequences of digital transformation vary depending on
the technological feature. However, management should be able to map what type of
information is affected and how to better utilize this digital information to create new
value for customers. Practitioners should be able to answer how focal actors can use
digital information further by collaborating with different ecosystem actors to unbundle,

rebundle, and, in the end, outsource the information.

6.2 Theoretical Implications

Our study provides two theoretical contributions on how adopting an emerging
technology triggers digital transformation processes in a specific ecosystem. Our study
highlights a novel view of two-way digital transformation. First, focal actors adopt digital
technology and gain certain benefits for their operations and customers. Then, we enhance
this study by pointing out that actors in the ecosystem also involve the co-creation and

co-evolution of the technology to synchronize with the technical specification of the
digital transformation. Each actor shares this process by leveraging their core abilities to
overcome barriers and challenges together to achieve the desirable collective goals in the

ecosystem.
Our second contribution regards how information density in digital transformation
can shift existing business models. Adopting technology can dematerialize information
and separate it from physical and digital environments. Through this process, information
is free to flow across different platforms. Focal actors within the ecosystem should be able

to capture this process, closing the gap between physical and digital environments. Focal
actors should also be able to see this opportunity and shift the existing business models to
create new value for their customers.

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