The Level of Digitalization of The Business Models and its Influence on The Internationalization Processes of The Health Technology Industry

Abstract

Digitalization is rapidly transforming the global economy, with implications for the health technology industry. The integration of digital technologies in health technology has revolutionized consumer behaviors and business operations. This research aims to build a deeper understanding of the different levels of digital integration within the health technology industry and explore their influence on speed, earliness, and geographical scope for international expansion. The research adopts an exploratory approach to delve into the relationship between digitalization and internationalization in the health technology industry. Drawing inspiration on abductive logic, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The initial phase involved collecting qualitative data through semi-structured interviews to enhance comprehension of the theoretical model and to illustrate and grasp patterns of digitalization in the empirical data. In the subsequent phase, quantitative data was used to test the model on a wider sample for thorough validation. The thesis findings highlight that digitalization within a business model significantly influences speed and earliness by fostering agility, innovation, and efficiency, thereby facilitating expansion into international markets. In contrast, the research revealed that market readiness and industry characteristics significantly affect the health technology industry, reducing the influence of digitalization on business models’ geographic scope, resulting in an insignificant effect.