@techreport{eprints4084, title = {Value creation mechanisms of cloud computing: a conceptual framework}, type = {CSA Technical Report}, year = {2022}, institution = {IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca}, author = {Leonardo Mazzoni and Gabriele Costa}, publisher = {IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca}, month = {December}, url = {http://eprints.imtlucca.it/4084/}, keywords = {Cloud computing; business model; value creation; startups; innovation management}, abstract = {The management literature has analysed Cloud Computing, mainly focusing on the impact of its technical properties (e.g. accessibility, elasticity, scaling) on firms' dynamics, without explicitly addressing the dynamic generation of value streams. With this paper we fill this gap, linking the unexplored potential sources of Cloud Computing with the literature on business model value creation. We define a conceptual model able to integrate existent technical knowledge on Cloud Computing with the understudied part on the value creation mechanisms, dynamically representing their interaction. Our approach is based on a mixed methodology built on three pillars: 1) systematic literature review of the properties of Cloud Computing with an impact on firms? management in order to identify possible gaps, using value generation within business models as the unit of analysis; 2) multiple case studies to inductively derive the emerging properties using Gioia methodology, analysing 20 startups in the AWS business case repository; 3) dynamic representation between technical properties extracted by literature review and emergent properties, focusing on the value streams generation. Results confirm how the leveraging potentiality of Cloud Computing goes well beyond technical advantages, deeply inserting in the business model system and enabling different sources of value creation.} }