Characteristics and Classification of Technology Sector Companies in Digital Health for Diabetes

Satoru Kikuchi, Kota Kadama and Shintaro Sengoku
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Satoru Kikuchi: Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan
Kota Kadama: Graduate School of Technology Management, Ritsumeikan University, Osaka 567-8570, Japan
Shintaro Sengoku: Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: In recent years, technological progress in smart devices and artificial intelligence has also led to advancements in digital health. Digital health tools are especially prevalent in diabetes treatment and improving lifestyle. In digital health’s innovation ecosystem, new alliance networks are formed not only by medical device companies and pharmaceutical companies but also by information and communications technology (ICT) companies and start-ups. Therefore, while focusing on digital health for diabetes, this study explored the characteristics of companies with high network centralities. Our analysis of the changes in degree, betweenness, and eigenvector centralities of the sample companies from 2011 to 2020 found drastic changes in the company rankings of those with high network centrality during this period. Accordingly, the following eight companies were identified and investigated as the top-ranking technology sector companies: IBM Watson Health, Glooko, DarioHealth, Welldoc, OneDrop, Fitbit, Voluntis, and Noom. Lastly, we characterized these cases into three business models: (i) intermediary model, (ii) substitute model, and (iii) direct-to-consumer model, and we analyzed their customer value.

Keywords: digital health; alliance networks; technology sector; diabetes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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