| Course | MGT 570 Advanced Strategic Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | MBA digital strategy paper |
| Length | About 1,057 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 570 Module 6
When the Billboard Becomes a Connected Product: Digital Business Strategy for a Regional Outdoor Company
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Aspen University
MGT 570: Advanced Strategic Management
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
When the Billboard Becomes a Connected Product: Digital Business Strategy for a Regional Outdoor Company
Steel structures and printed vinyl were the whole business when Natural State Outdoor, a composite Arkansas company, began. Today, 64 of its faces are digital screens connected to the internet, 60 more are planned and a pilot lets small businesses order and design ads from their phones. Its strategy for local advertisers depends on technology, and its indoor screen network will be digital from the start. Yet technology is still managed as a support function, run by one network technician and an outside vendor. This paper argues that digital technology has become part of the company's strategy and sets out a digital strategy.
Digital Business Strategy
Bharadwaj et al. (2013) argued that the separation between business strategy and IT strategy no longer makes sense for many firms, and proposed thinking in terms of a digital business strategy fused with business strategy. They identified four themes: the scope of digital strategy, extending across functions and firm boundaries; the scale of digital operations, including network effects and cloud resources; the speed of digital business, in launching products, making decisions and reconfiguring networks; and the sources of value creation and capture, such as information and multisided business models.
The Billboard as a Connected Product
Porter and Heppelmann (2014) analyzed how products with sensors, processors and connectivity change competition. Such products progress through four capabilities: monitoring their condition and environment, control by remote command, optimization using data and autonomy. They change industry structure, raising buyers' expectations, opening new services and allowing firms to compete across former industry boundaries. A digital billboard is a connected product: it can report its status, change content remotely, schedule messages by time and conditions and, with sensors, estimate audiences.
How Transformation Unfolds
Vial (2019) reviewed research on digital transformation and described it as a process in which digital technologies trigger disruptions, organizations respond strategically, value creation paths change, and structural changes follow in organization, culture, leadership and roles. Impediments include inertia and resistance, and outcomes can be positive or negative. Transformation requires organizational change, not just new systems.
Digital Initiatives
| Theme | Initiative | Strategic purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Self-service ordering for billboards and indoor screens | Reach small businesses directly; one platform for all inventory |
| Scale | Cloud-based content management for all digital faces | Add faces without adding staff |
| Speed | Same-day ad changes by advertisers | Serve time-sensitive local offers |
| Sources of value | Sensor-based audience counts and advertiser reports | Charge for measurable reach; data rivals lack locally |
| Connected product: monitoring | Screen health alerts | Reduce downtime and crew trips |
| Connected product: optimization | Time-of-day pricing and scheduling | Raise revenue per face |
How Competition Changes
Porter and Heppelmann's analysis suggests that connected products change who the company competes with. Once billboards and indoor screens are sold through an app with audience data, Natural State competes not only with other outdoor firms but with online advertising platforms for small business budgets. Its advantages in that contest are physical presence in local places and relationships with business owners; its disadvantage is data and software, which the plan must address.
Data as a Strategic Asset
Audience data could become a source of value in its own right. Combining sensor counts with traffic data, the company can tell a restaurant how many people passed its message at lunch on weekdays, information national firms offer only to large advertisers. Owning this data, rather than leaving it with the screen vendor, keeps the value with the company.
Organizational Changes
Vial's review warns that technology without structural change disappoints. The company will hire a digital products manager reporting to the president, add a data analyst and train salespeople to read audience reports with advertisers. Crews will shift some work from vinyl changes to screen maintenance.
Lessons From Others
Other outdoor companies that moved to programmatic and self-service sales found the toughest obstacle was the sales team's habits rather than the technology: salespeople used to negotiating monthly contracts were slow to promote self-service, fearing it would cut their commissions. Natural State will pay salespeople a commission on platform sales from advertisers they recruit, aligning their interests with the shift.
Who Leads the Digital Strategy
Bharadwaj and colleagues' fusion of business and digital strategy means the president, not the network technician, must own the digital agenda. The new digital products manager will report to her and join the leadership team, and digital measures will appear in every monthly business review.
The Advertiser's Experience
The strategy succeeds only if a small business owner finds it easy. In testing, owners abandoned orders when asked to size images or choose between technical display formats. The platform will offer three simple templates, accept a phone photo and preview the ad on a picture of the actual board before payment.
Impediments
Legacy habits are the main obstacle: salespeople accustomed to monthly contracts, a billing system built for static boards and a vendor relationship that does not allow quick changes. The plan replaces billing within a year and renegotiates the vendor contract to give the company ownership of its data.
Sequencing the Initiatives
The initiatives cannot all begin together. Year one focuses on the platform and cloud content management, which every other initiative depends on. Audience sensors follow on the busiest faces in year two, once the platform can deliver reports. Time-of-day pricing comes last, after the company has a year of audience data to set prices sensibly.
Costs
The digital team, platform development and sensors will cost about $1.9 million over three years, beyond the cost of the screens themselves. The company expects platform sales and higher revenue per face to repay the investment within four years.
Fit With Purpose
The digital strategy serves the purpose set in Module 1. Self-service ordering, design templates and audience reports are the tools that make outdoor advertising affordable and understandable for the small local businesses the company wants to serve. Without them, the purpose would remain a slogan.
Measures
The company will track the share of revenue through the ordering platform, revenue per digital face, screen uptime and advertiser use of audience reports.
Conclusion
Bharadwaj and colleagues' themes, Porter and Heppelmann's connected product capabilities and Vial's account of transformation show that Natural State's technology is now its strategy. Building a platform, owning its data and changing its structure and skills will determine whether the shift creates advantage.
References
Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O. A., Pavlou, P. A., & Venkatraman, N. (2013). Digital business strategy: Toward a next generation of insights. MIS Quarterly, 37(2), 471-482. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2013/37:2.3
Porter, M. E., & Heppelmann, J. E. (2014). How smart, connected products are transforming competition. Harvard Business Review, 92(11), 64-88.
Vial, G. (2019). Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(2), 118-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2019.01.003
What the MGT 570 Module 6 instructions ask for
Module 6 of Aspen's MGT 570 treats information technology as part of strategy rather than a department. Students typically examine how digital technology changes an organization's business and recommend a digital strategy integrated with its overall plan. Requirements come from the course's Module 6 page; the worked case is still the Arkansas billboard firm. Explain how digital technology affects the organization's competition, including new kinds of rivals. Use research on digital business strategy and transformation, citing original studies. Identify specific digital initiatives and their strategic purpose, organized by theme. Address organizational changes, skills and impediments, naming the hardest ones. Connect the digital strategy to the organization's purpose and business strategy, and sequence the initiatives.
How this MGT 570 Module 6 example is built
Natural State Outdoor now operates 64 digital faces, plans 60 more and has piloted self-service ordering for small advertisers. Bharadwaj and colleagues' MIS Quarterly article argues that digital strategy should be fused with business strategy and examined for its scope, scale, speed and sources of value creation. Porter and Heppelmann's Harvard Business Review article describes the monitoring, control, optimization and autonomy capabilities of smart, connected products and how they reshape industries. Vial's Journal of Strategic Information Systems review lays out digital transformation as triggers, strategic responses, changes in value creation, structural changes and impediments. A table lists initiatives such as remote content scheduling, sensor-based audience counts and a data product for advertisers. The plan creates a small digital team, adds data skills to sales and measures the share of revenue flowing through the platform.
MGT 570 Module 6 rubric: what earns full marks
A digital strategy paper persuades when technology is shown changing how the business competes and the plan addresses people and structure, not only systems. This example uses Bharadwaj and colleagues' themes to show how digital changes the company's scope and speed. Porter and Heppelmann's capabilities frame the billboard as a connected product whose value depends increasingly on software and data. Vial's review brings in the organizational changes and impediments many plans ignore, such as billing systems and vendor contracts. The table makes initiatives concrete, the paper identifies new competitors that connected products bring and the plan ties each initiative to purpose and strategy.
MGT 570 Module 6 help from the desk
Digital strategy papers often list technologies without explaining how they change competition or value. Connect each initiative to a source of advantage. Another weakness is treating digital strategy as an IT project; address structure, skills and culture. Use research on digital business strategy and transformation. Consider how connected products change industry boundaries and rivals, and what data the company should own. Identify impediments, such as legacy processes. Finally, set measures that show whether the business is actually changing, such as revenue through digital channels. Consider who your new competitors are once your product is connected.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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MGT 570 Module 6 questions, answered
What does MGT 570 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's MGT 570 covers information technology and digital strategy in this module, so an MBA paper integrating digital technology into strategy is typical. Look at your classroom prompt.
What is digital business strategy?
Bharadwaj, El Sawy, Pavlou and Venkatraman describe it as organizational strategy formulated and carried out with digital resources, with themes of scope, scale, speed and sources of value.
How do smart, connected products change competition?
Porter and Heppelmann argue they add monitoring, control, optimization and autonomy capabilities that change industry structure and blur industry boundaries.
Where can I find a free MGT 570 Module 6 sample paper?
The example above sets a digital strategy for a billboard company using research on digital business strategy, connected products and transformation.
What impedes digital transformation?
Vial's review identifies impediments such as inertia, resistance and legacy systems and processes, alongside the structural changes transformation requires.