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Communications of the Association for Information Systems

Author ORCID Identifier

Yannick Heß: 0009-0006-7797-2061

Sebastian Lins: 0000-0001-7480-275X

Ali Sunyaev: 0000-0002-4353-8519

Abstract

Fog computing (FC), an emerging computing model, bridges the geographical and logical distance between smart edge devices and centralized cloud services by introducing an intermediate layer of decentralized, context-aware fog nodes. Although FC’s advantages and features have increased research interest, we only witness early adopters in practice. Organizations remain uncertain about how to utilize and benefit from fog-based information systems (FBIS). We review prior research, interview FC experts, and assess real-world FBIS to develop a framework that explains how organizations can leverage FBIS to create business value. We uncover that organizations need to invest in a fog-based infrastructure characterized by unique properties, such as decentralization and interoperability, to build organizational fog capabilities, including multi-source data acquisition and distributed data processing. We identify diverse value creation mechanisms that explain how specific combinations of properties and capabilities lead to distinct value outcomes, like improvements in system reliability and sustainability. Our study refines the current understanding of FBIS’ capabilities, resolves inconsistent views on achieving business value, and provides theoretical and practical guidance for a value-oriented adoption of FC. The resulting FBIS business value framework helps organizations determine whether and how to harness this novel technology.

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