Beyond the 5G License: Unveiling the Strategic Ambiguity Spectrum of Mobile Network Operators

Although 5G is considered an enabling technology (ET), subject to ongoing technical improvements and permitting several complementary innovations, its transformative potential and pervasiveness are still limited. The unrealized potential of 5G is particularly burdensome for mobile network operators (MNOs), who have traditionally played a central role in the telecommunications sector. For MNOs, 5G represents a significant opportunity to renew their strategy, especially in light of the substantial investments in spectrum licenses and infrastructure made in recent years. Through an exploratory multiple case study of incumbent MNOs and 5G pioneering end-user companies in Italy, this study puts forward the 5G strategic ambiguity spectrum of MNOs in terms of value proposition, creation, and capture, framed along two main dimensions: (i) the choice between a strategy of technological innovation or servitization; and (ii) the scope of 5G commercialization (narrow vs. broad) across industrial verticals. By merging these two perspectives, which belong to two distinct streams of literature—business models (BMs) and enabling technology—this study offers an original view of the ‘strategy in the making’ challenges MNOs are currently facing during this shift in technology. We contribute to the open debate concerning technology and business model innovation, highlighting ambiguities in the value architecture that can arise when commercializing an ET, which are not so evident in the existing literature. Finally, three BM archetypes are proposed, based on key determinants of value proposition, creation, and capture, to provide managerial guidance on developing appropriate 5G business models and identifying the main aspects to consider.