Evaluating Digitization Projects in Retail: Presentation of the CIES Model and Call for Research

Abstract

Stationary retail is increasingly under pressure. Digitization continues to advance rapidly and allows retailers numerous opportunities for innovation. Accordingly, the evaluation and prioritization of digitization projects is a challenge. This paper presents the CIES Model (German original: "KIEN" Model), which was created by Deckert and Wohllebe (2021) for the description of digitization projects. The acronym CIES stands for Customer Benefit, Implementation, Efficiency and Sustainability. According to the inventors of the model, a consideration of these four aspects allows a comprehensive evaluation of digitization projects. The individual aspects are broken down into sub-aspects. Possibilities for practical application are outlined. In addition, there is a call to apply the model in practice-oriented research and to report on the results in research papers.