Today’s businesses are faced with a dizzying array of digital promises—and threats: the Internet of Things, wearables, additive manufacturing, big data and analytics, gamification, ubiquitous access, and hyperconnectivity, to name a few. Companies across the globe are racing to keep up with these developments and to adapt their business models in the hopes of leapfrogging competitors and avoiding obsolescence. But as many have already learned, chasing the latest digital trends and using “me-too” strategies do not bring success.

Business models continue to be disrupted by accelerated advances in digital technologies. In particular, traditional value chains will be replaced with value networks as the roles and relationships between the actors evolve and blur; new relationships are being formed. Increasingly, digital innovations will generate value by radically reinventing collaboration across the value chain. As value chains become networks and online increases in importance as a communication and distribution channel, new areas of value creation and competition are emerging across the ecosystem. Companies will need to develop more strategic, agile, and flexible collaboration models with their suppliers, partners, competitors, and customers.

Our November 2014 executive roundtables in Berlin and New York featured discussions on the need to unlock the value of disruptive technologies to drive new business models, and on how to create collaborative operating models. The speakers and panelists included some of the world’s foremost digital experts, business innovators, and thought leaders on the front lines of digital business. This summary reflects the main themes and insights that emerged from these discussions.