Explaining the role of technology in the dynamics of the players business models in the global oil playground

Purpose Technology is named as the most important element of creating the competitive edge in today’s turbulent environment and a key factor of survival in technology-intensive industries. Oil and gas industry is one of the most important, complex, and technology-driven amongst the global industries. “The purpose of this study is to highlight the role of the technology in the the global oil game and argue that in order to survive and maintain the competitive advantage, players need to follow technological advancements closely and consider technology as the critical factor in their business models.” Thus, the aim is to answer the question: does technology have an impact on the business model innovation in the oil and gas industry? Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors conduct an in-depth review of previous studies of oil and gas industry, main players, the role and evolution of technology in each player’s business model and present future challenges and trends of the industry. Findings Theoretically, the results of shows that the relation between the technology and business model in oil and gas industry is defined as a two way interaction which is in line with the theory presented by Baden–Fuller and Haefliger (2013); thus it helps the robustness of the theory as well. We argue that technology gained a “game changer” status in the oil and gas industry, beside all the fundamental premises on which business model is built on, having technology seems to be the key element of survival and the ability to develop in-house or have access to the latest ones in the right time can help the market share, revenue and leadership status. this key element can reinforce other pillars of powers in the oil and gas industry. Originality/value Most of the research in the oil and gas industry are practical, focusing on a specific technology, clean energy issues, regulations, and policies, etc. There exist few studies that present the theoretical issues in the industry or test the theories to see if this important industry falls within them or not. As follows, this study is about to address this gap and observe the dynamics in the oil and gas industry with an academic lens.