Business models: A challenging agenda

Most research on business models lies in the literature on strategy and competitive advantage and focuses on their role as descriptors of actual phenomenon, often by reference to taxonomic categories. In this article, we explore how business models can be seen as a set of cognitive configurations that can be manipulable in the minds of managers (and academics). By proposing a typology of business models that emphasizes the connecting of traditional value chain descriptors with how customers are identified and satisfied, and how the firm monetizes its value, we explore how business model configurations can extend current work on cognitive categorization and open up new possibilities for organization research

Business Models and Technological Innovation

Business models are fundamentally linked with technological innovation, yet the business model construct is essentially separable from technology. We define the business model as a system that solves the problem of identifying who is (or are) the customer(s), engaging with their needs, delivering satisfaction, and monetizing the value. The framework depicts the business model system as a model containing cause and effect relationships, and it provides a basis for classification. We formulate the business model relationship with technology in a two-way manner. First, business models mediate the link between technology and firm performance. Secondly, developing the right technology is a matter of a business model decision regarding openness and user engagement. We suggest research questions both for technology management and innovation, as well as strategy

Business Models and Modelling

International audienceThe business model topic has generated a lot of discussion since the phrase first gained currency in academic articles the late 1990s (Zott, Amit & Massa, 2011). This growing attention culminated in the 2010 Long Range Planning Special Issue that brought the field’s leading scholars together to answer questions about what the business model was and what was its purpose. A key point that emerged was that a business model is more than a statement of how “value is created and captured”; it is a ‘model’ - and, like many other kinds of models - can appear in many guises and serve many purposes. These include being a ‘manipulable device’ that can be used to help academics or managers understand the linkages between value creation and value capture more clearly; as well as being an artefact that can be used to convey knowledge about a business and its status to others (see for instance, Morgan and Morrison, 1999; Teece, 2010, Baden-Fuller & Morgan, 2010)

Sparrow therapeutics exit strategy

The case focuses on Ken Powers, cofounder and chief executive officer of Sparrow Therapeutics, whose young biotechnology company has reached a critical stage where he has to decide whether or not to sell. The company's three main sets of investors have different priorities: (1) a quick cash sale now, (2) delay sale for about a year if returns are greater, and (3) delay sale for 2 years, build company value, and retain autonomy. What choice would be best for the company, for its investors-and for Ken himself? And when would be the best time to implement the exit strategy

Strategies for Competing in the Automotive Industry’s Software Ecosystem: Standards and Bottlenecks

The automotive industry includes many actors engaged in software that span small and large companies within old and new sectors. This paper focuses on the controlling position of car manufacturers in the automotive software ecosystem and suggests three strategies for participating software innovators – contesting, cooperating and circumventing. The strategies are exemplified with current cases: Tesla as contestation, Bosch cooperation with a car manufacturer in a data collection project as a basis for future services, and circumventing in a project based on the mobile Internet

The relational antecedents of project-entrepreneurship: Network centrality, team composition and project performance

The relational antecedents of project-based enterprises have not yet received systematic investigation. These ventures are typically created by individual freelancers who are usually embedded in networks of collaborative relationships that convey the information and resources required to carry out new projects. Using a relational perspective of entrepreneurial discovery and team composition, we analyze the performance determinants of project-entrepreneurs, namely the individuals who are responsible for launching and carrying out those projects. We argue that project-entrepreneurs’ performance is related to their degree of centrality within the social network, and their familiarity with the selected project-team as captured by the distribution of ties among team members. We test our hypotheses within the Hollywood Film Industry over the period 1992–2003. The findings point to the existence of diminishing returns to centrality and performance benefits from assembling teams that combine old-timers and newcomers. The theoretical contributions and implications of the study are discussed