Actor Engagement in Business Model Innovation - The Role of Experimentation in New Ventures' Business Model Design

Abstract

This study emphasizes the interplay between thought experimentation (Felin and Zenger 2009) and actor engagement (Brodie et al. 2019) in the pre-seed phase of the business model design process for new ventures (Snihur and Zott 2020). The review on entrepreneurial learning and action revealed that, while the experiential learning benefits of experimentation are largely undisputed, we know little about cognition and thought experimentation in business model innovation. This aspect, however, is crucial to new ventures, which are particularly vulnerable to uncertainty and financial constraints. Experimentation needs to be considered at a more profound level of analysis. This study draws on qualitative interviews with founders to uncover three forms of thought experimentation: purposeful interactions, incidental interactions, and theorising. We perceive thought experimentation as a process by which entrepreneurs cognitively and through interactions with other actors, evaluate their business model. The study also specifies six roles of engagement behaviour, including teaching, supporting, mobilising, co-developing, sharing, and signalling, by which actors influence the three forms of thought experimentation.