Carving out New Business Models in a Small Company through Contextual Ambidexterity: The Case of a Sustainable Company

Vinicius Minatogawa,Antonio Batocchio,Orlando Durán,Maria Holgado,Ruy Quadros,Matheus Franco

doi:10.3390/su12062337

Abstract

Business model innovation (BMI) and organizational ambidexterity have been pointed out as mechanisms for companies achieving sustainability. However, especially considering small and medium enterprises (SMEs), there is a lack of studies demonstrating how to combine these mechanisms. Tackling such a gap, this study seeks to understand how SMEs can ambidextrously manage BMI. Our aim is to provide a practical artifact, accessible to SMEs, to operationalize BMI through organizational ambidexterity. To this end, we conducted our study under the design science research to, first, build an artifact for operationalizing contextual ambidexterity for business model innovation. Then, we used an in-depth case study with a vegan fashion small e-commerce to evaluate the practical outcomes of the artifact. Our findings show that the company improves its business model while, at the same time, designs a new business model and monetizes it. Thus, our approach was able to take the first steps in the direction of operationalizing contextual ambidexterity for business model innovation in small and medium enterprises, democratizing the concept. We contribute to theory by connecting different literature strands and to practice by creating an artifact to assist management.

Highlights

Business model innovation (BMI) has been praised as a mechanism for companies achieving sustainability [1,2]
Our findings demonstrate in practice the relationship between strategy and business model (BM), something that has been theoretically explored in the literature [29,32,40], but with few recommendations on how to integrate them into management environments
The proposition is that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cannot be held hostage by the exclusive dedication of exploiting their current models, but they need to explore new BMs

Summary

Introduction

Business model innovation (BMI) has been praised as a mechanism for companies achieving sustainability [1,2]. When considering small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the challenge is even more prominent, as SMEs tend to focus on business survival rather than planning BMI [11]. Exploiting their current business model (BM) in order to attain economic effectiveness constitutes, by itself, a significant challenge [12]. Incorporating environmental and social aspects into businesses represent additional challenges for BMI processes. It requires cross-functional and systems thinking, as well as radical changes in business processes, products, and organizational forms [15]. Most BMIs for sustainability are developed ad-hoc and are neither systematic nor systemic [16]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion