SET UP FOR GROWTH? — AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF GROWTH INTENTION AND BUSINESS MODELS

Abstract

What do growth-oriented business models look like? While several economic theories, such as the theory of the firm, are based on the assumption that firms aim to maximise their profits, past research has shown that growth intention is heterogeneous among firms and that many business owners prefer to keep their firm at a size that they can manage with few resources. This paper explores the relationship of growth intention and business models, based on a sample of 135 German ICT businesses. Following an exploratory approach, Mann–Whitney U tests are applied to analyse how different business model designs correspond with different levels of growth intention. The results indicate that growth intention relates to business owners’ decisions regarding the provision of consulting services, the level of standardisation in offered products and services, the choice of addressed markets, the implementation of competitive strategies based on cost efficiency and of revenue streams based on one-time- and performance-based payments. Furthermore, the results show that growth oriented firms are no more likely than non-growth oriented firms to adapt their business models dynamically to changed internal or external conditions.