Business Model Configurations Research Articles

Business models for symbiosis between the alumina and cement industries

Global alumina production generates approximately 150–170 million tonnes of bauxite residue (BR), predominately landfilled. The cement industry is looking for new supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to replace additional clinker volumes and reduce their carbon footprint. Symbiosis between the alumina and cement industries presents an opportunity to conserve resources and produce low-carbon cements by thermally modifying BR into novel SCMs. This research uses the Horizon 2020 ReActiv project as a case study to evaluate the suitability of different modified BRs for use as SCMs using evidence from project documentation and participant observations from progress meetings. It also explores symbiotic business model configurations between alumina and cement industries through semi-structured interviews with ReActiv project participants. Results indicate that thermal modification of BR significantly increases its cementitious value, and should optimally be carried out in alumina plants, with the cement industry then grinding and mixing the resulting SCM with other cement components.

Business model configurations for successful vertical farming

PurposeAs a response to global population growth and increasing demand for food, farmers have been complementing traditional agriculture practices with vertical farming (VF) and indoor hydroponic systems. To facilitate the growth of the VF industry, this paper aims to identify business model elements and their configurations that lead to high firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe research goals were met by conducting literature reviews coupled with a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on five business model elements, “superior” OR “strong” performance as two possible outcomes, and the top-ranked global VF growers listed in the Crunchbase Database.FindingsFrom the fsQCA results, it was observed that several business model configurations lead to strong firm performance. Vertical farms growing in urban settings and having strong customer engagement platforms, coupled with a presence of business-to-business (B2B) sales channels, are more consistently associated with superior performance. These results imply that the decision configuration of location, along with customer engagement activity and sales activity are differentiating factors between good firm performance and superior firm performance in the case of vertical farms.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to expanding the knowledge of business model theory, business model configurations and VF management, providing specific guidelines for vertical farm owners and investors related to decision-making for higher firm performance, as well as positive environmental, social and economic impact.

From kilowatts to cents: Financial inclusion of citizens through Dutch community energy business model configurations

Community energy initiatives (CEIs) emphasize citizen empowerment, equitable distribution of energy transition costs and benefits, and the importance of local knowledge. While CEI goals align with energy justice principles, they have been criticized for not fully incorporating distributive justice, particularly the distribution of the benefits of a sustainable energy transition. Therefore, they may potentially perpetuate income inequalities. There are insufficient studies to conclusively determine whether CEIs perpetuate or address income inequalities. Moreover, the integration of transition studies, energy justice and business model literature is lacking, hindering effective analysis of CEI configurations that address income inequalities. This paper aims to connect the sustainability, energy justice and business model literature by dissecting the business model configurations of CEIs and assessing the inclusiveness of these components. To do so, we develop and employ an adapted business model canvas that incorporates societal and environmental considerations in the value proposition, value creation and delivery and value capture. The canvas is used to determine whether sustainability and energy justice considerations, particularly distributive justice principles, are embedded in the CEI business models. The research is focused on the Netherlands, a country with a high number of CEIs. However, the study may yield insights relevant to other countries and CEIs, informing the integration of principles for societal inclusion in their own contexts. We utilize a mixed-method approach, including interviews, desk research and surveys, to ensure robust analysis through data triangulation. The study finds that there are elements of CEI business model configurations that are aligned with energy justice principles. However, models specifically targeting and aligning with minimum income social groups are rare.

Evolutionary algorithms for a simheuristic optimization of the product-service system design

AbstractOffering Product-Service Systems (PSS) becomes an established strategy for companies to increase the provided customer value and ensure their competitiveness. Designing PSS business models, however, remains a major challenge. One reason for this is the fact that PSS business models are characterized by a long-term nature. Decisions made in the development phase must take into account possible scenarios in the operational phase. Risks must already be anticipated in this phase and mitigated with appropriate measures. Another reason for the design phase being a major challenge is the size of the solution space for a possible business model. Developers are faced with a multitude of possible business models and have the challenge of selecting the best one. In this article, a simheuristic optimization approach is developed to test and evaluate PSS business models in the design phase in order to select the best business model configuration beforehand. For optimization, a proprietary evolutionary algorithm is developed and tested. The results validate the suitability of the approach for the design phase and the quality of the algorithm for achieving good results. This could even be transferred to already established PSS.

Sustainable entrepreneurship on digital platforms and the enactment of digital connectivity through business models

AbstractThis article investigates how sustainable entrepreneurship on digital platforms enacts digital connectivity to capture and create value. By complementing the business model lens with sociomateriality, we theorize digital technologies as key actors that participate in the enactment of business models. We analyze visual and textual data from 19 entrepreneurial initiatives for sustainability established on the social media platform YouTube. Our findings demonstrate novel business model configurations enacted by a web of human and nonhuman (digital) actors: connecting for sustainability as part of the value proposition, forming connective spaces for socioenvironmental value creation, and leveraging connectivity for multidimensional value capture. These findings have two major contributions. First, we offer novel insights on the practices that configure business model elements of sustainable entrepreneurship on platforms. We especially draw attention to how digital connectivity of platforms is achieved and made durable by human and digital actors. Second, we elaborate on how digital agencies intervene in entrepreneurial efforts to make sustainability visible and how this affects the business models. Thus, the study contributes to and further develops the intersection of digital technologies, sustainable entrepreneurship, and business models.

Complementors’ coopetition-based business models in multiplatform ecosystems

Multi-platform ecosystems (MPEs) are comprised of multiple platforms integrated to create and capture value together. The collective value creation and capture within MPEs gives rise to coopetion, which impacts the business model configurations for both incumbents and entrants that provide complementary offerings. Previous platform research has predominantly focused on incumbent platforms. This research focuses on the question of how entrant platforms configure their business models to endorse coopetition with incumbents in the MPEs within the healthcare sector. Our findings indicate that entrant platforms configure their business models to integrate into MPEs and need to flexibly align with the complementarity requirements set by the incumbents, combine inter- and intra-platform collaborative dynamics in their business models, and build on coopetition with incumbents.

Investigation of Community Energy Business Models from an Institutional Perspective: Intermediaries and Policy Instruments in Selected Cases of Developing and Developed Countries

Community energy development and the empowerment of customers as producers are the main contributors to decentralized market solutions in energy transition policy. Despite the growing literature on community energy projects from the perspectives of various business models, drivers, and barriers, few studies display the impact of institutional factors on the community energy business model configuration. Using insights from Ostrom’s institutional framework, this study develops a conceptual framework comprising policy instruments and the intermediaries that configure the various community energy business models, and it examines this framework in the developed world of northwestern European countries (Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the UK) and in selected cases in developing countries (Rural Central America, South Africa, Iran, and Indonesia). The findings indicate that ambitious renewable energy consumption targets and national policies in northern EU countries have resulted in political and financial incentives, as well as greater financial security than other investment markets, which encourage citizens to contribute to the proliferation of community energy. On the other hand, in the studied developing countries, top-down energy policies and a centralized energy system are insufficient for participatory energy planning. Due to unsupportive policies, a lack of appropriate regulatory frameworks, and a lack of institutional support in these countries, the initiation of community energy projects requires the presence of intermediaries such as developers who work ‘in-between’ other actors, such as energy providers, users, or regulators.

Data Value Chain in Platform Business Models

Building on a unified definition and the main attributes that have been identified for platform business models, this paper aims to devise a unified data value chain and shed a new light on the value creation process within platform business models. To meet the main aim of the paper, the following research question is addressed: “How do platform business models create, deliver and capture value through their business model configurations?”. Through an integrative literature review, this paper confirmed that data is the major asset in value creation through platform business models. Furthermore, this paper has devised a unified data value chain that encom-passes sequential forms of digital data such as raw data, pre-processed data, processed data, patterns and smart data, gaining value via numerous processes throughout the data value chain. It was highlighted that interlinked processes throughout the data value chain transformed raw data into the most valuable form of data, knowledge.

Business models for digital sustainability: Framework, microfoundations of value capture, and empirical evidence from 130 smart city services

The emerging research stream on digital sustainability examines how digital technologies enable the creation of environmental and social value. The need to finance the creation of such value calls for a business model perspective that combines value creation and value capture. To extend the digital sustainability literature in this regard, we adopt a microfoundations perspective and argue that the configuration of value creation influences the decision of users to pay for a value proposition or not, which in turn affects organizational value capture. Applying a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis to 130 smart city initiatives in Switzerland, we develop a three-dimensional framework of business models for digital sustainability. The framework comprises 12 theoretically possible business model types, representing distinct business model configurations. We contribute to the digital sustainability and the microfoundations literatures by analyzing, explaining, and classifying the diversity of digitally enabled business models in the context of smart cities.

Towards a typology of sharing economy business model transformation

The development of the sharing economy has resulted in a plethora of sharing economy business models. This paper takes its motivation from the increased variety of sharing economy business models to develop a typology of sharing economy business model transformations. It does so through creating a timeline of the sharing economy development, capturing business model configurations as activity systems along that development, and tracing mechanisms affecting sharing economy business model transformations. The paper thereby interlinks the sharing economy development on the phenomenon level with transformations of its business models. The paper contributes to past research by presenting a systematic account of the development of the sharing economy and its resulting business model configurations and by developing a typology focusing on the types of changes that have transformed the sharing economy business models and resulted in the plethora of business models.

An integrative framework for business model innovation in the tourism industry旅游业商业模式创新的综合框架

ABSTRACT These are constantly changing times for the tourism industry. The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying negative economic effects significantly impacted customer behavior and accelerated the need for companies to innovate. Business model innovation (BMI) is ideal for overcome these challenges by innovating the very core of the firm. However, siloed BMI thinking is insufficient: firms need a more holistic approach. We expand the current understanding of business model innovation by proposing a framework that integrates relevant dimensions (change impulses and business model configurations), context factors (service newness and degree of change or destination characteristics), and the outcomes of BMI initiatives into a comprehensive model for the tourism industry context. With our work, we want to guide future research and expand the currently unbalanced, heterogeneous picture of BMI in service industries.

Business Model Innovation to Address Vegetable Supply Chain Issues: A Case Study of an Indian Startup

Purpose: Agricultural supply chains witness several challenges, which result in increased cost of operations, high wastages, and low efficiency. In the case of vegetable supply chains (VSCs), the intensity of challenges is very high due to perishability. Literature suggests various operations research tools for supply chain management of perishables, but there is a paucity of research highlighting the real models adopted by real players in the market while making revenue. This paper investigates and presents how a startup can innovate its business model to meet the VSC issues by adopting a single case study methodology. Design: The phenomenon was studied by convergent interviewing with the company’s key personnel and gathering information from the company’s key documents followed by content analysis. Findings: The study shows real practices adopted by a startup to cater to the challenges of VSCs in India by incorporating various tools of productivity enhancement and waste reduction. It highlights the adoption of a traceability system, production planning mechanism, reduced food miles, and green initiatives contributing to an innovative business model. The study maps the business model of the startup with the business model concept provided by Lindgardt and colleagues [ 2009 ] and states two more dimensions, i.e. “Client relationship management” and “Sustainability activities” to expand the mentioned configuration. Originality: The study is the first of its kind to highlight the Business Model Innovation of a startup to address the VSC challenges in the Indian context. Practical contribution: The study has important managerial implications useful for finding our new value propositions in a VSC firm by shortening and effectively integrating the supply chain while minimizing information asymmetry to achieve economies and sustainability. Theoretical contribution: This study has strengthened the methodological advances in the study of business models based upon earlier validated configurations. It contributes to the extant research by adding two more elements “Client relationship management” and “Sustainability activities” in a business model configuration.

Configuring a new business model through conceptual combination: The rise of the Huffington Post

How a successful business model (BM) is designed is a key question in the business model innovation (BMI) literature. Delving on the shared concept of BM as a configuration of components and interdependencies, we take a cognitive perspective to study the conceptual combination as a central process in BMI. We investigate the complexity of conceiving a new BM configuration, through a longitudinal study of the emergence of “The Huffington Post” which combined newspaper and blog in a disruptive and successful BM. With our research we theoretically frame the dynamic interplay between the three cognitive mechanisms of conceptual combination and the system of interdependent components of an emerging BM. Our findings unveil how the overall process unfolds and specifically delves into the dynamic iteration of composing and experimenting with the new configuration until the overall coherence is reached. Hence, we advance the literature by showing how the conceptual combination of a new BM is a complex effort and comprises some iterative cycles, vital to reach a coherent configuration which could secure a superior performance.

When are Customers Paying for Sustainability? A Configurational Analysis of 131 SC Business Models

A growing number of smart-city initiatives (SCIs) around the world seek to develop innovative solutions to transform cities to more sustainable places. The economic attractiveness of these initiatives – and ultimately the amount of environmental and social value they create – depends on their business model (BM). However, in reality we observe only some of the smart city services are paid by customers while others are free of charge. While this observation is a blind spot in extant research we ask: What configurations of smart city BM exist that customers are paying for vs. that are free of charge for customers? To address these research questions, we build on literature covering the smart city (SC) concept as well as existing research on SC business models. The paper applies a crisp-set QCA approach to examine 193 SCIs in Switzerland. Our results reveal two configurational models comprising five BM configurations. We contribute to explain and analyze the diversity of SCIs as well as the causal complexity of SC BMs.

Building Resilient and Innovative Business Models in the Era of Covid-19:

The role that the Business Model (BM) concept and BM-related tools may play during times of crisis have been insufficiently investigated. This paper presents a process aimed at supporting companies in building resilient and original BMs through continuous innovation based on the existing BM literature. The present study highlights the role that BM tools may play during crisis situations, providing managers and entrepreneurs with an alert system (i.e., BM measurements) capable of signaling when a change should be implemented; a “library” of potential changes (i.e., BM pivots) to be generated in the BM; and a portfolio of potential available options when considering how the BM should be changed (i.e., BM configurations). The paper additionally highlights how tools for BM mapping, control, and innovation can provide one another with information and can be connected in a way that allows companies to achieve a synergetic effect in the face of instability and uncertainty.

Designing mobility-as-a-service business models using morphological analysis

Although Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a very prominent model for future passenger transport, ideas on how to offer it are still scarce. As MaaS platforms are currently mostly offered as field trials, they are highly use-case specific. One of the main reasons for seeing only few examples of ‘real’ MaaS as a commercial offer is the shortage of business models that could be applied when providing the service. To better understand potential business model configurations for MaaS, we propose a new conceptual framework to develop MaaS business models. We do so by integrating the Business Model Canvas with a morphological approach to compose all relevant factors in one framework. To populate the framework, we draw on a systematic literature review. We use this to generate morphological boxes for each of the nine building blocks of the Business Model Canvas. The framework helps to understand the features of MaaS and how to provide them from an operator's point of view. By discussing interdependencies of different configurations, we also provide a starting point to evaluate MaaS in a structured way and thereby generate implications for managerial practice, also for generating viable MaaS business models.

BUSINESS MODEL CONFIGURATIONS IN DIGITAL HEALTHCARE—A GERMAN CASE STUDY ABOUT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Digital ventures are flooding the healthcare market in Germany and setting new standards for innovative digital health systems and tools. A key challenge in this sector from both academic and practitioner perspectives remains the intransparency of business model configurations applied by digital health. We tackle this problem by conducting a comparative case study of 237 digital health ventures. These ventures are examined on the business model level, exploring the digital technology components of each company and relating them to the identified areas of activity. The resulting dominant combinations of the two dimensions highlight four key areas of activity and two technological core elements. Within these dominant combinations we identify intriguing configurations of business model activities. The dominant Software(-as-a-Service) logic supports the criteria of interoperability on different levels. This research contributes to the growing academic literature stream of digital technology and entrepreneurship in healthcare.

Business model innovation or Business model imitation – That is the question

ABSTRACT This paper explores the phenomenon of intra-industry Business Model (BM) imitation through the concept of BM configurations and sheds light on how it relates to BM innovation. The analysis focuses on similarities and deviations of BM configurations among 80 companies operating in the industry sector related to Phantom Limb Pain (PLP). Leveraging a questionnaire-based mapping tool, the results show that companies operating within the area of PLP treatment apply relatively similar BM configurations. This indicates that companies mostly imitate the successful BMs of their main competitors in the industry as a whole and in their specific sub-groups, thus potentially ignoring the opportunity to also compete on a BM level. The contribution brought by the paper is twofold. First, it adds to the research stream on BM configurations by showing that this concept can be used not only to analyze and foster cross-industry BM imitation, but also to explore and examine intra-industry BM imitation (or differentiation). Second, the article contributes to the research stream on intra-industry BM imitation by going beyond prior anecdotal evidence and empirically testing the existence of the phenomenon of intra-industry BM imitation and hence, the potential innovation space on a BM level.

Digital business model configurations in the travel industry

This study is amongst the first applications of digital business models (BMs) research to the travel industry. A systematic and comprehensive taxonomy of digital BM configurations in the travel industry is developed, supported by examples of real-world companies. Based on qualitative research, 53 digital BMs are identified and classified based on primary value drivers, including 10 novel configurations that are absent from previous studies. The paper contributes to framing digital BM configurations in the travel industry and supports establishing a common understanding among scholars. From the practical side, this study offers templates for building or transforming BMs and could serve as a guide to the current digital travel business landscape.

Building and changing business models: a qualitative study among Dutch physiotherapy primary healthcare organisations.

To gain insights into what business model-building and model-changing aspects make physiotherapy primary healthcare organisations (PTPHOs) attain and sustain superior performance in a changing environment, according to their managers. Since 2006, the transition towards managed competition in the Dutch healthcare market has been intended to improve the performance of primary healthcare organisations like PTPHOs. In such a market, competition on efficiency with reimbursement system has been introduced. Consequently, performance entails achieving and sustaining quality, efficiency, and financial outcomes. Superior performance requires that PTPHOs continuously align their external environment and internal organisation. The business model literature suggests that business model-building and model-changing support this alignment process. This qualitative study had an explorative design. A pre-defined interview guide based on business model theory was applied. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with physiotherapy primary healthcare organisation managers and transcribed verbally. The transcripts were analysed using directed content analysis. The study results show, both verbally and graphically, that PTPHOs generate superior performance in a changing environment through business model-building and model-changing. Participating managers (n = 25) confirmed extant findings that business model-building consists of strategy and business model configuration. In addition, business model-building entails establishing interfaces to exploit external environment and internal organisation information. Also, these interfaces are evaluative techniques and tools, action, and process - make sense of knowledge and information. To sustain superior performance, it is essential to change the business model. This can be achieved through three change cycles: business model change, short-term change, and long-term change. Managers of both superior and lower performance organisations independently stress the importance of the same business model-building and model-changing aspects related to attainment and sustainment of superior performance. However, superior performance PTPHOs address building and changing business models in a more diversified and integrated way than their lower performance counterparts.