Business Model Perspective Research Articles

Implementing circular economy principles: evidence from multiple cases

With an orientation on sustainability and economic growth, the concept of circular economy (CE) emerges to tackle socio-environmental challenges. Current literature has provided important frameworks from CE operations and business model perspectives. However, in practice, companies are still facing the challenges of insufficient knowledge, lack of standard procedure, and resource constraint. Thus, this paper aims to answer the research questions: how can companies effectively implement CE principles in their operations? And how can such implementation result in value creation such as new products or service solutions? Through conducting seven case studies mainly in Wales, UK, our paper identifies the key activities of CE implementation projects, proposes a holistic process model, and further addresses three different CE scenarios. Our study contributes to the understanding of CE process and circular business models with empirical evidence. Findings can provide future research direction as well as implication for business and policy makers.

The Strategic Adoption of 5G Technology From a Business Model Perspective

Even if 5G is considered an enabling technology, its transformative potential and widespread adoption remain limited. This paper explores how Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) innovate their business models by leveraging 5G. Through an exploratory multiple-case study of Italian MNOs, key determinants concerning innovation in value proposition, creation, and delivery are obtained inductively from interviews and grouped into different 5G business model archetypes. These latter are "Advanced connectivity provider", "Vertical Service Provider", and "Orchestrator". The first focuses on offering 5G as an enabling technology on which end users can build their own applications. The second selects target industries and allows access to a specific service. The third doesn’t own specific knowledge but it acts as the intermediary between a customer and a capable partner’s network, ensuring that the project is carried out and targeting multiple verticals. The research provides both theoretical and practical contributions: from a theoretical standpoint, it contributes to the business model innovation literature by offering empirical work that investigates the strategic adoption of a new technological paradigm focusing on the architecture of the business model rather than a measurement of performance afterwards. Moreover, it contributes to the 5G literature with an empirical study that focuses on the strategic implications of the phenomenon rather than just the technical aspects, and to the enabling technology literature by offering a study that examines an enabling technology from a firm-specific perspective. From the standpoint of practitioners, it can offer managerial guidance on developing suitable 5G business models to promote technology adoption and maintain competitiveness by harnessing the potential applications envisioned with 5G.

A blueprint for success? Exploring business models of additive manufacturing ventures

Additive Manufacturing (AM) was expected to be the next great technological revolution, yet the predicted market growth has fallen short by 40%. Using a proprietary, cross-sectional data set of 350 ventures in the AM field founded between 2000 and 2017, this study analyses AM companies from a business model perspective. Specifically, we explore which value delivery and value capture mechanisms are decisive for AM venture success, measured via their operational and ownership state. We reveal that targeting the B2B market and selling via partner networks significantly increases firm survival likelihood. Further, applying a recurring revenue model increases the likelihood of an IPO. Our main contributions are two-fold: first, our research complements the business model literature by evaluating value delivery and capture in the AM entrepreneurial space, revealing that customer segments, sales channels, and revenue models are key to venture success. Second, we provide business model design guidelines to entrepreneurs as well venture capitalists in the AM field.

Exploration of Digital Transformation Paths of Different Enterprises Based on Federal Learning from the Perspective of Business Model

Exploration of Digital Transformation Paths of Different Enterprises Based on Federal Learning from the Perspective of Business Model

Heterogeneity of Value Creation Processes: A Taxonomy of Social Enterprise Business Models

Taking a business model perspective, this study investigates the heterogeneity among the value creation process of social enterprises. We employ a dataset of 437 Dutch social enterprises to conduct a cluster analysis, resulting in a taxonomy of seven distinctive business models. It goes beyond existing classifications by more comprehensively capturing value creation using 25 variables. Therefore, it opens up opportunities for further research through more nuanced insights into the core organisational processes of social enterprises. The taxonomy can also assist practitioners and policymakers in understanding the implications for different social enterprises when making decisions.

Pursuing sustainable performance in healthcare organizations: a sustainable business model perspective

PurposeThis paper explores the use of Dynamic Business Modeling for Sustainability (DBMfS) in healthcare management settings as a holistic approach to integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions into the business formula of these complex organizations.Design/methodology/approachAfter framing sustainable value in healthcare in terms of organizational complexity, wicked problems, and emerging managerial challenges, the paper proposes and illustrates the DBMfS approach that adopts a systemic view of sustainable value in healthcare. According to a qualitative perspective, a single-case study of a maternity-related healthcare treatment is also described to explore the implications and limitations of using this approach to sustainable business modeling in healthcare organizations.FindingsFindings show that, by embracing sustainability through DBMfS, healthcare organizations can improve operational efficiency, reduce waste (like energy, water, and medical supplies), and enhance cost-effectiveness, thus contributing significantly to societal well-being.Originality/valueIn recent years, the healthcare sector has faced numerous challenges and wicked problems, including escalating costs, resource constraints, and growing environmental concerns. As a result, the concept of sustainability has gained significant attention, thus calling scholars and practitioners to develop methods and tools able to integrate it into strategic management systems of healthcare organizations. By proposing the adoption of DBMfS in the healthcare sector, this paper contributes to feeding up the current debate.

How do academic smart city centres operate in complex environments? A business model perspective

In recent years, an increasing number of academic smart city centres have emerged globally. These centres play a crucial role in conducting cutting-edge research and proposing innovative solutions for cities; they often operate in a complex multi-purpose, multi-disciplinary, and multi-stakeholder environment, even as they struggle to secure enough resources for their core activities. Despite their important role in smart city projects and initiatives, we lack scientific understandings of how smart city centres generate and deliver value to city stakeholders. As a first step in addressing this gap, we studied seven smart city centres across Europe and North America through in-depth interviews. To complement those interviews, we conducted an online survey and collected responses from a larger sample of centres from several regions around the world. Consequently, we provide a fresh understanding of how these centres orchestrate their operations and capabilities to create and deliver value to smart city stakeholders. Inspired by recent research on business model innovation for non-profit organizations, we argue that academic centres can benefit from using business models to align their operations with their strategies to achieve their goals. Our study contributes to smart city and business model research while providing practical implications for smart city centres.

Investigating a manufacturing ecosystem in transition toward electric vehicles – a business model perspective

PurposeBusiness Model Innovation is increasingly created by an ecosystem of related companies. This paper aims to investigate the transition of a manufacturing ecosystem toward electric vehicles from a business model perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe authors investigate an automotive manufacturing ecosystem that is in transition toward electric and electrified vehicles, conducting semi-structured interviews with 46 informants from 27 ecosystem members.FindingsThe results reveal that the actions of several ecosystem members are driven by regulations relating to emissions. Novel requirements regarding components and complementary offers necessitate the entry of actors from other industries and the formation of new ecosystem members. While the newly emerged ecosystem has roots in an established ecosystem, it relies on new value offers. Further, the findings highlight the importance of ecosystem governance, while the necessary degree of change in the members' business models depends on their roles and positions in the ecosystem. Therefore, upstream suppliers of components must perform business model adaptation, whereas downstream providers must perform more complex business model innovation.Originality/valueThe paper is among the first to investigate an entire manufacturing ecosystem and analyze its transition toward electric vehicles and the implications for business model innovation.

HPLC-MS/MS Phenolic Characterization of Olive Pomace Extracts Obtained Using an Innovative Mechanical Approach.

Olive pomace results from the production of olive oil. Even if olive pomace represents a potential environmental problem, it contains phenolic compounds, which are widely recognized for their beneficial properties for human health. In this study, an innovative and sustainable technological approach to extract phenolic compounds from fresh olive pomace, based on food-grade solvent instead of those usually adopted, is investigated. Characterization and shelf-life evaluation of the hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the procedure developed for different industrial purposes were also carried out. The phenolic fractions of the different samples were studied with the Folin-Ciocâlteu method to quantify that the total reducing molecules and HPLC-MS/MS analysis was used to define the profile through the identification and quantification of 42 compounds, belonging to five chemical families. Regarding shelf-life, the hydroalcoholic extract showed no significant reduction in phenolic content, for both instrumental evaluations, retaining most of the phenolic compounds present in the raw material; negative attributes were not perceived by sensory evaluation. Thus, these lab-scale results can be the starting point to develop a procedure that is suitable for a real olive mill, representing a valorization strategy in a circular economy and the perspective of new business models.

НОВІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ ПЕРЕХОДУ ДО ЦИРКУЛЯРНОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ В ЛАНЦЮЖКУ СТВОРЕННЯ ВАРТОСТІ ПЛАСТИКОВИХ МАТЕРІАЛІВ

Plastic waste has risen to the forefront of scientific and political debate as a global problem that needs to be addressed urgently. The circular economy model, supported by politicians, academics and corporations, represents a viable pathway to achieving a more sustainable level of development. New and disruptive technologies can accelerate the transition to a circular economy, but their application to the plastics transition is not yet fully understood. Based on a systematic literature review, this paper aims to understand the role of key emerging technologies in the transition to a circular economy in the plastics value chain, their potential impact, and the barriers to their adoption and diffusion. Using the ReSOLVE framework, the analysis shows that four technology sets related to Industry 4.0, the distributed economy, biological systems and chemical recycling are the main enablers of the transition to a circular economy, rather than individual technologies. The complementarity of technologies and the changes required from a systemic perspective are discussed, as well as governance and implementation proposals to overcome barriers and resistance to the transition. To date, the research literature has not systematically analysed how new technologies that have been identified as enablers of the circular economy relate to the dynamics of plastic value chains. In addition, there is a great need to better understand how innovative technologies can provide more sustainable solutions in value chains and how more circular alternatives to plastic waste management and recycling can be leveraged. Understanding the opportunities not only from the perspective of individual firms and business models in plastics value chains, but also from a systemic perspective, is key to developing meaningful and effective forms of governance to shape and support the transition to a circular economy. Intending to fill this gap in the literature, the paper seeks to understand the role of key emerging technologies in the transition to a circular economy in the plastics value chain, their potential impacts, and barriers to adoption and diffusion.

A business model perspective to enhance efficiency of port hinterland connection with truck appointment system - A multiple case study of ports in northern Europe

A business model perspective to enhance efficiency of port hinterland connection with truck appointment system - A multiple case study of ports in northern Europe

The Performance Research of Starbucks in the Past Five Years Applying Business Strategy Analysis and Ratio Analysis

The food service industry has grown rapidly as immigration and urbanization have exposed people to more food and beverages and interest in them. Coupled with increasing proportion of working women, rising trend of dining out and rising disposable income of the people are supporting the growth of the global market. As of 2018, the global food service market has grown to $3.4 trillion. Amidst this, there is also a growing demand for coffee as people work longer hours. Young people are also more willing to choose cafes as a place to socialize and relax. However, the 2019 Covid-19 sweep has had a significant impact on the world economy, especially the food service industry. This article takes Starbucks, an excellent enterprise in the food service industry, as the research object. From the perspective of business model and ratio, analyze Starbucks' business performance in the past five years, and compare Starbucks' performance changes before, during and after the outbreak.

Data enabling digital ecosystem for sustainable shared electric mobility-as-a-service in smart cities-an innovative business model perspective

Increase in urbanization drives the need for municipalities to make mobility more efficient, both to address climate goals as well as creating a smart living environment for citizens, with less noise congestion, and pollution. As vehicles are being electrified, further advances will be needed to meet social, environmental, and economic sustainability targets, and a more efficient use of vehicles and public transport is central in this endeavor. Accordingly, Electric Mobility as a Service (eMaaS) has developed as a concept with the potential to increase sustainability mobility in cities and been designated as a phenomenon with potential to radically change how people move in the future. But presently there is the lack of a common business model that supports complex integration of all actors, digital technologies, and infrastructures involved in the eMaaS business ecosystem. This study aims to support the further development of eMaaS by providing a state of the art of eMaaS and further proposes a digital ecosystem as a business model for eMaaS sharing in smart cities. Accordingly, a systematic literature review was adopted grounded on secondary data from the literature to offers a new approach to urban mobility and demonstrate the suitability of the eMaaS concept in smart communities. The digital ecosystem is designed based on system design approach. Findings from this study provides a sustainable policy perspective, discusses the challenges and opportunities towards the development of eMaaS and its impact on electrification of vehicles. Overall, findings from this study considers the role of electric vehicles as part of the mobility sharing economy. Recommendations from this study provides designs and strategies for eMaaS, the interrelations between eMobility and other everyday practices, strategically highlighting the positive benefits of eMaaS and broader policies to limit private car usage in cities.

Data Driven Decision Making in Manufacturing Businesses in China and Asia Pacific

The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of Big data - based business model development in Chinese standard industries. Deductive reasoning as well as case analysis were employed to evaluate manufacturing businesses in China and confirm the devices. This process created an integrated framework with 3 components: Business model perspectives, processes together with big data driven company model advancements. Three Chinese businesses put the framework on revealing that business model development is a constant and growing process impacted by big data. Nevertheless, the study shows that limitations have a small sample size, that is typical in qualitative studies. Ideally, businesses will develop a solid infrastructure that combines the internet of things, traditional manufacturing methods and front end buyers. Furthermore, management must make sure that their organizational structure, climate, and human resources are well prepared for the transformation.

Telling the Story of a Sustainable Business Model in Arctic Luxury Food Tourism

Luxury gastronomy can be relevant to tourism in terms of sustainability. This study adopted the perspective of business models (BMs) as narratives to explore luxury gastronomy and sustainability in the case of a food project in Arctic Norway. This study focused on the story that drives, communicates, and legitimizes the project???s BM and its sustainability. The main findings suggest that the specific BM can be viewed as a story revolving around two interrelated major themes: sustainability as an integrated part of quality and luxury as time for inspiration and self-care, and as coherence (in experiential terms as well as in relation to sustainability commitment). The adoption of the perspective of BMs as narratives helped uncover the social dynamic dimension of the BM, which concerns the process through which businesses emerge from social interactions and, in the investigated case, is essentially an expression of a collective effort to include an element of innovativeness within a context that is otherwise rather static.

스마트물류 전자문서 중계플랫폼 구성에 관한 연구: 비지니스 모델 관점으로

스마트물류 전자문서 중계플랫폼 구성에 관한 연구: 비지니스 모델 관점으로

A Study on the Business Model Optimization Strategy of Knowledge Payment Platform: The Example of Zhihu

The rapid development of the Internet has contributed to the continued advancement of the knowledge payment industry. Currently, knowledge payment platforms, as the core force of the knowledge payment market, guide the continuous changes in the direction of content production, enterprise operation and consumer demand in the knowledge payment industry. However, research on knowledge payment platforms in academia is still in its infancy, and in particular, there is a paucity of research that systematically examines the characteristics of successful knowledge payment platforms and strategies to address the problems of business models from the perspective of business models as a whole. Therefore, a systematic and thorough understanding of the essence and richness of the business models of knowledge payment platforms is crucial to an in-depth understanding and grasp of the development rules of the knowledge payment industry.This article focuses on the business models of Internet knowledge payment platforms and their optimisation strategies. Take Zhihu as an example using a case study approach and the perspective of value networks, this paper constructs a business model based on value networks and conducts specific research and analysis on the eight elements of the business model to explore the essence of the business model of knowledge payment platforms and its optimisation strategies under the collaborative competition model, which is equally important in the Internet era. Evidence from this case study finds that value network is the main form of operation of the business model of platform-based enterprises, and the platform achieves the business closure of value acquisition and value maintenance through the engine driven by value proposition and value co-creation.The study reveals that competition and cooperation are equally important business concepts and the whole process of cross-enterprise value co-creation in the Internet era, which complements the research perspective of business model optimization strategy research focusing on competition and provides certain reference significance for the business model optimization of platform-based enterprises.The contribution of this paper is to provide a new perspective for the study of business model optimization strategies. This article is sorting out business model optimization strategies. On the basis of relevant literature, the original theoretical research perspective of enterprise management focusing on competition rather than cooperation is supplemented，From the perspective of “value network”, combined with the theoretical basis of Yuanlei’s business model, a business model based on value network is proposed Model. On this basis, take the knowledge payment industry as the exploration field, and take the typical knowledge payment platform Zhihu platform. In order to study the case, by revealing the key factors for the success of the business model of Zhihu platform, verify the new business model theory Explanations of enterprise practice. Through research, it is found that the theoretical model of the new business model better explains the Internet knowledge. The essence of the business model of the payment platform is a complete value co-creation closed-loop structure, which also reveals the Internet knowledge.

Exploring the automotive transition: A technological and business model perspective

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a radical transition. This transition is a complex process that depends on many factors, especially technologies and business models. This process started many years ago, but it is still associated with a high uncertainty level. With regards to powertrain technologies, it is not clear which technology will be dominant in the future. Will it be the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or the hydrogen-based Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) that will achieve a higher level of diffusion? Regarding business models, despite extensive research, the business models that will support the automotive transition are far from clear. Therefore, this research, based on a two-stage interview study, addresses both perspectives: technology and business model. Three possible options for powertrain technologies are identified: (i) coexistence of BEVs and FCEVs, (ii) BEVs, but conditional introduction of FCEVs, and (iii) BEVs only without FCEVs. In addition, the results show that business model innovation in the automotive industry can be driven by many aspects such as management vision, market, competition, future trends, battery, charging technology and infrastructure, as well as digital technologies and services. By combining the powertrain technology and business model dimensions, four future scenarios for the automotive transition are proposed: simply BEV, technology diversification, service-oriented BEV production, and maximum versatility. An expert evaluation allows the scenarios to be prioritized according to their likelihood of occurrence. The results show that the service-based BEV-scenario is the most likely one. Nevertheless, the differences between most and least likely scenarios are not large enough to disclose a clear trend, confirming the diffuse situation in the industry.

Literature review on industrial digital platforms: A business model perspective and suggestions for future research

Rapid digitalization of industries has led to the proliferation of complex industrial digital platforms; however, few industrial platform leaders have successfully established sustainable business models around their offerings. The need for a concrete definition of industrial digital platforms and their business models further complicates our understanding of the issue. In this prospecting review, we critically analyze the existing literature on industrial digital platforms to identify key research themes and research gaps and propose a future research agenda for the industrial digital platform literature from a business model perspective. Drawing on insights from research on industrial platforms, digitalization, digital servitization, and business-to-business (B2B) relationships, our analysis focuses on three key themes in defining the boundaries of industrial digital platforms and the crucial aspects of value creation, value delivery, and value capture on such platforms: (a) co-creative value creation, (b) digitally integrated value delivery, and (c) mutual value capture. The findings of this study and a future research agenda framework provide a roadmap for advancing the understanding of business models for industrial digital platforms. This research aims to contribute to the emerging field of industrial digital platforms and guide future research endeavors in this domain, unlocking the full potential of these platforms for businesses and industries.

Sustainable Trajectories for Business Model Innovation

This paper introduces a visual approach to sustainable business model innovation that helps business model designers conceptualise how sustainability can be integrated in business models. Drawings are used to illustrate four sustainable trajectories for business model innovation. The visualisation of trajectories helps to open the “black box” of sustainable value creation by enabling different understandings of value creation from a business model perspective. The paper also introduces and exemplifies the concept of “multi-lens” thinking for sustainable business model innovation, which entails combining insights from several perspectives.