Business Model Research Research Articles

Digital platforms in intermodal freight transport: an analysis of emerging business models and their future dynamics

PurposeIntermodal freight transport (IFT) promises to reduce freight transport emissions by combining multiple transport modes. Emerging digital platforms seek to address the increasing complexity that arises from a combination of transport modes, yet the understanding of their business models remains limited. This study provides in-depth insights into the current characteristics and future dynamics of IFT platform business models.Design/methodology/approachUsing an inductive qualitative research approach, we gathered data from 19 semi-structured interviews. Based on this empirical data, we derived a comprehensive business model taxonomy, identified distinct platform archetypes and explored their future dynamics.FindingsFour platform archetypes are identified: Marketplaces and Self-Brokers facilitate easy booking by matching supply and demand. Data Hubs and Collaboration Hubs digitize data exchange between IFT actors. While Marketplaces and Data Hubs are operated by digitally dominated entrants, Collaboration Hubs and Self-Brokers are launched by intermodal incumbents as a digital extension of their physical transport services. Platforms operated by intermodal incumbents with a considerable customer base possess strategic advantages, potentially outperforming the business models of digitally dominated entrants in the future.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study focuses on the German IFT market, the developed taxonomy sets the ground for qualitative research of other platform-based business models and encourages the validation of our findings through quantitative research.Originality/valueBy being the first to comprehensively systematize IFT platform business models and their future dynamics, our study creates an in-depth understanding of how digital platforms can contribute to a modal shift from road freight transport to environmentally friendly IFT.

Research and Conceptual Landscape of Food Waste and Business Models in the Context of the Circular Economy: A Literature Review at the Intersection of SDG 2 – Zero Hunger and SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption And Production

Objective: This study reviews the existing literature on sustainable business models for food waste management within the circular economy context. The findings aim to map the research landscape, highlight significant contributions, and suggest future research directions to inspire further studies in this domain. Theoretical Framework: Business model innovation is crucial for companies to remain competitive and sustainable, with a focus on integrating environmental considerations. The circular economy, emphasizing renewable and closed-loop product life cycles, offers a sustainable alternative to traditional economic models. In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. Method: Using bibliometric analysis and mapping, this study examines the intensity, influence, and key topics of research articles, journals, and authors from 2016 to January 2023 via Scopus. Keywords were selected based on prior studies, and a Prisma diagram was adapted. A descriptive approach is used for frequency analysis, while co-occurrence clustering reveals literature evolution, topic interlinkages, and research focus areas to guide future studies. Results and Discussion: This study highlights the critical role of business models in addressing food waste within the circular economy and sustainable production and consumption contexts. By mapping recent literature and research trends from 2016-2023, the study identifies essential concepts such as sustainable and circular business models, circular food systems, and food waste recovery methods, digitalization's role, alongside themes like zero waste, food sustainability, smart cities, urban recycling, and upcycling. Research Implications: To understand the research trends, orientations, concepts, and interrelations between these concepts, this study presented a literature review on food waste and business models for 2016-2023. The paper discusses some essential concepts surpassing all industries and waste types in the sustainability context: circular economy, sustainable business models, and circular business models. The study calls for further research and well-structured roadmaps to enhance the global impact of food waste business models and facilitate a shift toward circular economy frameworks. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by revealing in the integration of food waste management with retail and supply chain dynamics, underscoring the need for collaborative solutions and sustainable packaging innovations. This analysis contribute to reflecting the accumulated knowledge landscape to the research and practice community and elaborating on the research gaps and possible research venues to guide future practices.

Research and analysis of new energy vehicle business model based on social demand

Introduction: New energy vehicles (NEVs) refer to automobiles powered by alternative energy sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate environmental impacts. They represent a sustainable transportation solution, aligning with global efforts to promote energy efficiency in the automotive sector. Aim: The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of social demand on the business model of NEVs. Through a comprehensive analysis of consumer preferences and market dynamics, the research aims to identify strategies for driving the sustainable growth of the NEV industry in respond to societal demands. Research methodology: We conduct a questionnaire survey on 2415 individuals and evaluated that questionnaire data by multifactor analysis of variance to examine individual consumer characteristics. We employed NOVA to evaluate the differences in market penetration factors. Additionally, a regression analysis model is utilized to examine accessibility element’s effects on the consumer’s intensions to buy, addressing categorical and ordered data requirements effectively. Research findings: This research demonstrates that middle-aged and adolescent demographics show the highest willingness to purchase NEV’s, particularly emphasizing technological advancements. Consumer preferences vary based on focus like NEV type, model and brand, necessitating tailored marketing strategies. Conclusion: Improving perception levels and addressing charging convenience and innovative features are vital for enhancing market penetration and sustainable business growth in the NEV industry.

Agreeing to Disagree: Linear-Circular and Public-Private Tensions in the Transformation to Circular Business Models

Research points to public-private collaboration’s importance for supporting the transformation from linear to circular business models. As little is known of such collaboration, we conducted a 4-year in-depth case study to answer how transformation is affected by two types of tensions: between linear and circular elements and between public and private partners. We find that tensions shape the transformational process into a dialectical pattern, as partners’ institutional differences initially cause them to conflict over whether to focus on linear or circular elements but, over time, arrive at a synthesis. Our findings contribute to circular business model research by illustrating the usefulness of understanding transformational challenges as linear-circular tensions and by illuminating the dialectics of transformational processes.

Navigating Business Model Redesign: The Compass Method for Identifying Changes to the Operating Model

In today’s dynamic business environment, organizations constantly change their business models to respond to emerging digital technologies and shifting customer expectations. It is a fundamental challenge to translate these changes into the organization’s operating model. When organizations redesign their business models, significant adjustments to the operating model and its underlying business processes are necessary to ensure the effective delivery of the value proposition to customers. Existing research falls short in detailing how changes to the business model at the tactical level impact the operating model at the operational level. To address this gap, this paper introduces the Compass Method. This method provides guidance for decision-makers at the tactical and operational levels in identifying necessary changes to their operating model using a set of operating model design cards. The method has been developed following the design science research methodology and is grounded in extant knowledge from both business model research and process management research. Three rounds of design and evaluation of the method were completed in multiple settings. The study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between business models, operating models, and business processes, paving the way for the development of complementary methods and tools to further investigate this relationship.

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.

Doing good while making profits: A typology of business models for social ventures

AbstractResearch SummaryBuilding on business model research and the social entrepreneurship literature, we conceptually develop a set of business model choices for social ventures. These choices specify the scope of venture beneficiaries, the extent that customers and beneficiaries overlap, and how social meaning is attached to the venture's value proposition. Concurrent configurations of these choices give rise to four types of social business models: (1) Social Stimulators, (2) Social Providers, (3) Social Producers, and (4) Social Intermediaries. We illustrate this typology using data from seven social ventures and formulate propositions about the implications these business model choices have for a venture's value creation and value capture potential. We then discuss contributions to the literature on social ventures and social entrepreneurship, and the literature on business models.Managerial SummaryIn this article, we propose a framework outlining key business model choices for social ventures. These choices include the scope of target beneficiaries of the venture, the degree of overlap between customers and beneficiaries, and how the venture communicates its social mission through its value proposition. By combining these choices in different ways, we identify four distinct types of social business models which we call Social Stimulators, Social Providers, Social Producers, and Social Intermediaries. To bring this framework to life, we have examined data from seven real‐world social ventures, offering concrete examples to illustrate each type. For each of these four types of social business models, we have also formulated propositions about how the business model choices impact a venture's value creation and value capture potential.

Business Models and Lean Startup

We explore the intersection between the lean startup methodology and research on business models. We note that both perspectives are anchored on a systematic approach to needs discovery and highlight the importance of value creation (vs. value appropriation). However, while the lean startup is centered on creating value for customers through discovery of product-market fit, research on business models concerns value creation for all stakeholders through establishing product-market-business model fit. We also discuss how the lean startup method informs research on business models and vice versa. We observe that the promise of applying lean startup to business models lies in probing the viability of new business models with an efficient and effective process. We find that business model research, in turn, can contribute to the lean startup methodology by (a) suggesting extensions to the method that derive from the holistic, system-level nature of the business model construct and (b) highlighting a range of specific experimental subprocesses, refinements, and tools that could be applied to refine the customer needs discovery process.

Towards a theory of informal disruption

What are the implications of disruption originating in firms using illegal practices, which we refer to as informal firms? Since its development by Clayton Christensen, there has been increasing interest in disruptive innovation theory among innovation and management scholars. Yet, the disruptive power of informal firms remains understudied. We theorize informal disruption, which we define as the process through which entrepreneurs engage in business model innovation based on new technology and avoidance of regulation. Institutional voids and institutional incongruence facilitate scaling of such new business models. We offer a process model of informal disruption emphasizing business model formalization as a key strategy for informal disruptors and non‐market strategies such as collective lobbying and consumer education as incumbent strategies when competing with informal disruptors. Our process model highlights the role of formal and informal institutions during informal disruption, which can both facilitate informal disruptors' scaling and limit incumbents' adaptation strategies. We discuss the implications of studying informal disruption for disruptive innovation, business model, and informal economy research.

Using a Result-Oriented Systems Thinking approach to design and evaluate strategies for the digital transformation management of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Digital technologies offer diverse opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, for an effective use of these technologies, a well-defined managerial strategy and implementation roadmap are essential. These elements ensure the efficient application of digital tools, ultimately leading to improved organizational performance. Organizations striving for business excellence aim to establish sustainability, drive transformation, and continuously improve their adaptable, dynamic capabilities. While customer requirements and needs should remain a primary focus, it is equally important to assess potential internal and external incidents through various scenarios.Systems Thinking approaches have been promisingly used in business model research, innovation, and development in helping to understand the complexity inherent in dynamic situations. Despite its potential, there is a scarcity of literature exploring Systems Thinking and associated network analysis specifically addressing digital transformation techniques in SMEs.This research study aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive insight into digital transformation strategies for SMEs. Employing a results-oriented, strategic Systems Thinking simulation, the study explores the identification of digital transformation strategies by evaluating the interrelations and performance of various departmental functions. With that best actions for achieving an effective, stable, and enhancing organization could be determined.

The environmental footprint of e-commerce in modern conditions

The article is devoted to studying the ecological impact of e-commerce on the environment and the theoretical aspect of setting and applying sustainable development goals in this sector. As part of the work, an analysis of the growing trend of digital business model research was carried out, considering the three main goals of sustainable development. The relevance of the research is due to the rapid changes in the world, which must be responded to to provide for future generations. Such research methods were used as abstraction, synthesis, empirical research methods, the Scopus information platform's resource base, comparison method, graphic interpretation, and the VosViewer program. The article considered the main opinions of scientists regarding electronic commerce. A bibliographic analysis from the Scopus scientometric database is shown. The relationship between «e-commerce» and «sustainable development» was investigated. The dependence of Internet users over time on social network users from 2012 to 2022 was shown. This dependence was shown in the context of the growth of digital sales, which reflects trends in e-commerce, where the parallel development of Internet users and social networks took place. According to the graph, the equation of direct dependence is given and the coefficient of multiple determination - R2 is determined. In addition, it is determined to increase sales of goods worldwide with ecological delivery and ecological packaging. The implementation of environmentally friendly packaging and delivery not only contributes to the preservation of the environment, but also positively affects the image of the company, making it more attractive to customers who support sustainability and environmental responsibility. It also showed shoppers' appreciation of green alternatives for e-commerce packaging and found that people are willing to pay more for green shipping. The results of the study allow company managers and buyers to adhere to the goals of sustainable development.

We do it our way – small scale farms in business model transformation for sustainability

Value creation is at the core of business model (BM) research, but the link between BM and value creation remains unclear. In this work, empirical data on BM transformation towards sustainable value creation in the agri-food sector, were obtained through case studies. Factors in BM transformation were identified, transformations in different BM segments were analysed and sustainable value created through these transformations was assessed. Factors such as owner-manager mind-set, experiences of sustainability and market pressures were found to drive transformation. All cases performed generic and case-specific transformation activities, with an animal welfare ethos and sustainable solutions for distribution and transport being central for all firms. Differences in strategies and cooperation derived mainly from the geographical and micro-context. While exhibiting innovativeness, the sustainable value created was predominantly within the current time horizon. Holistic integration of sustainability into core business was challenging for the farms, due to lack of knowledge and systemic approach to sustainability. All farms expressed a desire for learning and exchange of knowledge, a gap not met by other institutions in the sector. Six directions for future research on sustainable value creation through BM transformation are suggested.

Thematic evolution, emerging trends for sharing economy business model research, and future research directions in the post‐COVID‐19 era

This study explored the scientometrics and current dynamics of the area of sharing economy business models (SEBMs). Using bibliometric analysis, it examined a collection of 561 studies from the Web of Science and Scopus databases to detect the thematic evolution, strategy map, and emerging trends in SEBM literature as well as to forecast research directions. The results showed that SEBMs is a relatively new multidisciplinary research area that grew rapidly between 2014 and 2019; since then, the publication growth has flattened. Research on SEBMs currently focuses on sustainability, sustainable development, tourism, new technology application, and business management, with less attention given to social effects and public acceptance, determinants of success, and regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. The thematic analysis revealed that sustainability‐oriented themes are at the center. Six emerging trends were detected: (1) industry‐oriented research such as transportation, tourism, accommodation, energy, and others, (2) sustainability‐oriented studies, including social, environmental, and economic perspectives, (3) sustainable organizational development concerning social acceptance, trust, legitimacy, and satisfaction, (4) new technology‐oriented and innovation‐focused studies such as blockchain, big data, social media, and e‐platforms, (5) country‐ and region‐oriented studies, particularly for emerging countries, (6) effects of entrepreneurial ecosystem factors on SEBM development. Based on the current thematic map and evolution, this paper suggests several critical research directions. The paper provides (1) providing a one‐stop literature overview on SEBM area for two time slices: fast‐growing‐initiation phase (before COVID‐19) and transitional phase (during COVID‐19), (2) identifying research focuses, emerging trends, and gaps, (3) developing novel research avenues for investigation, and (4) aligning expected contributions to the area. By providing new knowledge, the research theoretically contributes to many disciplines given that SEBM studies were found to be multidisciplinary. It also has numerous implications for policymakers and practitioners.

Research on Big Data-driven Business Management Effectiveness Enhancement Methodology

In the digital era, business management effectiveness enhancement is an important way to promote enterprises to gain competitive advantage, and enterprises use big data to drive business model innovation and business risk warning. Based on the progress of existing data-driven business model research, the intrinsic mechanism and methods of big data-driven business model innovation are analysed based on the perspective of business model element restructuring. Meanwhile, in business risk management, especially in the financial banking sector, where risk management is the core of its business management, big data plays a crucial role.

Editorial

The Business Model Conference 2022, held at the University of Lille in early June, provided members of the academic community with an excellent opportunity to discuss the latest research, innovative teaching methods, and best practices in business model research.

What Makes Your Business Model (Un)investable?

This paper seeks to find out what makes a business model uninvestable. In particular, the study explores the reasons for venture capitalists’ rejection decisions on entrepreneurs’ proposals. The study digs into rejected cases in the American Shark Tank TV show as the source of secondary data. Data is transcribed, coded, synthesised, narratives are built, and storytelling techniques are applied to present the findings. The study deviates from the mainstream research on business models, based on primary data. In doing so, the study bridges between the business model research and communication sciences.

Impact of Technology Recombination on Construction Firm Performance: Evidence from Chinese Construction Sector

Technological recombinant innovation (TRI) has been regarded as an important part of technological innovation in the construction industry. However, the pattern of how TRI affects the performance of construction firms is still unclear. Building upon architectural innovation, this study identifies the exploratory and exploitative TRIs and explores the mediating mechanism of business models, by which TRIs influence a firm’s performance. Using text mining, panel data analysis of 107 China-listed construction firms was conducted to analyze the relationships. The results show that the positive relationship between exploratory TRI and firm performance is weakened by novelty-centered business model, while the negative effect of exploitative TRI on firm performance is strengthened through its mediation. This research enriches the literature on the relationship between technological innovation and firm performance by highlighting the important role of TRIs in predicting firm performance and differentiating mediating mechanisms for the two types of business models. In addition, the application of text mining to quantitatively evaluate the types of business model from the annual reports of listed construction firms, provides a new quantitative evaluation method for the research of business models.

Business Model Research: Past, Present, and Future

AbstractBusiness model research has grown into an insightful area of inquiry, and articles in the Journal of Management Studies (JMS) have greatly contributed to this topical area. This introductory article to the thematic collection of business model research offers an overview of the pertinent literature as well as foundational knowledge, so it is suitable for scholars who are familiar with the topic, but it is also helpful for those wishing to join the conversation. Business model research has thrived at the intersection of strategy, innovation management, and entrepreneurship studies. This body of research is characterized by both a bold vision to improve our understanding of the architecture and building blocks of business models as well as conceptual and empirical debates about the way forward in the digital age of continuing disruption, platformization, and ecosystem transformations. We suggest three promising areas for future research: business model portfolios, competitive dynamics between heterogeneous business models, and business model design for more sustainable economy.

State of the Art of Business Models: A Bibliometric Analysis

Various studies have investigated the business model (BM) in different dimensions. However, bibliometric analyses in this discipline are still limited. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of business model research, identifying the state of the art, trends, and other indicators by analyzing articles published on the Web of Science (WoS) platform from 2017 to 2022. The present study examines the simultaneous occurrence of publications by year, keyword trends, bibliographic coupling, analysis of co-authorship, cities, and institutions, and finds that the literature on business models rapidly expanded between 2017 and 2020. A total of 14,881 articles were obtained as samples. The present study employs VOSviewer software to analyze the data. A considerable amount of literature has been produced on BMs, but researchers have stopped developing further literature which is thought-provoking. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that there is a need to research BMs in different domains such as sustainability and digitalization.

Open strategy and dynamic capabilities: A framework for circular economy business models research

AbstractThe circular economy has attracted the interest of business leaders, policy makers and academics alike for its potential to contribute to a more resilient, prosperous and resource‐efficient economy. The transition towards a circular economy requires new business models that challenge the linear logic of value creation that is still endemic across most industries. In turn, the transition from linear to circular business models involves the rethinking of strategic decision‐making processes and the development of new organisational capabilities. This paper addresses these important strategic implications of the emergence and implementation of circular business models. Coupling business models with open strategy and dynamic capabilities, we develop a “three‐pronged” strategy framework that advances the emerging field of circular business model research. Our contribution is crystallised into a series of propositions and future research questions for scholars working at the intersection of the circular economy and the strategy literature.