Technology-based Business Models Research Articles

A systematic review of the literature on agri-food business models: critical review and research agenda

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify the way in which research on new business models in agri-food sector has been developed, in order to identify the main lines of work followed and determine a future research agenda in this field.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature is carried out, by applying the PRISMA method to identify and classify the main articles published on agri-food business models in journals included in the Web of Science Core Collection database.FindingsThe systematic literature review has identified three main forms of business models in the agri-food sector: sustainable business models, technology-based business models and cooperative business models. The three types of new business models are complementary and can sometimes be adopted together. The identification of these types of business models and the variants included in each of them is a valid starting point for new developments in this field.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this study are those typical of any literature review and derived from the methodology used. The establishment of criteria relating to time, language, type of publication or database chosen means that this review may have left out relevant studies in this field of research. It is therefore recommended that new reviews be carried out with different criteria in the coming years in order to supplement the results obtained in this study.Originality/valueSome research gaps were identified that should be further explored in the future. First, the relationship between digitisation and technological innovation in agri-food business models and the level of implementation of sustainable objectives in these business models has not been researched thoroughly. In addition, and despite the fact that the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted innovation in agri-food business models, the authors have detected a lack of papers focused on solving problems arising from the shortage of raw materials or labour, possible energy crises or external dependence on local markets when it comes to meeting demand. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the limitations of international markets, mainly the European market, when it comes to dealing with problems arising from this type of crisis.

Sustainability-Oriented Innovation Foresight in International New Technology Based Firms

Rapid technological advances give rise to the development of New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs) which are focused on technology-based business models. One of the concerns is the changing pace of technology adoption and its impact on shortening the life cycle of goods and services based on technology. Technology tends to create more integration among communities, businesses, goods, and services. This integration can be seen in the substantial increase of firms, especially NTBFs, striving to improve international relations. In this regard, addressing the sustainability dimensions in light of technological change is of universal interest. Some studies highlight the role of technology in terms of its environmental impacts, whereas others describe technology as the main driving force of businesses towards innovation, which can lead to sustainability. This paper aims to examine international NTBFs to determine the factors, key drivers, and uncertainties impacting sustainability-oriented innovations concerning their encounter with technology and ultimately plan future scenarios for international NTBFs based on sustainability-oriented innovations. The description of the scenarios shows the importance of innovation development in digital technologies and the expansion of international relations, which is realized by using digital platforms. In addition to accelerating knowledge and innovation development to gain more key partners, we would observe target market expansion, cost reduction, and sustainability growth for international NTBFs. Identifying drivers and uncertainties and the future-oriented approach of this research provide insight to International NTBFs owners into realizing sustainability-oriented innovation by increasing their awareness of the opportunities and interventions to build capacity at the conceptualization and project management levels.

Marketing by live streaming: How to interact with consumers to increase their purchase intentions.

Live streaming e-commerce, as a kind of new information technology-based business model, is currently the most popular marketing approach, especially in China. This research divides live streaming interactions into three dimensions, interactions for obtaining product information (IPI), interactions for grasping the purchase dynamics of others (IPD), and interactions for obtaining monetary incentives (IMI), and proposes a comprehensive framework to examine whether live streaming interactions with consumers promote both social presence and consumer conformity, and thereby enhance their purchase intentions. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) with AMOS was conducted to analyze data collected from 576 Chinese consumers. The main findings are that, first, both IPI and IPD can exert a direct impact on social presence and consumer conformity; second, IMI has a positive impact only on social presence; third, among the three dimensions of interactions, both IPI and IPD tend to increase purchase intention through social presence and consumer conformity, while IMI increases purchase intention only via social presence. Furthermore, given the differences between experience and search products, the results of the multigroup analysis indicate inconsistent path coefficients between the two product groups. This study provides a novel perspective on live streaming e-commerce with evidence on how interactions matter in driving purchase intentions, enriches the content of live streaming e-commerce literature and explores the practical implications for marketing managers are looking for marketing by live streaming.

Developing sustainable business model innovation through stakeholder management and dynamic capability: A longitudinal case study

Sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) describes the environmental sustainability of innovative business model; even though the SBMI is well known it fails to justify its influence in the literature. Prior studies have addressed the aspects of stakeholder management (SM) and dynamic capability (DC), which are crucial for the model to sustain competitive advantage and seize business opportunities. Despite rising attention on SBMI from both researchers and practitioners, little research exists in longitudinal studies to reveal its evolution and record the characteristics of the different types of SBMI. This study is a longitudinal study that uses a sewage treatment firm in Dalian, China to understand multiple stages involved in SBMI, such as government-dependent, technology-based, and social-oriented observed over 15 years. This longitudinal study found that integrating stakeholder management strategies provides the resource base for implementing SBMI. DC plays a leverage role between SM and SBMI, and the roles of the four DCs are different in various SBMIs. Sensing and learning capabilities are vital in the initial stage, and integrating and learning ones build the knowledge network in a technology-based business model. Of the society-oriented capabilities, the integrating and coordinating capabilities increase stakeholders’ willingness to participate. This case study explores opportunities for developing SBMIs by analyzing this business pattern over a span of 15 years.

Technology-based business model: A startup perspective

This paper examines how a startup can develop its business model for using virtual reality in the healthcare education sector. Due to the detail of the study, which is required to show the mechanisms of business model modification, a single case study was conducted for a startup located in the Czech Republic. The studied company develops virtual reality technology and solutions in industries such as healthcare, education, social services, engineering, and government sector. The study provides empirical evidence on the main mechanisms shaping the elements of a business model and shows the expansion of virtual reality implementation. The study shows also how the digital capabilities and the information technologies can impact the external and internal business processes that respond to the three approaches of BM development: service-oriented approach, network-oriented approach, and user-driven approach. Business model development is required in today’s market, typically due to the fourth industrial revolution, which leads to automation and digitization of business processes.

MintM: the start-up transforming businesses real-time

ABSTRACT In an increasingly digital world, technology-based start-ups face challenges which are of unique nature and hence cannot be fathomed by organizations belonging to another genre. The case study focuses on a series of strategic and business model redesigning challenges faced by Ashutosh Chouksey, Executive Vice President – Expansion and Strategic Operations, while co-leading a technology-based customer engagement and digital signage solutions start-up, MintM. MintM has a business to business (B2B) based model that relies on its own proprietary software to display targeted audio-visual content in stores and supermarkets, offering the unique value proposition of simultaneous last mile advertising connectivity and customer analysis. The core product of MintM requires regular upkeep creating a conflict: a chance of global outreach versus operational hassles hindering its growth trajectory. The case is an appropriate platform for demonstrating information technology-based business model management dilemma in a fast-changing digital milieu, whether to improvise on organizational structure or product particulars. The case also presents an opportunity to discuss operational challenges hindering expansion plans and how to strategize and redesign business model to overcome the same and cater to clientele in a niche nascent market while still maintaining a lean team.

Combining Business Model Innovation and Model-Based Analysis to Tackle the Deep Uncertainty of Societal Transitions—A Case Study on Industrial Electrification and Power Grid Management

Creating new business models is crucial for the implementation of clean technologies for industrial decarbonization. With incomplete knowledge of market processes and uncertain conditions, assessing the prospects of a technology-based business model is challenging. This study combines business model innovation, system dynamics, and exploratory model analysis to identify new business opportunities in a context of sociotechnical transition and assess their prospects through simulation experiments. This combination of methods is applied to the case of a potential business model for Distribution System Operators aiming at ensuring the stability of the electrical grid by centralizing the management of flexible loads in industrial companies. A system dynamics model was set up to simulate the diffusion of flexible electrification technologies. Through scenario definition and sensitivity analysis, the influence of internal and external factors on diffusion was assessed. Results highlight the central role of energy costs and customer perception. The chosen combination of methods allowed the formulation of concrete recommendations for coordinated action, explicitly accounting for the various sources of uncertainty. We suggest testing this approach in further business model innovation contexts.

New Energy Policy Directions in the European Union Developing the Concept of Smart Cities

In the context of the European Union promoting clean energy, sustainability and better living conditions for its citizens, the development of smarts cities is an initiative supported at the European Union level, in line with the new energy policies of the European Union promoted by the package “Clean Energy for All Europeans”. The concept of smart cities gains increasing importance in the European Union, a fact that is reflected in the project “European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities” of the European Commission. Smart cities are a practical example of how the new energy policies shape the lives of the European Union citizens, trying to improve it. As a consequence, new business models arise in big cities, involving the use of technology for better living conditions. These new, technology-based business models are important, as they improve the life quality of the inhabitants, they reduce the climate change impact, and they contribute as well to job creation in the IT-industry, promoting innovation. They have as well a social impact, as they bring experts from energy policies, business, economics, legal and IT together in order to project a new type of city—the smart city. The research hypothesis of the present article is that there is a high acceptance towards the concept of smart cities at the European Union level and that this concept could be implemented with the help of information technology and of artificial intelligence. This way, legal provisions, economic measures and IT-tools work together in order to create synergy effects for better life quality of the citizens of the European Union. The research hypothesis is analyzed by means of the questionnaire as a qualitative research method and is as well assessed by using case studies (e.g., Austria, Finland, Romania). The novelty of the case studies is that the development of smart cities is analyzed due to the new trend towards sustainability in two countries with different living conditions in the European Union.

Business Models based Technology for Startups

The many and existence of startups in Indonesia and the world continue to increase, along with the increasing use of technology and the internet. This encourages startups, newcomers to compete and survive to attract the attention of consumers. One of the determinants of startups' success is the business models, especially those related to technology. The use of the right business model will bring the impact of consumer or user trust on the startup. In this article, the author presents a theoretical reviews related to some technology-based business models trends that can be used by a startup in starting his business as well as how to determine the right business model for startups.

DOES FINTECH MATTER FOR INDONESIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH?

This paper investigates the role of financial technology (FinTech) in propelling economic growth in Indonesia from 1998 to 2018. The FinTech industry employs a technology-based business model to provide financial services, including lending, payment, investment, and financing services. The study is motivated by endogenous growth theory, which seeks to explain technology as the most important driver of economic growth. The study finds that FinTech startups are positively correlated with Indonesia’s economic growth. FinTech firms in their first year are found to be disruptive, but they fail to have serious consequences on Indonesia’s economic growth; however, they seem to significantly encourage economic growth in their second year. These findings are derived after accounting for other important growth determinants, namely, capital per labor, foreign direct investment (FDI), stock market development, and trade openness.

The promise and perils of alternative market-based finance: the case of P2P lending in the UK

The collapse of the global financial industry in 2008 and the subsequent decay of most Western economies into a period of prolonged economic stagnation have represented a springboard for the progressive growth of alternative channels of financial intermediation. The reluctance and inability of mainstream banks in the post-crisis years to provide credit facilities to the real economy, most critically to start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, propelled the latest wave of financial innovation, this time under the guise of FinTech. Much has been written on the rise of FinTech in recent years, but there is still insufficient clarity about the benefits that this phenomenon is bringing to the real economy and the potential risks that can arise from its growth. This paper maps the development of FinTech lending platforms in the UK and reconceptualises the rationale for their growth. In doing that, this study focuses on the structure and operation of the main UK platforms, recognising that while some are effectively banks that adopt a technology-based business model, many platforms operate under the P2P business model. The question then is to assess the policy and regulatory approach that is relevant to UK P2P platforms. Interestingly, the emergence of P2P securitisation raises a number of regulatory and policy questions, because longer intermediation chains typical of securitisation may well defy the social and economic purposes under which the idea of P2P developed. Furthermore, questions of systemic risk inevitably resurface in these types of transactions. Ensuing problems related to the best way to regulate these new channels of financial intermediation lead to critically evaluate the initiatives launched by the UK FCA, initially under the Innovation Hub, and more recently under the consultation for a new regulatory framework.

Sustainable business models: a literature review

PurposeThe demand for resources for development also increased corporate pressures for sustainability. Consequently, it is necessary for organizations to adopt measures addressing the need to implement a new business model, which allows a management team concerned about the economy and the optimization of resources to make sustainable business models a strategic interest of the organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze sustainable business models and the applied practices to operationalize them.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted through a systematic review of the literature to identify the sustainable business models addressed in the literature, and what practices are applied to operationalize these models.FindingsThe data show that sustainable business models have an approach centered on the direct participation of stakeholders, especially the user, in the process of creating sustainable value. Overall, they offer a high level of technology-based business models that prioritize the use of clean energy, material maximization and energy efficiency, with an emphasis on repair and maintenance rather than on disposal and scheduled obsolescence, as well as an emphasis on natural and renewable processes, the reuse of waste, environmental stewardship, product transformation into technological artefacts for users, and products for services and results.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s contributions provide a more detailed understanding of sustainable business models and what practices can be adopted by companies to make the business truly sustainable. This paper contributed to the discussion of the research on sustainable business models and their operational practices.Originality/valueThe analysis promotes insights into new opportunities for companies to integrate their traditional business models with sustainability, contributing to the application of sustainable practices within the managerial scope. Companies that operate sustainable business models need to be aware that collaborative, sharing and networking models can deliver positive results for sustainable business models.

The Promise and Perils of Alternative Market-Based Finance: The Case of P2P in the UK

The collapse of the global financial industry in 2008 and the subsequent decay of most Western economies into a period of prolonged economic stagnation have represented a springboard for the progressive growth of alternative channels of financial intermediation. The reluctance and inability of mainstream banks in the post-crisis years to provide credit facilities to the real economy, most critically to start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, propelled the latest wave of financial innovation, this time under the guise of FinTech. Much has been written about the rise of FinTech in recent years, but there is still insufficient clarity about the benefits that this phenomenon is bringing to the real economy and the potential risks that can arise from its growth. This paper maps the development of FinTech platforms in the UK and reconceptualises the the rationale for their growth. In doing that, this study focuses on the structure and operation of the main UK platforms, recognising that while some are effectively banks that adopt a different, technology-based business model, many platforms operate under the P2P business model. The question then is to assess the policy and regulatory approach that is relevant to UK P2P platforms. In doing that, this paper takes a critical look into the activities conducted by these platforms with the aim to clarify their specific business model and its associated risks. In particular, the emergence of P2P securitisation raises a number of regulatory and policy questions, because longer intermediation chains typical of securitisation may well defy the social and economic purposes under which the idea of P2P developed. Furthermore, questions of systemic risk inevitably resurface in these types of transactions. Ensuing questions related to the best way to regulate these new channels of financial intermediation lead to critically evaluate the initiatives launched by the UK FCA, initially under the Innovation Hub, and more recently under the consultation for a new regulatory framework.

Fintech and Banking. Friends or Foes?

We examine the impact of Fintech on banks. Digital innovations and technology based business models could provide new business opportunities for incumbents, by transforming how they create value and deliver products and services. Or they could disrupt the existing structure of the financial industry, by blurring its boundaries and fostering strategic disintermediation. By providing new gateways for entrepreneurship, Fintech can ease the access to financial services, fostering competition by new players. To survive, incumbent banks will have to react, face rising competitive pressure and adopt new strategies. What will be the implications for their business models? How will the banking industry evolve with Fintech? And, similarly important, what are the implications for financial sector regulation?

El camino a la Epifanía del Señor: El Modelo de Desarrollo de Clientes

This article is focused on presenting a fast road to the main Lean Startup method principles. It also establishes a 14 norms manifesto that suggests possible questions to take into account in order to be successful by acquiring viability and scalability in technology based business models.

The Feasibility of Technology-based Business Model for SMEs in Taiwan Tourism Industry

Aims: This study analyzes the feasibility of tourism business model created by an integrated telecom operator in Taiwan. This research analyze its model design logic at a strategic level and design elements of content at an operational level, hoping to help this case company analyzing their current design to make them fit for the future trend to capture the opportunities in travel market. Study Design: Case study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Taiwan, between May 2013 and April 2014. Methodology: In-depth interviews were adopted for this study. To obtain more comprehensive and accurate information, the interviewees included the top-level managers and executives. Results: This study use Business Model Canvas, which consists of nine basic building blocks, to analyze the feasibility of tourism business platform built by the case Company. The case company utilizes ICT technology and cooperates with domestic six major tourism industries to integrate Original Research Article Lee and Wu; BJEMT, 6(1): 50-60, 2015; Article no.BJEMT.2015.042 51 public and private sector resources to offer free abundant digital tourism information to travelers. Results indicate that the design logic is to associate with opportunity identification and enactment focus in streaming data integration to incorporate firm level strategic thinking, which takes into consideration the alignment of the organization’s resources (Fixed Line, Internet Access, Mobile, MOD, and Cloud) and provides six main services for travelers. It expects SMEs will spending in mobile ad and cloud service. This study also found the case company is significant weak in platform marketing to attract platform participants, both travel services providers and consumers. It needs to leverage social media to harness the platform effect for future rapid growth. Conclusion: Traditional relevant players in the travel market, from travel suppliers to travel intermediaries up to travel agents, have to adapt their business models to these fundamental changes in the travel industry.

Business Model Innovations for Information and Communications Technology-Based Services for Low-Income Segments in Emerging Economies

Although proliferation of mobile services in emerging economies like India has made it possible to provide a variety of services such as banking, health, education, etc. to low-income segments through mobiles, it is challenging to do so. This is due to a variety of factors, including low levels of digital infrastructure and literacy and poor propensity to pay. On the other hand, these networks offer a mechanism to improve this state. Therefore, start-ups that develop contextual business model innovations are important. Notwithstanding its importance, there is very little work on what factors contribute to business model innovation for low-income segments in emerging economies in this area. This study contributes to both empirical and theoretical knowledge by developing case studies on business model innovations using information and communications technology-based services in India. It identifies the dimensions of differences between developed countries and emerging economies with respect to (1) the factors that contribute to information and communications technology-based business model innovations for low-income segments and (2) the role of the start-ups in this situation. Further, it integrates two existing strands of theory: value creation through business model innovation in e-business and low-income segments in emerging economies.