PurposeBusiness model innovation is a key element for firms' competitiveness. Its development can be supported by the establishment of an actor-oriented scheme to overcome hierarchical structures. The actor-oriented scheme is characterized by intra-organizational networks of relationships that can be established and dissolved between individuals. However, we lack an empirical perspective about its establishment; therefore, the purpose of this research is to advance our understanding of intra-organizational networks for supporting business model innovation.Design/methodology/approachIndividuals create and manage knowledge aimed to innovate the business model through cognitive search and experiential learning mechanisms. Knowledge is spread within organizations by using intra-organizational advice networks, whose patterns reflect the presence of an actor-oriented scheme. This work applies social network analysis to network data from a multi-unit organization specializing in personal care services. We use a Logistic Regression-Quadratic Assignment Procedure to analyze intra-organizational network data on managers' advice exchange related to the learning modes of cognitive search and experiential learning.FindingsOur research empirically identifies the main elements of an actor-oriented scheme in a business model innovation process. We find that managers are able to self-organize, because they are not influenced by their organizational roles, and that commons for sharing resources and protocols, processes and infrastructures enable advice exchange, thus showing the presence of an actor-oriented scheme in business model innovation process.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on a cross-sectional database. A longitudinal study would provide a better understanding of the network evolution characterizing the innovation process.Practical implicationsThe results of our study support organizational decision-making for business model innovation.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence of how an actor-oriented scheme emerges in a business model innovation process.

This paper was motivated by the increasing interest in the corporate governance debate on how effective structure and processes may influence entre- preneurial transitions. Along the entrepreneurial process, little research to date has investigated the exit in the context of entrepreneurial family firms. Previous liter- ature has considered the exit mainly as a failure for entrepreneurial families, but when uncertainties arise this choice may enable ownership transitions, thus facili- tating survival and long term strategies. Among the exit options, a private equity buyout may balance the family’s wealth protection and the firm’s future growth. However, which family specific characteristics and strategic needs may affect the exit option still remains a neglected topic. Drawing on corporate governance lit- erature and recent research addressing entrepreneurship in family firms, this paper investigates, by a single case study, the bridging role of private equity buyout for going through entrepreneurial transitions. Findings suggest that a private equity buyout is a governance mechanism that may sustain an entrepreneurial transition by realigning family interests and goals. It may also allow the family commitment for improving organizational capabilities required by an entrepreneurial transition

Business model innovation is recognized as a key process for strengthening firms' performance in situations of strong competitive pressure and environmental changes. This process is driven by intra-organizational advice networks between managers, which exchange different types of advice based on organizational learning mechanisms such as cognitive search (how to conceptualize and create a novel business model) and experiential learning (how to adapt and experiment a novel business model. Investigating what are the key figures emerging from such network is essential for an in-depth understanding of the business model innovation process. By focusing on a multi-unit firm operating in the personal care service industry, we use Social Network Analysis (SNA) to examine the brokerage role of managers when sharing different types of advice towards a novel business model. Our results show that middle-level managers connect different managerial groups in different networks; however, differences exist between groups of middle managers, confirming their peculiar nature within organizations.

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This paper employs a case-study approach to address linkages between corporate governance and a firm‟s strategic dynamics. It investigates a family firm which moved from a state of crisis to a renewed growth and profitability stage to analyze how establishing appropriate governance practices may contribute to strategic renewal and value creation. Creating an effective system of corporate governance is a crucial task for all firms, requiring an appropriate balance between accountability and entrepreneurial dimensions to carry out the firm‟s strategies. Data reveal how corporate governance variations over time may help a family firm to move through its organizational life cycle, by creating an appropriate fit with the evolving strategic needs