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International audienceThe study of business models involves exploring how firms do business at the system level. It lies at the intersection of strategy and entrepreneurship research and is, therefore, a topic of interest for scholars of strategic entrepreneurship. The purpose of this special issue is to publish work that develops theory on business models, or empirically investigates the phenomenon, and to inspire future research on the topic. In our introduction, we briefly review the main conceptual developments of the past two decades. We highlight three contributions that business model research is poised to make to the domain of strategic entrepreneurship, and, by extension, to its constituent disciplines of strategy and entrepreneurship: (1) reconnecting strategy with entrepreneurship; (2) suggesting a more central place for customers in our frameworks and analyses; and (3) emphasizing the importance of implementation. We subsequently present the articles in this special issue and explain how they relate to these themes. We conclude with suggestions for future research. Copyright © 2015 Strategic Management Society

A growing body of literature describes the open source phenomenon in the software industry. Drawing on transaction cost economics, we propose that open source projects illustrate a new generic governance structure -which we label bazaar governance -based on a specific legal contract: the open licence. We characterize this structure in terms of its strengths and weaknesses and compare it to market, firm and network forms. Low levels of control and weak incentives intensity are distinctive features of bazaar, lending a high uncertainty to governed transactions. However, bazaar governance promotes the openness of open source communities, which can generate strong positive network externalities and subsequent efficiency in cumulative transactions. Our theoretical developments offer a potential basis for future research.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: how to extend resource-based theory to take into account the contribution of all kinds of resources (including the less regarded ones) to performance? While recognising the importance of strategic resources in building and sustaining a competitive advantage, the authors contend that a symmetric analysis of more available resources can shed new light on the sources and mechanisms of superior performance. Thus, they aim to contribute to an extended theory of resources. Design/methodology/approach -Based on literature review and theorization process, the authors introduce alongside strategic resources, the concepts of "ordinary resources" and "junk resources", showing how they may contribute to performance with an appropriate business model. Several illustrative cases are discussed to demonstrate that such resources need to be studied by resource-based theory (RBT). Findings -The authors propose shifting the focus of RBT from the study of strategic resources alone in order to consider other types as well: ordinary and junk resources. Such an approach involves significant implications for strategic management theory and management practices. Practical implications -The paper describes the conditions under which ordinary and junk resources (more available to most firms than strategic resources) may generate a competitive advantage. The extended resource-based theory can have implications for society as it may influence managers' and public attitudes towards underestimated resources and lead to new business models. Originality/value -The approach developed in this article also goes beyond traditional critiques of RBT.