How do Big Bang Disruptors look like? A Business Model perspective

Abstract

The breakthrough impact of newborn companies over the last years brought to the definition of Big Bang Disruption, a new kind of innovation that relies on an unencumbered development, an unconstrained growth, and an undisciplined strategy. The relevance from a practitioner perspective is straightforward: entire industries have been challenged and disrupted. From a theoretical perspective, the concept is less developed. This research aims to understand it through a Business Model perspective, better highlighting the design variables that may lead to this kind of innovation. Leveraging crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) to define the necessary conditions to be called a Big Bang Disruptor, this paper relies on a rock clustering method-using the Unicorns' list as the sample-to highlight common patterns. Results show two main factors: the chance to innovate the meaning and to rely on a two-sided market structure as key variables to design a Big Bang Disruptor. Results are discussed under the lenses of previous research. Finally, limitations and avenues for further studies are explored.

Fostering digital platform innovation: From two to multi‐sided platforms

“…Research on these kinds of businesses is gradually moving from the original perspective in the field of industrial economics (Parker & Van Alstyne, ; Rochet & Tirole, ) to a broader view in the management field (Muzellec et al, ; Täuscher & Laudien, ; Trabucchi, Buganza, & Pellizzoni, ). At the same time, the business world is keener about understanding more about these peculiar businesses as clearly represented both by practitioner‐oriented literature (Parker et al, ) and the increasing diffusion of such companies as Uber, Airbnb, Coursera and many others, eventually linked with the concept of disruption (Trabucchi, Talenti, & Buganza, ).…”

The Business Model as Mediator during Socio-Technical Transitions - Empirical Evidence from Applied AI Technology Startups in the Energy and Transportation Sector

“…Different from the startups in Cluster 1, startups in this cluster do not rely on a balanced business model to commercialize the technology. They put less emphasis on value creation activities but instead create innovative ways of delivering the product that allow the user to interact with the technology in a new way Buganza et al, 2015;Trabucchi et al, 2019 and engage with the passengers and pedestrians, creating trust in the system. Additionally, they offer educational programs for local communities on how to introduce and manage autonomous vehicles in their transportation system.…”

“…A unique value proposition that addresses market needs is key to uncover the full potential of the technology (Björkdahl, 2009;Buganza, Dell'Era, Pellizzoni, Trabucchi, & Verganti, 2015;Magistretti & Dell'Era, 2019;Trabucchi, Talenti, & Buganza, 2019) . During the process of defining a value proposition, firms can consider the dimensions of depth and breadth.…”

“…A broader scope (e.g. multiple products in multiple industries) helps to uncover the latent potential of the technology, creating the possibility to identify underlying needs and application areas that were previously unknown (König, Ungerer, Baltes, & Terzidis, 2019;Magistretti & Dell'Era, 2019;Schmeiss & Friederici, 2019;Trabucchi et al, 2019) .…”

“…Value proposition Depth = single products or multiple products (Dell'Era, Altuna, Magistretti, & Verganti, 2017;Magistretti & Dell'Era, 2019;Trabucchi et al, 2019) Breadth = single use case or multiple use cases Value architecture Value creation: activities required to develop and produce a product or service (Bohnsack et al, 2014;Massa et al, 2017;Remane et al, 2017;Teece, 2010) Value delivery: activities required to communicate and deliver a product or service to a specific customer segment…”