Interconnected business models: present debates and future agenda

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the emergent literature to advance the current understanding of the business model (BM) concept in a context in which more than one actor is actively involved in the development and delivery of a joint offer based on information and communication technologies. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a systematic literature review approach. The review is based on 25 systematically selected publications published from 2000 to 2018 and retrieved from bibliographic databases and through a process of snowballing. Findings The authors found several alternative conceptualizations of a BM at a network level, which highlighted different elements as core components. Based on this, authors’ findings suggest the literature has a fragmented view of what the BM concept entails at a network level, and of which actors are relevant. Conversely, there is a consensus that a single-firm view is inadequate for describing and studying joint value architectures because of its inability to consider all involved actors and their activities and resources. Therefore, a network-oriented view, as a relational aggregator, is seen as a possible way forward. Originality/value The study contributes to the current understanding of a BM concept at a network level and suggests three viewpoints from which to interpret value architectures at different levels of analysis: single-firm view, dyadic-level view and network-oriented view. Furthermore, the authors highlight several gaps to be studied and provide avenues for future research opportunities for scholars.

Assessing entrepreneurial ecosystems through a strategic value network approach: evidence from the San Francisco Area

“…The relationship between the concept of business model and value network is grounded in the extant literature on strategic management (Jocevski et al, 2020).…”

Overcoming the business model transformation dilemma: exploring market shaping and stabilizing strategies in incumbent firms

“…Traditionally, the BM has been viewed as a rather static concept, like a blueprint of the firm (Demil and Lecocq, 2010) and as a belonging of a single firm (Mason and Spring, 2011). Recently, however, the research interest has shifted toward a view of the BM as dynamic (Bohnsack et al, 2014;Foss and Saebi, 2018;Nyström and Mustonen, 2017) and interconnected (Jocevski et al, 2020). Hence, the BM is in this work characterized by "a meso-level value architecture that describes the value flow and dynamics of value creation, delivery and capture mechanisms at a network level" (Jocevski et al, 2020(Jocevski et al, , p. 1062.…”

“…Recently, however, the research interest has shifted toward a view of the BM as dynamic (Bohnsack et al, 2014;Foss and Saebi, 2018;Nyström and Mustonen, 2017) and interconnected (Jocevski et al, 2020). Hence, the BM is in this work characterized by "a meso-level value architecture that describes the value flow and dynamics of value creation, delivery and capture mechanisms at a network level" (Jocevski et al, 2020(Jocevski et al, , p. 1062. The set of network actors includes customer, partners and other stakeholders in the system.…”

Research on Patent Protection of Business Model under the Background of Internet

“…At present, China has introduced relevant policies to incorporate business models into the protection category of intellectual property objects, and many scholars have conducted research on the intellectual property protection system of business models [8], and all circles of the society have put forward some tentative suggestions.…”