with Gatignon, Hubert, Xavier Lecocq, and Alina Sorescu. AMS Review, December, 7 (3-4), 2017, 85-89
Short Article
Abstract:
The Internet and the digital economy have prompted the creation of new business models (McKinsey and Company 2017). Technologies that can enable new business platforms and increased digital access to potential customers have significantly changed in the manner in which firms conduct business, from the creation of value (see, for instance, the literature on co-creation, e.g., Hoyer et al. 2010, or that on open innovation, e.g., Chesbrough et al. 2006), to the appropriation of value (see, for instance, research on freemium pricing, e.g., Pauwels and Weiss 2008, or on pay-per-use, e.g., Prasad et al. 2003). Competitive advantage from product innovation has become difficult to maintain for extended periods of time; as a result, incumbents are increasingly looking for ways to update and innovate their existing business models (Neus et al. 2017). For instance, Accenture reports that 80% of firms plan to grow via new business models over the next 5 years (Accenture 2014).
Changes in business practice have also led to a heightened focus on business models in the academic literature. Several recent reviews highlight the scope of this literature, which ranges from attempts to define and provide structure for the concept of business model, to examinations of specific types of business models (Coombes and Nicholson 2013; Foss and Saebi 2017; Massa et al. 2017; Zott et al. 2011). The majority of these articles, however, can be found in management journals. Attempts to study business models in marketing are scant, and typically focus on specific sectors of the economy (e.g., Wieland et al. 2017 on services, and Sorescu et al. 2011 on retailing) or on specific types of business models (e.g., Kind et al. 2009; Pauwels and Weiss 2008). Moreover, while value creation and appropriation have separately received attention in marketing, they have been rarely studied in combination, which is a prerequisite to understanding business models. This is a surprising gap, given that marketers are responsible for the design and implementation of several aspects of the value creation and value appropriation components of a business model. This special issue is a first step in stimulating more research on this topic in the marketing literature. Building on what we have learned from the management literature but bringing insights from the marketing literature’s expertise on building a viable value proposition, we can further enhance our understanding of how business models can be effectively designed in order to lead to sustainable firm performance.
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