A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes

The goal of this dissertation is to find and provide the basis for a managerial tool that allows a firm to easily express its business logic. The methodological basis for this work is design science, where the researcher builds an artifact to solve a specific problem. In this case the aim is to provide an ontology that makes it possible to explicit a firm's business model. In other words, the proposed artifact helps a firm to formally describe its value proposition, its customers, the relationship with them, the necessary intra- and inter-firm infrastructure and its profit model. Such an ontology is relevant because until now there is no model that expresses a company's global business logic from a pure business point of view. Previous models essentially take an organizational or process perspective or cover only parts of a firm's business logic. The four main pillars of the ontology, which are inspired by management science and enterprise- and processmodeling, are product, customer interface, infrastructure and finance. The ontology is validated by case studies, a panel of experts and managers. The dissertation also provides a software prototype to capture a company's business model in an information system. The last part of the thesis consists of a demonstration of the value of the ontology in business strategy and Information Systems (IS) alignment.
Structure of this thesis:
The dissertation is structured in nine parts:
Chapter 1 presents the motivations of this research, the research methodology with which the goals shall be achieved and why this dissertation present a contribution to research.
Chapter 2 investigates the origins, the term and the concept of business models. It defines what is meant by business models in this dissertation and how they are situated in the context of the firm. In addition this chapter outlines the possible uses of the business model concept.
Chapter 3 gives an overview of the research done in the field of business models and enterprise ontologies.
Chapter 4 introduces the major contribution of this dissertation: the business model ontology. In this part of the thesis the elements, attributes and relationships of the ontology are explained and described in detail.
Chapter 5 presents a case study of the Montreux Jazz Festival which's business model was captured by applying the structure and concepts of the ontology. In fact, it gives an impression of how a business model description based on the ontology looks like.
Chapter 6 shows an instantiation of the ontology into a prototype tool: the Business Model Modelling Language BM2L. This is an XML-based description language that allows to capture and describe the business model of a firm and has a large potential for further applications.
Chapter 7 is about the evaluation of the business model ontology. The evaluation builds on literature review, a set of interviews with practitioners and case studies.
Chapter 8 gives an outlook on possible future research and applications of the business model ontology. The main areas of interest are alignment of business and information technology IT/information systems IS and business model comparison. Finally, chapter 9 presents some conclusions.

The business model ontology a proposition in a design science approach

The rise of the “new economy”, one principally driven by information and knowledge, is attributed to the increased prominence of intellectual capital (IC) as a business and research topic. Intellectual capital is implicated in recent economic, managerial, technological, and sociological developments in a manner previously unknown and largely unforeseen. Whether these developments are viewed through the filter of the information society, the knowledge‐based economy, the network society, or innovation, there is much to support the assertion that IC is instrumental in the determination of enterprise value and national economic performance. First, we seek to review some of the most significant extant literature on intellectual capital and its developed path. The emphasis is on important theoretical and empirical contributions relating to the measurement and reporting of intellectual capital. The second part of this paper identifies possible future research issues into the nature, impact and value of intellectual management and reporting.

Intellectual capital literature review: measurement, reporting and management

This article is seeking to explore the practical implications of an epistemological approach to strategy formulation. In doing so it tries to expand the field of knowledge management and intellectual capital beyond its operational and often inwardly technological focus to a new theory of the firm. A resource‐based perspective is suggested, using autopoietic epistemology to guide strategy formulation. People use their capacity‐to‐act in order to create value in mainly two directions; by transferring and converting knowledge externally and internally to the organisation. The value grows each time a knowledge transfer or conversion takes place. The strategy formulation issues are concerned with how to utilise the leverage and how to avoid the blockages that prevent sharing and conversion. Activities that form the backbone of a knowledge‐based strategy are to be aimed at improving the capacity‐to‐act both inside and outside the organisation.

A knowledge-based theory of the firm to guide in strategy formulation

International handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education

Keeping track of the revenue stream is important, but it's equally important to track the flow of knowledge and intangibles.

Reconfiguring the value network

The Knowledge Evolution offers a unique and powerful road map for understanding knowledge creation, learning, and performance in everyday work. This book reframes current thinking by delving into the hidden world of knowledge supporting both individual and organizational performance, laying the foundation for the emerging art of knowledge management. Packed with best practices from leading edge companies, essential guidelines, design principles, analogies, and conceptual frameworks, it serves as a practical guidebook for mastering the Knowledge Era. It will help managers make more intelligent decisions about knowledge creation, reduce wasteful technology investments and lead to new ease and confidence in applying knowledge and learning principles for themselves and for their organizations. Verna Allee delves into current thinking and practice to unravel the genetic code of knowledge itself. This revolutionary approach has surfaced a simple and elegant knowledge archetype. She demonstrates how this archetype can help us deal with complexity and suggests ways of self-organizing that make profound sense in today's networked enterprises. From strategies for core knowledge competencies to the key components of individual expertise, The Knowledge Evolution zeroes in on the critical success factors for the knowledge-based enterprise. What emerges is an approach to knowledge management that is simple enough to communicate at every level of the organization, yet rich enough to encompass all the complexity of modern enterprises.Verna Allee is the founder of Integral Performance Group, a consulting practice in California that specializes in the learning organization, knowledge competencies, organizational systems change, systems thinking, total quality and learning, benchmarking support, best practices research, and strategic development. She holds a degree in the Study of Human Consciousness and her work is informed by a deep interest in intelligence, human development, cognition, intuition and consciousness. She is the author of Learning Links: Enhancing Individual and Team Performance, Pfeiffer and Co-Jossey Bass, 1996.

The Knowledge Evolution: Expanding Organizational Intelligence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide examples and technical details for conducting a value network analysis that addresses the conversion and utilisation of intangible assets.Design/methodology/approach – Value network analysis was first developed in 1993 and was adapted in 1997 for intangible asset management. It has been tested in applications from shop floor work groups to business webs and economic regions. It draws from a theory based in living systems, knowledge management, complexity theory, system dynamics, and intangible asset management.Findings – The paper provides a high level of detail on the analysis method and insights from its practical application across a range of business issues. Tips are provided for how to integrate the methodology with other business analysis approaches.Research limitations/implications – The paper does not provide a comparative analysis with other methods because most other value network models are process views, social network analysis or clustering te...

Value network analysis and value conversion of tangible and intangible assets

Introduction: the center keeps moving A new prosperity Evolution of business thinking Living networks Learning into complexity Power and limits of technology The web of knowledge Knowledge networks and learning communities Communal learning and beyond The New World of Intangibles Intangibles go to market The value network perspective Value network examples New business fundamentals Reflections Appendix: the knowledge complexity archetype.

The future of knowledge : increasing prosperity through value networks

Intellectual capital (IC) and intangibles offer a possible pathway for reconciling our business and economic models in an environment of global interdependencies, environmental concern and larger social responsibility. However, the most common intellectual capital frameworks still operate within a traditional view of the enterprise that limits the type of business and economic analysis that might be. Realizing the larger impact of the IC and intangibles perspective requires expanding potential value domains to include: business relationships; human competence; internal structures; social citizenship; environmental health and corporate identity. An expanded view of value allows us to begin redefining value to understand knowledge and intangible benefits as currency in their own right and attend to more types of value exchange. At the macro‐economic level this new thinking allows us to more fully appreciate intangible assets such as the social fabric of a country, healthy ecosystems, and previously unseen social and economic contributions.

Verna Allee

Papers

Reconfiguring the value network

The Knowledge Evolution: Expanding Organizational Intelligence

Value network analysis and value conversion of tangible and intangible assets

The future of knowledge : increasing prosperity through value networks

The value evolution