The Business Model Cube

TLDR: The Business Model Cube as mentioned in this paper was developed as an output of the work mentioned in Chapters 1 to 3 and several years of BM research and empirical BM cube testing and its related dimensions and components.

Abstract: The Business Model Cube was developed as an output of the work mentioned in Chapters 1 to 3 and several years of BM research and empirical BM cube testing. Several researchers contributed to the formation and verification of the BM Cube and its related dimensions and components. Associate Professor Yariv Taran, in particular, contributed to the hypothetical concept of the BM with seven dimensions. Sigitas Pleikys contributed to the cube framework and digital visualization of the BM Cube (Figure 4.1). Ole Horn Rasmussen contributed to the relations axiom framework, which will be covered in detail in Chapter 7. This chapter explains in detail the arguments of how and why the BM Cube could be a proposal for a generic BM framework and BM language. Further, it shows case examples of the use of the BM Cube in the different businesses we have studied. 4.1 Dimensions, Concepts and Language of a Business Model The term “business” has been defined by reputed academics from several viewpoints and dimensions. Abell (1980) defined a business by just three dimensions – customer functions (what) (values); customer groups (who) (customers); and customer technology (how) (production technologies and process technologies) (Figure 4.2). So, interestingly, Abell had already indicated in 1980 a cube which formed the “borders” of a business – in three dimensions, however Porter (1985) argued that a business should be defined by its suppliers, buyers (customers) and value chain activities. Hamel and Prahalad (1994) argued that a business could be defined by its competences and its core competences. Vervest et al. (2005) argued that a business could be defined by its network and how it organized its business together with network partners, and Johnson