Business model innovation or Business model imitation – That is the question

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenon of intra-industry Business Model (BM) imitation through the concept of BM configurations and sheds light on how it relates to BM innovation. The analysis focuses on similarities and deviations of BM configurations among 80 companies operating in the industry sector related to Phantom Limb Pain (PLP). Leveraging a questionnaire-based mapping tool, the results show that companies operating within the area of PLP treatment apply relatively similar BM configurations. This indicates that companies mostly imitate the successful BMs of their main competitors in the industry as a whole and in their specific sub-groups, thus potentially ignoring the opportunity to also compete on a BM level. The contribution brought by the paper is twofold. First, it adds to the research stream on BM configurations by showing that this concept can be used not only to analyze and foster cross-industry BM imitation, but also to explore and examine intra-industry BM imitation (or differentiation). Second, the article contributes to the research stream on intraindustry BM imitation by going beyond prior anecdotal evidence and empirically testing the existence of the phenomenon of intra-industry BM imitation and hence, the potential innovation space on a BM level.

How Swiss Start-Ups Deal With Business Model Innovation

“…BMI is becoming increasingly important in business, among established companies and especially among startups (Bouwman et al, 2019;Faria et al, 2021;Filser et al, 2021;Ghezzi and Cavallo, 2020;Silva et al, 2020). As illustrated, this is due to the fact that product and service innovation is increasingly seen as insufficient (Bucherer et al, 2014) and BMI is seen as key to improving performance (Faria et al, 2021;Kim et al, 2020;Loon and Quan, 2021;Montemari et al, 2022). Through SIC we have access to highly innovative start-ups in Switzerland, enabling us to address the question of how prevalent BMI may be in these contexts.…”

“…They are widely recognised as a key factor in competitive differentiation and sustainable business success and find great acceptance (Affenzeller, 2014;Bocken and Snihur, 2020;Bouwman et al, 2019;Clauss, 2017;Filser et al, 2021;Saebi, 2018, 2017;Gassmann et al, 2013;Schwarz et al, 2016;Sjödin et al, 2020;Wirtz, 2020). One reason is that pure product and process innovation are increasingly seen as insufficient (Bucherer et al, 2014) and business model innovation [BMI] is seen as key to improving performance (Faria et al, 2021;García-Gutiérrez and Martínez-Borreguero, 2016;Kim et al, 2020;Loon and Quan, 2021;Montemari et al, 2022) and is seen as more promising for the future (Amit and Zott, 2012;García-Gutiérrez and Martínez-Borreguero, 2016;Johnson et al, 2008;von den Eichen et al, 2014). BMI is about finding new ways for companies to create value (Faria et al, 2021).…”

Digitalization, Spillover and Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance: Evidence From China

“…This study shows a significant positive spillover effect within an industry for both digitalization and ESG performance; that is, an increase in the digitalization or ESG performance of one firm can contribute to the digitalization or ESG performance of other firms in the same industry. This not only provides new empirical evidence for theories such as the peer effect (Liang & Teo, 2021; Singh et al, 2021), intra-industry imitation (Aerts et al, 2006; Montemari et al, 2022), and contagion effects (Gao et al, 2022), but also significantly expands the theoretical content of related studies (Ghobakhloo, 2020; Hilpert, 2021).…”

Linking Effectuation Logic with Business Model Innovation: An Investigation in the Context of Swiss Startups

“…BMI has become the focus of business research and is considered a way of creating a business model with longterm competitive advantages (Zott, Amit and Massa, 2011;Spieth, Schneckenberger and Ricart, 2014;Foss et al, 2017;Csik, 2014;Gassmann et al, 2020). It is often seen as key to differentiating from the competition (Affenzeller, 2014;Bouwman, Nikou and de Reuver, 2019;Clauss, 2017;Filser et al, 2021;Saebi, 2018, 2017;Gassmann and Frankenberger, 2016;Schwarz, Krajger and Holzmann, 2016;Sjödin et al, 2020) as well as to improve business performance (Chesbrough, 2007;Lindgardt et al, 2009;Freisinger et al, 2021;García-Gutiérrez and Martínez-Borreguero, 2016;Kim, Ku and Lee, 2020;Loon and Quan, 2021;Montemari et al, 2022).…”

“…Effectuation and Business model innovation (BMI) have been frequently discussed research topics in the literature. While effectuation is described as entrepreneurial behaviour with a strong emphasis on using currently available means, interacting with the environment and building partnerships and alliances (Read et al, 2009;Sarasvathy, 2001), BMI is considered as a way of creating a business model with long-term competitive advantages (Zott, Amit and Massa, 2011;Spieth, Schneckenberger and Ricart, 2014;Foss et al, 2017;Csik, 2014;Gassmann et al, 2020), and often described as sustainable measure for competitive differentiation (Affenzeller, 2014;Bouwman, Nikou and de Reuver, 2019;Clauss, 2017;Filser et al, 2021;Saebi, 2018, 2017;Gassmann and Frankenberger, 2016;Schwarz, Krajger and Holzmann, 2016;Sjödin et al, 2020) and key to improve business performance (Chesbrough, 2007;Lindgardt et al, 2009;Freisinger et al, 2021;García-Gutiérrez and Martínez-Borreguero, 2016;Kim, Ku and Lee, 2020;Loon and Quan, 2021;Montemari et al, 2022). Consensus exists among academics and practitioners concerning dimensions of effectual behaviours (e.g., building partnerships and alliances) and dimensions of BMI (e.g., value proposition, value chain).…”