The impact of Digital Platforms on Business Models: an empirical investigation on innovative start-ups

Abstract

Digital platforms have the ability to connect people, organizations and resources with the aim of facilitating the core interactions between businesses and consumers as well as assuring a greater efficiency for the business management. New business concepts, such as innovative start-ups, are therefore created based on innovation, scalability and the relationships within the community around them. The purpose of this work is to deeply understand the evolution of business models brought by innovative and dynamic companies operating through online platforms. In order to achieve the objectives set, an exploratory multiple-case study was designed based on in-depth structured interviews. The aim was to conduct a mixed analysis, in order to rely both on qualitative and quantitative data. The structured interview protocol was therefore designed to collect and then analyse data concerning the company profile and managers’ perspectives on the phenomenon of interest. The interview protocol was submitted in advance and then face-to-face interviews were carried out with the following professional figures: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), General Manager, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Marketing Manager and Developers. Collected data were analysed and processed through the Canvas Business Model in order to clearly outline similarities and differences among the sample. Results can be considered under two viewpoints. On the one hand, this work provides a detailed overview of the companies interviewed, according to the dimensions of: reference market dynamics, type and number of customers, scalability. On the other one, they allow to identify some success patterns regarding key activities, key resources, channel mix strategy, costs management, value proposition, customer segmentation, key partners and the way to obtain revenues. Results from the multiple-case study with 15 Italian start-ups provide interesting insights by comparing the innovative business models developed and highlighting key differences and similarities. Overall, the start-ups analyzed, operating in several sectors, showed great growth prospects and the possibility to create value for their customers through innovative products and services offered through digital platforms.

Digital business research for small and medium-sized enterprises: The case of Ukraine

“…Many researchers believe that a high level of innovation (technological creativity, the emergence of commercial ideas and projects) is associated with the spread of digital technologies (Alpeza et al, 2018;Ruggieri et al, 2018), such as cloud computing, data analysis, and enterprise resource planning software (Ogrean, 2018). Companies that use Big Data are more likely to innovate and increase productivity by 5-10% (Perko & Ototsky, 2016).…”

“…According to empirical research, the transition to the digital economy and the increasing role of business platforms are driving innovation for small and medium-sized businesses, primarily within the value proposition of the business model (Alpeza et al, 2018). Analytical findings from a sample of small businesses show that connecting to business platforms creates advantages for small businesses such as promotion through network effects and communities of users/service providers, global business scaling, and opening up new sources of value creation (Ruggieri et al, 2018). The main issue is how to use digital tools to scale SMEs and maintain their competitive position.…”

Structured literature review on organizational innovation in family business context

“…Patel & Fiet (2011) have explained long-term orientation, tacit knowledge, strong family bonds and social network as few factors that influence family firm's ability to innovate. Even startups showed great prospects for growth and value creation to their customers through implementation of innovative digital platforms (Ruggieri, Savastano, Scalingi, Bala, & D'Ascenzo, 2018). Our approach in this article is to study the holistic approach of ability, willingness and control of family over businesses and the approach towards innovation.…”

Use of online applications in maintaining MSMEs performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The application of online technology, one of which is the utilization of online applications, including the Go-Food/Grab-Food application, is considered realistic to be used in times of uncertainty like today. The approach taken through an online application is considered to be able to bring several benefits to MSMEs, especially in increasing sales [13,23,25], increase customer interest and attention [29], increase references in innovation [30], improve how to communicate and interact with customers [31], increase sales of products and services [32], and build better relationships between suppliers and customers [33], make it easier to manage a business [14], affect communication channels, transaction channels, and distribution channels [34].…”