Dorleta Ibarra¹, Ane Miren Valenciano¹ and Juan Ignacio Igartua¹

¹Mondragon University, Loramendi 4, 20500, Mondragón.

dibarra@mondragon.edu

Keywords: Business Model, Business Model Innovation, Business model archetypes, Business model patterns.

1. Introduction

Business model innovation is becoming a key competitive factor for companies in a constantly changing environment, where dynamics such as digitalisation and sustainability are increasingly influencing business reality [1].

In this context, companies, especially SMEs, find it difficult to think and innovate in terms of business models, with little reference to frameworks, benchmarks and tools that can facilitate this innovative thinking. In response to this challenge, some authors propose the use of business models patterns or archetypes to encourage creative thinking in companies when innovating business models [2–4].

2. Objectives

Despite the academic and business interest in relation to the role of business model patterns and their impact, the existing literature to date is scarce and lacks commonly accepted approaches. Therefore, this article reviews the literature in order to know the approaches developed for their definition, the operationalisation of the patterns identified by academia, as well as the use proposed by their authors.

3. Methods

In order to develop the research, a literature review scheme has been followed in line with that proposed by other academic works [5]. Taking the time horizon (2011-2020) as a reference and excluding articles that did not meet the criteria defined in the study, a quarantine of articles were analysed.

4. Results

The results of the review show a wide range of approaches in the literature related to business model patterns. The identified studies differ in the number of identified patterns, their scope and their methodological approach. Furthermore, it is difficult to compare the patterns with each other due to different conceptualisations and interpretations, as in many cases the characterisations made respond to specific research and technological domains.

5. Conclusions

The results of the review highlight the growing need to understand and characterise new business models, and to define patterns that help companies to model them. This process of business model innovation also has great potential in the context of the challenges of climate change and digital transformation.

Acknowledgements. Thanks to the Economic Promotion Department of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

References

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2. G. Remane, A. Hanelt, J. F. Tesch, and L. M. Kolbe, ‘The Business Model Pattern Database-A Tool For Systematic Business Model Innovation’, Int. J. Innov. Manag., vol. 21, no. 01, p. 1750004, 2017, doi: 10.1142/s1363919617500049.
3. J. Weking, A. Hein, M. Böhm, and H. Krcmar, ‘A hierarchical taxonomy of business model patterns’, Electron. Mark., vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 447–468, Sep. 2018, doi: 10.1007/s12525-018-0322-5.
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