Business model

The term business model is relatively recent. Though it appeared for the first time in the 1950s it rose to prominence and reached the mainstream only in the 1990s. Thus far, the definitions have mostly come from the popular literature. These authors define business model in terms of what they think it should cover. For example, a definition from Osterwalder, Pigneur and Tucci (2005) is that a business model is:

a conceptual tool that contains a big set of elements and their relationships and allows expressing the business logic of a specific firm. It is a description of the value a company offers to one or several segments of customers and of the architecture of the firm and its network of partners for creating, marketing, and delivering this value and relationship capital, to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams.

More recently, researchers build definitions based on economic and organizational theories and show that the definitions are econometrically sound. For example, Malone, et al. (2006) at MIT propose an operational definition of business model, based on theories such as those from transaction cost economics. Zott and Amit (2002) from INSEAD and Wharton based their definition on boundary-spanning transactions.

Components of a business model

Many different conceptualizations of business models exist (Chesbrough and Rosenbloom 2000; Hamel 2000; Linder and Cantrell 2000; Petrovic, Kittl et al.; Weill and Vitale 2001; Gordijn 2002; Afuah and Tucci 2003; Osterwalder 2004; Fetscherin & Knolmayer 2005). They all have various degrees of resemblance or difference. The model proposed by Osterwalder (2004) synthesises the different conceptualizations into a single reference model based on the similarities of a large range of models. The author's conceptualization describes a business model as consisting of nine related business model building blocks. Thus, a business model describes a company's business:

• value propositions: The company's offers which bundle products and services into value for the customer. A value proposition creates utility for the customer.
• target customer segments: The customer segments a company wants to offer value to. This describes the groups of people with common characteristics for which the company creates value. The process of defining customer segments is referred to as market segmentation.
• distribution channels: The various means of the company to get in touch with its customers. This describes how a company goes to market. It refers to the company's marketing and distribution strategy.
• customer relationships: The links a company establishes between itself and its different customer segments. The process of managing customer relationships is referred to as customer relationship management.
• value configurations: The configuration of activities and resources.
• core capabilities: The capabilities and competencies necessary to execute the company's business model.
• partner network: The network of cooperative agreements with other companies necessary to efficiently offer and commercialize value. This describes the company's range of business alliances.
• cost structure: The monetary consequences of the means employed in the business model.
• revenue model: The way a company makes money through a variety of revenue flows.

These 9 business model building blocks constitute a business model design template which allows companies to describe their business model.

Evolution

A brief history of the development of business models might run as follows. The oldest and most basic business model is the shop keeper model. This involves setting up a store in a location where potential customers are likely to be and displaying a product or service.

Over the years, business models have become much more sophisticated. The bait and hook business model (also referred to as the "razor and blades business model" or the "tied products business model") was introduced in the early 20th century. This involves offering a basic product at a very low cost, often at a loss (the "bait"), then charging compensatory recurring amounts for refills or associated products or services (the "hook"). Examples include: razor (bait) and blades (hook); cell phones (bait) and air time (hook); computer printers (bait) and ink cartridge refills (hook); and cameras (bait) and prints (hook). An interesting variant of this model is a software developer that gives away its word processor reader for free but charges several hundred dollars for its word processor writer.

In the 1950s new business models came from McDonald's Restaurants and Toyota. In the 1960s the innovators were Wal-Mart and Hypermarkets. The 1970s saw new business models from FedEx and Toys R Us; the 1980s from Blockbuster, Home Depot, Intel, and Dell Computer; the 1990s from Southwest Airlines, Netflix, eBay, Amazon.com, and Starbucks. Poorly thought out business models were a problem with many dot-coms.

Today, the type of business models might depend on how technology is used. For example, entrepreneurs on the internet have also created entirely new models that depend entirely on existing or emergent technology. Using technology, businesses can reach a large number of customers with minimal costs.

Example business models over the years

• The subscription business model
• The razor and blades business model (bait and hook)
• The pyramid scheme business model
• The multi-level marketing business model
• The network effects business model
• The monopolistic business model
• The cutting out the middleman model
• The auction business model
• The online auction business model
• The bricks and clicks business model
• The loyalty business models
• The Collective business models
• The industrialization of services business model
• The servitization of products business model
• The low-cost carrier business model
• The online content business model
• The freemium business model

Do Business Models Matter?

Malone et al. (2006), at MIT find that some business models, as defined by them, indeed performed better than others in a dataset consisting of the largest U.S. firms, in the period 1998 through 2002.

Zott and Amit (2002) also link business models to performance, in the context of 190 young, growth-oriented firms in the US and Europe that had gone public between 1996 and 2000. See also their additional researchon value drivers.

The Wikibook on business models is another effort to link the business model concept to its impact, this one on design and innovation.

Related Concepts

The process of business model design is part of business strategy. The implementation of a company's business model into organizational structures (e.g. organigrams, workflows, human resources) and systems (e.g. information technology architecture, production lines) is part of a company's business operations. It is important to understand that business modeling commonly refers to business process design at the operational level, whereas business models and business model design refer to defining the business logic of a company at the strategic level.

See also

• Business model design
• Business plan
• Growth Platforms
• Market forms
• Marketing
• Marketing plan
• Monopoly
• Strategic management
• Strategic planning
• Value migration

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