Date of Award

2011

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Management

Advisor(s)

Johan Wiklund

Keywords

Business Models, Entrepreneurship, Innovation

Subject Categories

Business

Abstract

This dissertation is about innovation - the setting is business models. I have defined innovativeness in business models as a novel departure from what others in the same industry are using for their business model design. Utilizing evolutionary theory, I focus upon organizational routines to identify innovation. I explored characteristics within the firm associated with innovativeness in the business model including customer information processes; willingness to pursue experimentation and complexity added to the business model from the addition of non-core products. Inertia in the firm was considered as a moderator between each of these variables and innovativeness. Performance was measured using criteria relevant to the industry - quality, awards won by the winery and revenue growth. Several implications follow from the results. First, An important implication of the research is that evolutionary theory is a useful lens to elaborate mechanisms associated with innovative business models and can serve for future research to theoretically ground investigations into innovation in business models. Second, my methodology served as a contribution by providing an ability to objectively identify innovative business models. Third, the importance of understanding your customers aids in developing innovative business models. Fourth, experimentation allows firms to develop and evaluate changes to the business model that can lead to innovation. Fifth, firms should recognize that as procedures and business models become ingrained it is more difficult to pursue an innovative business models. Finally, innovation is equally important for improving performance in both low- tech and high-tech environments.

Access

Open Access

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