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Sub-theme 27: Business Models and Strategies: Organizations and Alternative Forms of Organizing

Convenors:
Stefan Häfliger
Cass Business School, City University London, UK
Charles Baden-Fuller
Cass Business School, City University London, UK
Vincent Mangematin
Grenoble Ecole de Management, France

Call for Papers


This theme explores the inter-relations between the emergence of business models and the evolution of organization of firms. The sub-theme continues the on-going conversations about business models to examine and to discuss the emergence of new business models, such the ones developed by social businesses or base of pyramid strategies.

The topic of "Business model innovation" has played a special role in understanding the rise of social enterprises and base of pyramid markets. Such businesses are socioeconomic hybrid organizations that combine market and social welfare logics: they pursue a social mission, but rely on commercial activities to generate revenue and sustain their operations. In the sub-theme, we anticipate a selection of papers addressing the question of how business model choice and business model development can help these hybrid organizations develop, grow and retain their hybrid nature over time (without drifting away from their social mission).

The recent years have been witnessing an explosion of new business models. They seem to follow a life cycle with initial proliferation just after business model innovation, consolidation and dominant design. The articulation between technological innovation and business model innovation remains unclear. We anticipate papers exploring how strategists are sensing consumers, value creation and appropriation.

The wider ecosystem of business poses further challenges to business models as firms enter learning relationships with online communities of users and customers, suppliers of parts and of ideas, and research and development alliances. However, the strategic implications for business model innovation remain little understood and we invite research in innovation that explicitly considers implications for strategy, such as value sensing, capturing, relationship development and incentive alignment.

To sum up, we invite papers that address the business model theme and link it to a better understanding of strategic issues and the inter-relations between strategies and business models. The topics noted above are suggestive and not complete.
 

Stefan Häfliger is Reader in Strategic Management and Innovation at Cass Business School, UK. His research and teaching focuses on co-creation strategies, innovation processes, and organizational regulation. He serves as an associate editor for 'Long Range Planning', and his research has appeared in journals such as 'Management Science', 'Research Policy' and 'MIS Quarterly'.
Charles Baden-Fuller is the Centenary Professor of Strategy at Cass Business School, UK. He is one of the most highly cited strategy scholars in Europe and a regular contributor to EGOS Colloquia. His strategy insights into the management of mature firms have been written up in many academic articles, amongst others, his (co-authored) "Rejuvenating the Mature Business" (Harvard Business Press). He is well known for his work on business models that appeared in 'Long Range Planning'.
Vincent Mangematin is Professor at Grenoble School of Management, France. One of Europe's leading scholars in the field of technology management, his key research interest lies within innovation and the evolution of technologies, business models and institutions. He is a key contributor to EGOS Colloquia since many years.