Exploring the Effects of Leveraging Users in the Process of Business Model Innovation

Abstract

In an ever-changing environment driven by new technology, competition and new user preferences, firms must continually develop and adapt their business model to stay competitive. However, to change and develop a business model is difficult and requires resources to succeed. The task is all about understanding the user, what they want, how they want it and organize the firm to deliver and capture value simultaneously. However, previous research has acknowledged the problem of truly understanding users’ need and thus how to change the business model accordingly. Similar problems have been found in the development of new products and services. A successful solution has been to involve users into the innovation process and let them contribute with both need- and solution-based information. This study explores the effects of involving users into the business model innovation process, thus investigating whether users can have a similar role as in new product and service development. In the context of the digital entertainment industry, an idea generation contest was hosted in cooperation with Sweden’s most popular podcast. This method permitted users to propose ideas of how the podcast should change to improve the processes of creating, delivering and capturing value. The study reveals that users can make a valuable contribution by activating both need and solution-based information. The findings of this study indicate that users have the capability of proposing ideas on different aspects of the business model, often of great quality and with a large degree of change. Furthermore, the antecedence explaining why some users are better at proposing ideas of great quality and large degree of change is similar to theoretical concepts found in users' innovation in new products and services. The study contributes with initial evidence that users can provide important guidance and ease the process of business model innovation.