Conquering the Challenge of Continuous Business Model Improvement

In an atmosphere of rapidly changing business environments and intense competition, adequate and timely business models are crucial for companies. Current research mainly focuses on business model development that often neglects the legacy of established companies. The paper at hand addresses this research gap by a process design which allows established companies to rethink, improve, and continually innovate their business models. Following a design science research approach, requirements for improving business models are identified by the analysis of existing literature and by expert interviews. Collaboration Engineering and a multilevel evaluation are applied to create a continuous and implementable process design for business model improvement – including specific activities, instructions, and tools. The process design represents a nascent design theory in form of an “invention” type of knowledge contribution. Moreover, going beyond existing literature, the importance of collaboration between participants in a business model improvement project is highlighted. From a practical perspective, the developed process design enables companies for continuous and recurring business model improvement without the ongoing support of professional moderators or consultants.