Although research has shown that business model innovation (BMI) can create a firm's competitive advantage and enhance its performance, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) fail to obtain the expected outcomes when innovating their business model. Business Model Innovation (BMI) leads to irreversible fundamental changes in key components of a company's business model, which means it carries with it a high level of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty. Drawing on the data from a cross-industry sample of 563 European SMEs, we apply structural equation modelling to examine how a firm's performance is affected by innovating its business model. A conceptual model is developed to examine how organisational capabilities and implementation of a profit- or growth-oriented strategy, as materialised in BMI, affect a firm's overall performance. The results indicate that, while the direct link between BMI and firm performance is not significant, this path is fully mediated through efficiency growth, organisational capabilities and revenue growth. Furthermore, there are significant direct effects from efficiency growth, organisational capabilities and revenue growth on firm performance. These findings confirm the validity of the model and contribute to existing literature on BMI efforts in SMEs and provide guidelines to help company owners/managers implement informed decisions about the implementation of BMI based on their firm's strategies.

Purpose: By drawing on various theoretical approaches and a gender perspective, this paper aims to examine business model (BM) experimentation as a step towards BM experimentation capabilities as an outcome and, as such, a key antecedent to firm performance. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, using a unique data set of 444 European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the authors draw on various theoretical perspectives to devise a structural equation model that examines BM experimentation as a step towards business model innovation (BMI) as an outcome and, as such, a key antecedent to firm performance. Potential differences are examined between female-owned and non-female-owned businesses with regard to hypothesized relations. Findings: Multi-group analysis results reveal that drivers of BM experimentation and the paths linking BM experimentation to overall firm performance are different for female owners in comparison to male owners. Research limitations/implications: Theoretical and practical implications are various. For SME entrepreneurs, experimenting with their BMs does lead to improved performance. Practical implications: Theoretical and practical implications are various. For SME entrepreneurs, experimenting with their BMs does lead to improved performance. Originality/value: Despite the increasing number of papers focussing on the relationship between BM and firm performance, the focus on female entrepreneurship, gender differences and BMI, more specifically the process of BMI as BM experimentation, is relatively rare.

Digital transformation is requiring companies to rethink and innovate their business models (BMs). However, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)have scarce time and resources for experimenting with their BMs and implementing new strategies. This paper examines whether SMEs that undergo digital transformation perform better if they allocate more resources for BM experimentation and engage more in strategy implementation. An empirical study was conducted on 321 European SMEs that actively use social media, big data, and information technology to innovate their BMs. Furthermore, structural equation modelling showed positive overall firm performance effects of more resource allocation to BM experimentation and more engagement in practices of strategy implementation. These effects were mediated by BM experimentation practices and company innovativeness. Moreover, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)revealed the presence of equifinality by identifying different configurations in which these antecedent conditions affect overall firm overall performance. The results of two methodological approaches showed that SMEs may take different routes to improve their performance when digital transformation is changing their BM. This paper is one of the first to analyse how SMEs can handle the impact of digitalization by spending more time and effort on innovating their BMs. Practical and policy implications are discussed.

The automotive industry is experiencing a phase of rapid innovation, with emergent technologies underpinning the realisation of self-driving cars, increased use of data and data analytics, sensors to enable car components to connect to the Internet-of-Things and the use of alternative energy sources, such as electric vehicles. Such innovations enable novel services, which in turn require actors within the automotive industry to change their business models. In this paper, we aim to identify novel automotive services that impact business models within the automotive industry. We use Q-methodology to explore and analyse the opinions of researchers and experts from the automotive industry. We find that four groups of services are expected to impact the business models in the automotive industry most: (1) personalised services, (2) generic mobility services; (3) shared mobility, and (4) connected cars. These are services at the level of the end-user, while more fundamental technology-based innovations, such as electrical driving, autonomous driving and Internet-of-Things applications, are scattered over different groups of end-user services. From these results, current business models can be analysed, and possible roadmaps for business model innovation can be developed.

Digital technologies, such as online healthcare portals, enable elderly people to live independently at home for a longer period of time. Independent living, in this context, refers to the freedom elderly people have to live their lives in ways that they find important. Borrowing from the capability approach (CA) framework from Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, the core argument of this paper is that elderly people make decisions on whether to use digital healthcare technologies by considering how these technologies enhance their capabilities to live their lives in ways that are valuable to them. This paper develops a theoretical model of adoption of digital healthcare technologies that support independent living applying the CA framework. We follow a mixed-methods approach with a sequence of qualitative, quantitative, and qualitative methods. We find support for our theoretical model, specifically that the intention to use online healthcare portals depends on whether elderly people expect to enhance their capabilities for living independently by using them. Our study contributes to the information systems literature on adoption of digital healthcare technologies as it is the first that applies the capability approach. For adoption studies on digital technologies in healthcare and beyond, our study poses two major theoretical implications: (1) when considering how outcome expectations affect adoption, scholars should consider how digital technologies allow people to live their lives in ways that are valuable to them, rather than considering how technologies help to execute predefined tasks, jobs, or activities; (2) the availability of digital technologies should be considered as a mediator between outcome expectations and intention to use technologies.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how digital technologies have forced small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reconsider and experiment with their business models (BMs) and how this contributes to their innovativeness and performance. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical study has been conducted on 338 European SMEs actively using social media and big data to innovate their BMs. Four in-depth case studies of companies involved in BM innovation have also been carried out. Findings: Findings show that the use of social media and big data in BMI is mainly driven by strategic and innovation-related internal motives. External technology turbulence plays a role too. BMI driven by social media and big data has a positive impact on business performance. Analysis of the case studies shows that BM is driven by big data rather than by social media. Research limitations/implications: Research into big data- and social media-driven BMs needs more insight into how components are affected and how SMEs are experimenting with adjusting their BMs, specifically in terms of human and organizational factors. Practical implications: Findings of this study can be used by managers and top-level executives to better understand how firms experiment with BMI, what affects business model components and how implementation might affect BMI performance. Originality/value: This paper is one of the first research contributions to analyse the impact of digitalization, specifically the impact of social media and big data on a large number of European SMEs.