Circular start-up development: the case of positive impact entrepreneurship in Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Boleslaw Rok ◽  
Monika Kulik

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how circular start-ups design and implement innovation into their business models to increase their positive impact. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study is based on an exploratory multiple-case study involving six circular start-ups with positive impact in Poland. Data gathering took place via in-depth interviews with start-up founders. Findings The analysis demonstrates that three factors, which are strongly interconnected, can significantly influence the development of a circular start-up. The first is the purpose-led motivation for circularity as a solution, mostly concentrated on the environmental education of different market actors. The second factor is built on the aim to increase the positive impact by addressing the most pressing social and environmental problems. It determines the impact on society as well as on the environment and the extent to which its model can be scaled up. The third factor is driven by the understanding of the purpose of the innovation, concentrated on the business model innovation regarding circularity. Practical implications This paper demonstrates the benefits for diverse stakeholders and the importance of using circular business models in start-up development. Circularity can be perceived as a main part of the new approach to improve sustainability. Originality/value Circular start-ups represent a new phenomenon in the entrepreneurial market. While the structure and logic of the circular business model in start-ups are significantly unexplored in the management literature, this model is viewed as a crucial step in the direction of increasing the positive impact of start-ups. From a theoretical and practical perspective, it is important to understand the differences and similarities in this area within different markets.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Art T. Weinstein

Purpose Business models are a key to success. This paper aims to identify the characteristics of the Now Economy, discuss the components of an effective business model, examine numerous e-commerce business models and provide an application of online learning. Design/methodology/approach The literature on business models is reviewed. E-commerce models are explored as a means for building competitive advantage in the Now Economy. An in-depth case study of remote learning in universities illustrates the development of a sound digital business model. Findings Business models explain where and how an organization competes and the financial feasibility of its strategy. Digital business models create market differentiation or disruption. This paper explains 20 e-commerce business models and offers an in-depth view of the opportunities and challenges in the online learning sector. Research limitations/implications Building on the literature, this work is conceptual and presents a case study. It is not an empirical study. A three-point agenda for scholars includes research on speed and service in business models, assessing the impact of customer value and examining the market power of Big Tech. Practical implications The digital component of the economy is growing annually. Business practitioners must respond by developing winning business models. The remote learning application is particularly relevant given today’s changing educational market. Originality/value While there has been considerable research on business models, there has been limited work on digital business models, which is the focus of this article.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahseen Anwer Arshi ◽  
Venkoba Rao ◽  
Sardar Islam ◽  
Swapnil Morande

Purpose Existing business model frameworks show weak conceptual unification, a paucity of measurement focus and limitations when applied in emerging economies. The study proposes a new business model framework – “Start-up Evaluation Calculus Using Research Evidence” (SECURE). The purpose of this study is to allow the measurement of the impact of business model design on start-up performance in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach Data collected from 713 entrepreneurs in select cities of India, Oman and the United Arab Emirates is analyzed through structural equation modeling. The study uses measurement and structural models to examine the validity of measures and additionally tests the five hypothesized relationships proposed in the study. Findings The SECURE’s components comprising desirability, marketability, feasibility, scalability and viability showed validity and reliability. They synergistically demonstrated a statistically significant effect on a mix of financial and non-financial start-up performance outcomes. An alternative structural relationship that examined the impact of SECURE on only financial performance outcomes showed a weaker model fit. The findings indicate that a business model framework is useful when its ex ante measures show a positive causal effect on the desired performance outcomes. Practical implications The scores obtained by the SECURE framework serve as an evaluative tool that informs entrepreneurs and start-ups on the readiness of their proposed, incubated or existing start-ups. Originality/value Replacing subjective judgments with objective assessment criteria, SECURE is one of the first quantitative and performance-driven business model frameworks that contain measures from all functional domains of a start-up business. Start-ups can evaluate their business models against the SECURE model’s research-driven quantitative criteria and assess their impact on start-up performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-680
Author(s):  
Pascal Scherrer

Purpose This paper aims to track the evolution of an innovative Aboriginal tourism business model with deliberate social and community enterprise objectives in a remote setting. Design/methodology/approach It adopts an in-depth exploratory case study approach to discover key characteristics of an emerging tourism enterprise. The qualitative data sources include publically available planning, promotional and organizational materials, in-depth interviews with key informants and on-site observations. Yunus et al.’s (2010) social business model provides the framework for the case analysis. Findings Findings highlight the gradual deepening of Indigenous engagement – from simply providing a place for a non-Indigenous tourism business – to running a fully Indigenous-controlled, staffed and themed on-country tourism business. Complementing existing non-Indigenous tourism experiences reduced the need for start-up infrastructure and market recognition, thus reducing business risk for the Traditional Owners. Despite substantial changes in the business structure in response to political and maturation factors, the core motivations seemed to remain strong. The business model facilitates value creation to stakeholders in varying ways. Research limitations/implications The contextual nature of Indigenous tourism reflects limitations of qualitative case study methodology. Practical implications The resulting business model provides a contextually appropriate structure to engage in tourism for achieving cultural and societal goals. It mitigates against the identified risk of low market demand for Indigenous tourism experiences by connecting with established non-Indigenous tourism products, while also allowing for product offering independent thereof. Social implications Social benefits are high and have potential for replication in similar contexts elsewhere. Originality/value The paper contributes to the emerging research on culturally appropriate business models in Indigenous tourism contexts and validates a strategy to overcome low demand. It offers a model that for the tourist facilitates a sustainable experience which enables co-production while for the hosts fosters community resilience, intergenerational learning and improved livelihoods. The case highlights opportunities for further research into the interrelationship, dependencies and thresholds between the social and economic profit equations, particularly in the context of the culture conservation economy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moema Pereira Nunes ◽  
Ana Paola Russo

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the business model innovation in medium and large Brazilian manufacturing companies located in Rio do Sul State. Design/methodology/approach A holistic multiple case study in five companies was developed. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed according to the content analysis technique. Findings The main motivation to business model innovation was the innovation in products and services, while the difficulties were the factors relating to the cost. The most common practice among cases was innovation in value proposition and the most widely used method was learning-by-searching. While part of the theory was demonstrated in the case studies, new motivations and practices were identified. The investigation of the learning process on business models’ innovation is pioneered in this study. Further studies on this subject are required. Originality/value New business models are likely to provide new opportunities to better address customer needs, generating differentiating itself from its competitors. It is a subject little investigated in the international context, and there are no studies to investigate the experience of Brazilian companies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen ◽  
Sarah Netter

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers and opportunities for business models based on the ideas of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on a multiple-case study of Scandinavian fashion libraries – a new, clothes-sharing concept that has emerged as a fashion niche within the last decade. Findings – It is concluded that fashion libraries offers interesting perspectives, e.g. by allowing people to experiment with styles without having to pay the full cost and becoming a meeting place for young designers and end consumers. However, at present fashion libraries remain a small-scale phenomenon with difficulties reaching the mainstream market, not least due to limited financial and human resources as well as conventional fashion consumption patterns. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to the new phenomenon of fashion libraries and does not cover other types of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry (Swap-parties, etc.). Originality/value – The paper is one of the first attempts to examine new business models of collaborative consumption in general and the fashion library concept in particular. The study contributes to the discussions of whether and how fashion sharing and collaboration holds promise as a viable business model and as a means to promote sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Guercini ◽  
Andrea Runfola

Purpose This paper aims to deal with the issue of business model change in industrial markets. It considers the fast-fashion supply chain by addressing the following research questions: What are the paths of change of the supplier’s business model to match the business model of fast fashion customers? How can a supplier’s business model be adapted to customer’s requirements in these paths of change? Design/methodology/approach Empirically, the paper presents a multiple case study of 10 semi-finished textile suppliers, carried out through a long-term research programme in the Italian textile industrial district of Prato. Findings The multiple-case study shows some key drivers of change in the suppliers’ business models. Three main paths emerged from the interactions with fast fashion clients. Paradoxes in the supplier’s business model changes are identified and discussed. Research limitations/implications The paper proposes implications for suppliers interacting with fast fashion clients and discusses how the adaptation of business models may be interpreted. This study points out how matching the business model of the customers does not call for alignment of similar features. Originality/value The paper deals with an understudied topic within the literature: business models change in business to business markets, taking into consideration the perspective of the supplier. It considers buyers-seller relationships in industrial supply chains as being part of a chain of business models and the need for the supplier’s business model to adapt and match one of the clients. The paper proposes two potential interpretations of such adaptation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (10) ◽  
pp. 2483-2494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vittoria Franceschelli ◽  
Gabriele Santoro ◽  
Elena Candelo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate and present the way in which a food start-up can develop business model innovations, taking into account the importance of social and environmental issues. Design/methodology/approach The authors studied an Italian pizzeria, implementing the illustrative single-case study methodology, to answer the research question: “how can food start-ups develop a sustainable business model innovation?” Findings The study highlights sustainable elements for each component of the business model configuration provided by Osterwalder to provide a deeper view of the sustainable business model concept. Originality/value The study contributes to the extant research introducing the concept of sustainable innovation within the business model literature. It concludes that, within the food industry, especially for start-ups, the development of sustainable business model innovation is particularly important because the industry is itself linked with nature and human respect. Moreover, it suggests a methodological analysis of the business model configuration, which will help to develop clearer and more accurate and influential research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 877-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Garidis ◽  
Alexander Rossmann

Purpose Many start-ups are in search of cooperation partners to develop their innovative business models. In response, incumbent firms are introducing increasingly more cooperation systems to engage with start-ups. However, many of these cooperations end in failure. Although qualitative studies on cooperation models have tried to improve the effectiveness of incumbent start-up strategies, only a few have empirically examined start-up cooperation behavior. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from a series of qualitative and quantitative studies. The scale dimensions are identified on an interview based qualitative study. Following workshops and questionnaire-based studies identify factors and rank them. These ranked factors are then used to build a measurement scale that is integrated in a standardized online questionnaire addressing start-ups. The gathered data are then analyzed using PLS-SEM. Findings The research was able to build a multi-item scale for start-ups cooperation behavior. This scale can be used in future research. The paper also provides a causal analysis on the impact of cooperation behavior on start-up performance. The research finds, that the found dimensions are suitable for measuring cooperation behavior. It also shows a minor positive effect on start-up’s performance. Originality/value The research fills the gap of lacking empirical research on the cooperation between start-ups and established firms. Also, most past studies focus on organizational structures and their performance when addressing these cooperations. Although past studies identified the start-ups behavior as a relevant factor, no empirical research has been conducted on the topic yet.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmin Mikl ◽  
David M. Herold ◽  
Marek Ćwiklicki ◽  
Sebastian Kummer

PurposeDigital freight forwarder (DFF) start-ups and their associated business models have gained increasing attention within both academia and industry. However, there is a lack of empirical research investigating the differences between DFFs and traditional freight forwarders (TFF) and the impact of digital start-ups on incumbents' companies. In response, this study aims to examine the key business model characteristics that determine DFFs and TFFs and propose a framework illustrating the extent to which digital logistics start-ups influence incumbent logistics companies.Design/methodology/approachBased on the primary data gathered from eight interviews with experts from start-ups' and incumbents' logistics companies, as well as secondary data, the authors identify the main factors of DFFs start-ups that have an impact on TFFs and analyze the similarities and differences in regard to the business model components' value proposition, value creation, value delivery and value capture.FindingsThe results show that differences between DFFs and TFFs appear in all four business models' components: value proposition, value creation, value delivery and value capture. In particular, the authors identify three main factors that need to be considered when assessing the impact of DFFs on TFFs: (1) the company size, (2) the market cultivation strategy and (3) the transport mode.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to specifically examine the key business model differences between DFFs and TFFs and to propose a conceptual framework for understanding the impact of digital logistics start-ups on incumbent companies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1382-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Max Hartmann ◽  
Mohamed Zaki ◽  
Niels Feldmann ◽  
Andy Neely

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to derive a taxonomy of business models used by start-up firms that rely on data as a key resource for business, namely data-driven business models (DDBMs). By providing a framework to systematically analyse DDBMs, the study provides an introduction to DDBM as a field of study. Design/methodology/approach To develop the taxonomy of DDBMs, business model descriptions of 100 randomly chosen start-up firms were coded using a DDBM framework derived from literature, comprising six dimensions with 35 features. Subsequent application of clustering algorithms produced six different types of DDBM, validated by case studies from the study’s sample. Findings The taxonomy derived from the research consists of six different types of DDBM among start-ups. These types are characterised by a subset of six of nine clustering variables from the DDBM framework. Practical implications A major contribution of the paper is the designed framework, which stimulates thinking about the nature and future of DDBMs. The proposed taxonomy will help organisations to position their activities in the current DDBM landscape. Moreover, framework and taxonomy may lead to a DDBM design toolbox. Originality/value This paper develops a basis for understanding how start-ups build business models capture value from data as a key resource, adding a business perspective to the discussion of big data. By offering the scientific community a specific framework of business model features and a subsequent taxonomy, the paper provides reference points and serves as a foundation for future studies of DDBMs.


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