A Framework To Develop Business Models For The Exploitation Of Disruptive Technology

Adopting new technology to expand business prospects is not a new trend. Certainly, this brings innovation and new opportunities to the business but also raises several challenges. This research addresses the challenges of business modelling in relation to disruptive technologies. Emerging technologies are very dynamic, resulting in continuous new developments. Therefore, businesses need to adjust their business models to stay sustained with this dynamic nature of technology. This research aims to create a conceptual framework and a related methodology to develop business models for the commercial use of disruptive technologies.

The research evaluates the gaps in the major business model development methodologies and argues that these methodologies are not adequate for businesses that offer high-end products and services to their customers. It creates a framework to make a methodical comparison among different business model methodologies. Based on that framework, it conducts a systematic comparison of five significant business model development methodologies to identify possible flaws. It analyses business elements of two use cases, where a disruptive technology, in this case, cloud computing in the form of cloud-based simulation, offers significant value to customers. Thereafter, it compares the components of all the five identified methodologies with each other using business elements of the selected use case. While the analysis highlights the differences and the similarities between the methodologies, it also reveals the limitations of the current approaches and the need for further decomposing technological elements.

Therefore, the study carries out an empirical investigation based on selective sampling. Seven real-life business use cases that execute the application of disruptive technology (i.e., cloud/HPC-based simulation as a solution based on cloud computing & high-performance computing) have been explored, involving 30 individual companies. Thenceforth, a thematic analysis of these use cases, based on a detailed report provided by a European research project, is conducted. Besides, three months of observation is carried out by participating in the same project as a ‘Research Associate’ from the period of July 2019 to September 2019. This three-month observation supports not only providing access to 26 business use cases and their relevant documents but also validating the information provided, as well as finding clarity in collected data. Moreover, the selected business use cases are particularly useful for identifying the technology elements that are required to create the proposed framework. The analysis has resulted in an understanding of the dynamics of the interrelationship of social and technical factors for developing new technological solutions that push the development of new business models devised for delivering solutions exploiting disruptive technologies.

Based on this understanding, the research extends a widely used business model ontology (Osterwalder’s Business Model Ontology), and offers a new business model methodology with the introduction of new business model elements related to technology. The technological elements are being identified as the results of the above empirical analysis. Utilising this extended ontology, a novel methodology for developing business models for the exploitation of disruptive technologies is suggested and its applicability is demonstrated in the example of cloud-based simulation case studies.

The research creates three main contributions. Firstly, it uses a systematic approach and identifies that the technological elements are not explicitly defined in the analysed business model methodologies, as well as the factors of disruption in the context of the socio-materiality view is missing. Secondly, it conducts an empirical analysis and defines the specific social and technological elements such as ‘Dynamic Capabilities’, ‘Competition Network’, ‘Technology Type’, ‘Technology Infrastructure’, ‘Technology Platform’, and ‘Technology Network’; that are needed to create a new business model methodology. Finally, it extends an existing business model ontology (which was developed by Alexander Osterwalder) and constructs a new ontological framework with an accompanying methodology to develop business models, particularly for organisations that introduce technological solutions as their main value using disruptive technologies.