The Business Model Ontology - a proposition in a design ... - HEC

The Business Model Ontology - a proposition in a design science approach
Elements
Connections
Name
Core Strategy
Strategic
Resources
Customer
Interface
Value
Network
Configuration
Customer
Benefits
Company
Boundaries
Description
This element defines the overall business mission, which captures what the
business model is designed to accomplish. Further, it defines the product and
market scope and specifies in what segments the company competes. Finally, it
outlines how the firm competes differently than its competitors.
This element contains the core competencies of a firm. In other words, what a firm
knows, its skills and unique capabilities. Then it specifies the strategic assets, such
as infrastructure, brands and patents. Last, this element outlines the core processes
of the firm; it explains what people actually do.
This element is composed of fulfillment and support, which refers to the way the
firm goes to market and reaches its customers (e.g. channels). Second, information
and insight defines all the knowledge that is collected from and used on behalf of
the customer. Third, the relationship dynamics refer to the nature of the interaction
between the producer and the customer. Finally, the pricing structure explains what
you charge the customer for and how you do this.
The value network outlines the network that surrounds the firm and complements
and amplifies the firm’s resources. It is composed of suppliers, partners and
coalitions. Partners typically supply critical complements to a final product or
solution, whereas coalitions represent alliances with like-minded competitors.
This connection refers to the unique way in which competencies, assets, and
processes are combined and interrelated in support of a particular strategy.
This link intermediates between the core strategy and the customer interface. It
defines the particular bundle of benefits that is actually being offered to the
customer.
This bridge refers to the decisions that have been made about what the firm does
and what it contracts out the value network.
Table 12: Hamel’s (2000) business model components
Like Hamel (2000), Linder and Cantrell (2000) propose a comprehensive approach to business
models. Further, they stress the fact that many people speak of business models when they actually
only mean a specific component of a business model. They list the following components: the pricing
model, the revenue model, the channel model, the commerce process model, the Internet-enabled
commerce relationship, the organizational form and the value proposition (see Figure 17).
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