Business Model Dynamics

The Business Model Dynamics (BMD) Sinergia project aims to study how different organizational partners discover, design, and develop new business models (BM).  Using the theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities, we will focus on three key processes: discovering opportunities for new BM (‘sensing’), designing new BM (‘seizing’), and developing the changes to these BM in implementing the new business logic (‘transforming’).

The four collaborating academic institutions, EPFL, ETHZ, USI, and UNIBO will study BMD using four distinct contexts or lenses:

• EPFL will study the mechanics of the BM reconfiguration process both within the firm (through functional lenses) as well as with the partners (e.g. suppliers, customers) in the business ecosystem of the firm.
• ETHZ will study the role of environmental shifts in BMD, which takes an ‘outside-in’ perspective of BMD
• USI will study the relational bases of BMD, focusing on the effects of trust, knowledge sharing and transfer between organizations both at the firm and the individual level
• UNIBO will study the role of intellectual capital (IC) in BMD, looking at both internal and external developments within the ecosystem of the firm through this lens.

The four principals of this project are well-known players in this field and the institutions have a robust research background in this topic.