BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION – A GAMBLE OR A MANAGEABLE PROCESS?

Purpose: Any business model innovation process involves a certain level of uncertainty, complexity and, in effect, risk. A sloppy approach towards the management of risk may result in catastrophic, sometimes even fatal, consequences to a company’s core business. Although risk, risk appetite and risk management are relatively well-established concepts, their role in business model innovation is not well understood. The objective of this paper is to investigate how the risk associated with the innovativeness of a business model innovation, an organization’s risk appetite, and its risk management approach interact to affect the success or failure of a business model innovation process. Design: Retrospective case studies of business model innovations undertaken by three industrial companies provide the empirical basis for this paper. These companies were selected based on their relatively successful, yet somewhat different, business model innovation experiences over the years, and focused on the, in total four, cases in which they failed to implement their new business model attempts successfully. The reasons that led to these failures are discussed. Findings: Important factors explaining the business model innovation failure of these cases, appear to be the company’s risk appetite, the risk associated with the radicality, reach and complexity of the business model innovation, the management of risk, and especially the association between these factors. Originality: There are many lessons to be learnt from the aftermath of a failed attempt in terms of what not to do and what to improve a next time. The cross-case analysis produced six testable propositions that enhance our understanding of business model innovation success/failure, with particular focus on: characteristics of the business model innovation; overall innovation management; risk, risk appetite and risk management; and interactions and fit between these constructs. Keywords: Business Model Innovation; Risk Management; Retrospective case studies.

研究目的：任何商业模式创新（Business Model Innovation）过程均伴随一定程度的不确定性、复杂性，乃至风险。草率的风险管理举措，可能给企业核心业务带来灾难性甚至致命性的后果。尽管风险、风险偏好（risk appetite）与风险管理（Risk Management）已是相对成熟的概念，但它们在商业模式创新中的作用尚未得到充分认知。本文旨在探究：与商业模式创新新颖性相关的风险、企业的风险偏好，以及其风险管理方式，三者如何相互作用，进而影响商业模式创新过程的成败。

研究设计：本文以三家工业企业开展的商业模式创新回顾性案例研究（Retrospective case studies）作为实证基础。选取这三家企业的依据为，其历年商业模式创新实践虽相对成功，但各具特色；本次研究聚焦于它们共计4起未能成功落地的新商业模式尝试案例，并对导致这些失败的原因展开深入探讨。

研究发现：能够解释上述案例商业模式创新失败的关键因素，主要包括企业的风险偏好、商业模式创新在激进性、覆盖范围与复杂性层面所蕴含的风险、风险管理举措，尤其是上述因素间的相互关联。

研究创新性：从商业模式创新失败尝试的后续影响中，可汲取诸多宝贵经验教训，明确哪些做法不可取、后续该如何改进完善。本次跨案例分析得出了6条可验证的命题，有助于深化我们对商业模式创新成败的认知，研究重点尤其聚焦于：商业模式创新的特征、整体创新管理、风险、风险偏好与风险管理，以及上述构念间的交互与适配性。

关键词：商业模式创新（Business Model Innovation）；风险管理（Risk Management）；回顾性案例研究（Retrospective case studies）