ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been a growing consensus in management and organisation studies regarding the crucial role played by business model innovation in supporting firms’ competitiveness. However, the intra-organisational processes that aim to develop business model innovation and the antecedents for its conceptualisation remain underexplored. Organisational mechanisms for learning between managers lead to the establishment of intra-organisational advice networks, which facilitate the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge for innovation. Using social network analysis, this study investigates the elements associated with intra-organisational networking intended to innovate business models. We analyse a multiunit cooperative firm as a case study. Within this firm, the conceptualisation of the novel business model activated a collaborative system of advice exchange between managers. We found that networking is supported by active managers who spread advice within the firm and managers who go beyond the boundaries of their organisational role. We propose several managerial recommendations, including that managers can develop sub-groups constituting specific and unique knowledge structures, which represent the real generators of business model innovation.

摘要

近年来，关于商业模式创新在支持企业竞争力方面发挥的关键作用，管理和组织研究的共识越来越多。然而，旨在发展商业模式创新的组织内部流程及其概念化的前因仍未得到充分探索。管理人员之间的学习组织机制导致了组织内部咨询网络的建立，这有助于创新知识的获取和传播。本研究使用社交网络分析，调查与旨在创新商业模式的组织内网络相关的元素。我们以一个多单位合作公司为例进行分析。在这家公司内，新商业模式的概念化激活了经理之间的建议交流协作系统。我们发现，在公司内部传播建议的积极经理和超越组织角色界限的经理支持网络。我们提出了几项管理建议，包括管理人员可以开发构成特定和独特知识结构的子组，这些子组代表了商业模式创新的真正推动者。