The Network Challenge (Chapter 15)

The Business Model as the Engine of Network-Based Strategies

Zott and Amit explore the role of business models in creating value through networks. They review earlier, firm-centric views of value creation, including Porter’s value chain, the resource-based view, and the transaction costs approach. They point out that business models go well beyond classic views of network theory (e.g., topography and structure) and include notions of purpose, acceptance, fairness, coherence, and viability. Based on their earlier framework for e-business models, they explore the role of four major interlinked value drivers: efficiency, complementarities, lock-in, and novelty. They argue that the focal firm’s business model acts as both an engine for value-creation and an invaluable construct for understanding the firm’s role in relation to other business model participants in the networks in which it is embedded.