English

Every other spring semester

The aim of the course is to give doctoral students:
- Knowledge about the origins and theoretical background and different schools related to the business model and business model innovation concepts.
- Understanding of the concepts of sustainable business models and sustainable business model innovation.
- Knowledge about related concepts, especially strategy as well as critical perspectives on business models.
- Practical experience of working with business model innovation tools as well as of real-world cases of business model innovation in established companies, entrepreneurial start-ups and new technologies.

The first part of the course provides a general introduction to and an overview of business model (BM) and business model innovation (BMI). The origin and development of the concepts are reviewed as well as reading and discussing classic academic and literature review papers. Then we review the most common theoretical grounding of BM and BMI and introduce some critical perspectives on the concepts.
The second part of the course introduces the concepts of sustainable business models (SBM) and sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). SBMs integrate the creation of economic, environmental, and social value. SBMI refers to the process of either 1) designing a new SBM from scratch or 2) innovating the firm’s existing BM to increase its positive (or reduce its negative) impact on society and/or environment. We explore the different types of SBMs (and their strengths and weaknesses) and discuss the drivers, barriers and outcomes of SBMI. Specifically, we highlight the particular challenges that arise when designing and implementing SBMs in practice.
The third and final part of the course concerns applications of tools for description, analyses, and development of (S)BM and (S)BMI.

describe key concepts in the business model and business model innovation research area
explain the most common theoretical underpinnings of business models and business model innovation
explain the differences between business models and business model innovation in established firms and entrepreneurial start-ups
explain the different types of sustainable business models as well as the antecedents, barriers and outcomes of sustainable business model innovation
explain the difference between firm strategy and business models
describe the most common business model and business model innovation tools

be able to describe and analyze a business model at firm and system level
design a sustainable business model for an entrepreneurial start-up using the business model canvas or other appropriate models and tools
design a sustainable business model for an established firm using the business model canvas or other appropriate models and tools

be able to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the sustainable business model concept and its use in practical decision making

Lectures

Seminars

Exercises

Written report

Written assignments

Seminars given by participants

Miscellaneous

Active participation at seminars.

Failed, pass

Students admitted to the doctoral studies at LTH and other faculties.

 

Reading list of academic papers.

The course content overlaps to a large degree (about 50-60 %) with the course IDE040F Business models and business model innovation which will be given every other year in the spring semester (though not the same year as this course). Thus, doctoral students interested in the subject of business models are advised to either follow this course (if your main interest is in business models for sustainability) or IDE040F (if your main interest is business models for profit or growth and with more attention to digitalization as an enabler for business model innovation).

INT005F

2022-11-21

Åsa Håkansson