Resumo

This paper aim to explore how companies change their business models as times passes by. We provide a discussion about the concept of business model, its various definitions and some research streams identified over the literature. After that, we address the literature related to business models changes. The reviewed literature resulted in a framework that is later explored with a case study from a company named ConnectPlug, where we aimed to conceptualize their business model and also to understand how business models changes occurred at the company.

Due to the growth of business models definitions over the past years, two research streams (a static perspective, and a dynamic perspective) of business model are identified over the literature. Wirtz et al., (2016) thus states that over the recent years, the stream the dynamic perspective has gained more prominence. However, the same author also stress that we need to better understand the relationship between the entrepreneur and the business model changes and also how those changes happen at the companies, which is thus objective of this paper.

The literature of business models changes considers that the model is a tool that can promote change and innovation (DEMIL; LECOCQ, 2010). These changes tend to happen with a trial-and-error approach (SOSNA et al., 2010), where an initial business model tend to be designed with more influence from the entrepreneur prior education and experiences, and as times passes by, the business model will be more cognitive bounded upon the organization itself, which increases the company tendency to have new business models created instead of existing ones revised (CAVALCANTE et al., 2011).

In order to address the study objectives, we decided to conduct a case study with a company named ConnectPlug. Our study is classified as an empirical qualitative analysis on single case study scenario. We conducted two set of semi-structured interviews with a time lapse of one year with one of the company business partners, which had the position of CTO at the moment. Additional information was also collected from the company website, folders, portfolios and also from other sources available over the internet and social media. To analyze the data, we used the content analysis.

The results demonstrate that at the company studied, business model changes mainly happened with a trial and error approach. Their initial model was more like a proto strategy, with changes happening more often and being more shaped by the entrepreneurs previously experiences and from information that was collected by observing their competitors. However, as time passed by, the number of changes reduced and started to be more influenced by his experience within the company, which resulted in an increase on the company tendency to create new business models instead of revising existing ones.

We were thus able to demonstrate that the framework constructed based on the reviewed literature was aligned with the business models changes that occurred at the studied company, which thus allow our study was to shed some light into the research field of business model changes and also in the relationship between the business model and the entrepreneur, thus providing a practical example of how business models changes occur and also a base line for new studies that aim to explore more in-depth that relationship and how it affects business model changes within companies.

DEMIL, B.; LECOCQ, X. Business model evolution: In search of dynamic consistency. LRP, v.43, p.227-246, 2010. CAVALCANTE, C.; KESTING, P.; ULHOI, J. Business model dynamics and innovation: (re)establishing the missing linkages. Management Decision, v.49, n.8, p.1327-1342, 2011. SOSNA, M.; TREVINYO-RODRÍGUEZ, R. N.; VELAMURI, R. S. Business model innovation through trial-and-error learning. LRP, n.43, n.2-3, p.383-407, 2010. WIRTZ, B. W.; PISTOIA, A.; ULLRICH, S.; GÖTTEL, V. Business models: Origin, Development, and Future Research Perspectives. LRP, v.49, n.1, p.34-56, 2016.