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Purpose This paper aims to address risks inherent in business model innovation. The authors make the case that entrepreneurs and managers, in relying on sources of innovation when designing business models, need to pay heed to these hidden risks – or tripwires – that can prevent the venture from efficiently, effectively and profitably scaling. The authors provide a guiding framework to help entrepreneurs and managers identify four distinct tripwires in their business model underlying the sources of innovation. Design/methodology/approach The authors build a systematic framework of the four tripwires – structure, scaling, systems and strategy – underlying offer-driven, customer-driven, finance-driven and resource-driven business model innovations. By relying on academic research, the authors’ scholarly work on organizational decline, innovation and corporate turnaround and the authors combined experiences and observations in industry, this study makes explicit and highlights problem areas in the business model, providing examples of representative companies to illustrate the challenges and consequences of failing to identify and manage its tripwires. Findings The authors demonstrate that awareness and attention to the tripwires underlying sources of innovation can mitigate a business model’s future challenges. Business model innovations can and often do conceal hazards that become apparent only as a venture begins to grow. As such, it is essential that entrepreneurs and managers attend to these potential problem areas in the early stages of designing their business models. In bringing awareness to innovation-related tripwires, the authors offer a risk-management “patch” for managers and entrepreneurs when developing their business models. Originality/value Business model innovation is a powerful tool to help in identifying growth opportunities. Yet in launching, scaling or transforming their business models, entrepreneurs and managers can encounter unforeseen challenges. While sources of innovation in the business model prioritize the discovery of growth opportunities, this has often come at the expense of the potential risks underlying them. The authors provide a means to identify four distinct tripwires that may be triggered when implementing business model innovations.

This paper is concerned with the family as one of the key entrepreneurial and capitalist agents in the colonisation of Australia. Private enterprise has long been understood to be one of the prime factors in this history and Scottish families were particularly active. My case study is the Learmonth family who hailed from the Falkirk area in Stirlingshire, 44 km west of Edinburgh. Their story exemplifies the imbrication of family identity in its dynastic character with the opportunities afforded by the colonial expansion of the British empire and how this was figured in built works. Of significance for the paper is an understanding of what was at stake in Scotland for the Learmonth family and its lineage and how Thomas Learmonth, youngest of four sons, and his sons used colonial acquisitions to embellish their family status and identity at home. Ercildoun, the famous sheep station they established near Ballarat in Victoria was the final achievement of their Australian sojourn and it propelled them from the margins of Scottish life to somewhere much nearer its centre. The paper will show how they, as pastoralists and breeders of the “pure Australian merino” operated in the colonial enterprise-driven and global modality of economic migration that drove the expansion of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales in the 1830s and 1840s. Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit der Familie als eine der zentralen unternehmerischen und kapitalistischen Kräfte bei der Kolonisierung Australiens. Schon lange gilt das private Unternehmertum als ein vorrangiger Faktor dieser Geschichte, zu dem schottische Familien besonders aktiv beitrugen. Mein Fallbeispiel betrifft die Familie Learmonth aus der Nähe von Falkirk in Stirlingshire, 44 km westlich von Edinburgh. Die Geschichte dieser Familie beleuchtet exemplarisch die enge Verschränkung dynastisch geprägter Familienidentitäten mit den sich bei der kolonialen Erweiterung des britischen Empire eröffnenden Möglichkeiten und den daraus resultierenden Bauformen. Dem Beitrag geht darum, die Anliegen der Learmonths in Schottland, ihre Abstammung und die Art und Weise zu verstehen, in der Thomas Learmonth, der jüngste der vier Söhne, wie auch seine eigenen Söhne, die kolonialen Errungenschaften für die Aufwertung von Status und Identität ihrer Familie in der Heimat nutzen. Ercildoun, die berühmte Schafzucht, die sie in der Nähe von Ballarat in Victoria aufbauten, bildete den Schlussstein ihrer Zeit in Australien und beförderte sie vom Rand der schottischen Gesellschaft auf einen weitaus wichtigeren Rang. Der Artikel zeigt ihr Vorgehen als Halter und Züchter des „reinen australischen Merinoschafs“ im Kontext der unternehmerisch motivierten weltweiten Wirtschaftsmigration der Kolonialzeit, die in den 1830er und 1840er Jahren die Erweiterung des Port Phillip Distrikts in New South Wales vorantrieb. Este artículo trata la familia como uno de los actores clave de la iniciativa empresarial y del capitalismo que colonizan Australia. La empresa privada ha sido considerada desde hace tiempo como uno de los factores esenciales en esta historia y las familias escocesas han sido particularmente activas en este papel. Este estudio trata de los Learmonth, originarios de la región de Falkirk en Stirlingshire, a poco más de cuarenta kilómetros al oeste de Edimburgo. Su historia ilustra la imbricación de la identidad familiar en su carácter dinástico con las oportunidades ofrecidas por la expansión colonial del Imperio británico y la forma en la que esta se ha traducido en las construcciones. La comprensión de lo que estaba en juego en Escocia para los Learmonth y su descendencia, y de cómo Thomas Learmonth, el más joven de los cuatro hijos, y más tarde sus propios hijos, utilizaron sus bienes coloniales para reforzar el estatus social y la identidad de la familia en Escocia es muy significativa. Ercildoun, la célebre ganadería que establecen cerca de Ballarat, en el estado de Victoria, fue su última realización en Australia, realización que les catapulta de la periferia de la sociedad escocesa a su mismo centro. Nos proponemos mostrar aquí cómo, en tanto que ganaderos de puros merinos australianos, actuaron en el seno del mecanismo colonial determinado por la empresa y la globalización de la migración económica que condujo a la expansión del distrito de Port Phillip en Nueva Gales del Sur a lo largo de los años 1830 y 1840. Cet article traite de la famille comme un des acteurs clés de l’entrepreneuriat et du capitalisme qui ont fait la colonisation de l’Australie. L’entreprise privée a longtemps été vue comme un des facteurs essentiels dans cette histoire et les familles écossaises ont été particulièrement actives dans ce rôle. L’étude porte sur les Learmonth, originaires de la région de Falkirk dans le Stirlingshire, à quelque 44kms à l’ouest d’Édimbourg. Leur histoire illustre l’imbrication de l’identité familiale dans son caractère dynastique avec les opportunités offertes par l’expansion coloniale de l’Empire britannique et la façon dont cela s’est traduit dans les constructions. La compréhension de ce qui était en jeu en Écosse pour les Learmonth et leur descendance, et de comment Thomas Learmonth, le plus jeune des quatre fils, puis ses propres fils, ont utilisé leurs biens coloniaux pour renforcer le statut social et l’identité de la famille en Écosse est tout à fait significative. Ercildoun, le célèbre élevage ovin qu’ils ont établi près de Ballarat dans l’État de Victoria, fut leur ultime réalisation en Australie, réalisation qui les a propulsés de la périphérie de la société écossaise vers son centre. L’article montre comment, en tant qu’éleveurs du pur mérinos australien, ils ont agi au sein du mécanisme colonial déterminé par l’entreprise et la globalisation de la migration économique qui a conduit à l’expansion du district de Port Phillip en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud au cours des années 1830 et 1840. Questo articolo tratta della famiglia come uno dei principali motori della creazione d’impresa e del capitalismo nel contesto della colonizzazione dell'Australia. L'impresa privata è stata a lungo considerata come uno dei fattori principali di questa storia e le famiglie scozzesi sono state particolarmente attive in questo campo. Il mio caso studio è la famiglia Learmonth, che proveniva dall'area Falkirk dello Stirlingshire, 44 km a ovest di Edimburgo. La loro storia mostra chiaramente la sovrapposizione di un'identità familiare a carattere dinastico con le opportunità offerte dall'espansione coloniale dell'Impero britannico, nonché il modo in cui tale fenomeno si manifesta nelle opere costruite. È importante ai fini dello studio evidenziare ciò che era in gioco in Scozia per la famiglia Learmonth e per la loro casata. Thomas Learmonth, il più giovane di quattro fratelli, ed i suoi figli si sono serviti delle acquisizioni coloniali per migliorare la loro situazione familiare e la loro notorietà in patria. Ercildoun, il famoso allevamento di ovini che insediarono vicino a Ballarat nello stato di Victoria, rappresentò il traguardo della loro permanenza in Australia e grazie ad esso la famiglia guadagnò una posizione di rilievo negli ambienti scozzesi. Il documento mostrerà come questi pastori e allevatori del "puro merino australiano" operassero nell’ambito della migrazione economica mondiale e coloniale guidata dall'impresa, all’origine dell'espansione del distretto di Port Phillip nel Nuovo Galles del Sud negli anni 1830 e 1840.

This volume represents the first scientific partnership between two networks of research specialized on management studies: EuroMed Research Business Institute (EMRBI) and CUEIM, the consortium of research that is the publisher of Sinergie Italian Journal of Management. This Special Issue hosts ten papers selected from two EuroMed Conferences: the 7th EuroMed Annual Conference entitled “The Future of Entrepreneurship” (Kristiansand, Norway, September 2014) and the “Contemporary Trends and Perspectives in Wine and Agrifood Management” Conference (Lecce, Italy, January 2015). The papers selected have both Italian and foreign authors. The Journal aims to foster a cross national scientific dialogue and to develop a theoretical debate between different schools of thought. As Baccarani and Golinelli (2014, p. vii) say, the new cultural path for the Italian scientific community needs “to accelerate the internationalization process without giving up its national identity”. ( to be continued… )

1. Richard Swedberg e la figura di riferimento, in Europa, per la Nuova Sociologia Economica (nse nel testo), ovvero per quella prospettiva disciplinare che ha l’ambizione di applicare modelli di analisi di tipo sociologico allo studio di fenomeni economici. Rappresentativa di questa ambizione analitica e una delle ultime fatiche di Swedberg: un’antologia di contributi da lui curata sul tema dell’imprenditorialita che offre al lettore una raccolta di saggi di scienziati sociali appartenenti a...

Entrepreneurship and the creation of new businesses are two key drivers of economic growth and innovation of industries, regions and countries. The paper presents a model of entrepreneurial choice based on the modern portfolio theory. The model has been further developed to take account of the non-marketable nature of business opportunities, given that, traditionally, financial assets are treated as marketable. The extended model indicates that Jensen’s alpha influences the decision of whether or not to launch an entrepreneurial activity. However, Jensen’s alpha depends not only on the entrepreneurial opportunity and efficient portfolio returns, but also on their covariance. In other words, our model emphasizes the importance of factoring in the relationship between the entrepreneurial opportunity and the economy as a whole, an aspect that previous analyses have largely ignored.