Exploring business model innovation in the Polish SME sector

The business model (BM) and business model innovation (BMI) concepts have been given increasing attention in recent years by both academic researchers and business environment. BMI is seen as essential for company’s survival and growth and is increasingly being used to explain differences in firm performance. Nevertheless, little is known about how SMEs conduct BMI in practice; and what is the role of company’s top management and their leadership in this process. This research explores empirically the BMI process in the context of Polish SMEs. First, the semantic web, which depicts the relationship between the role of management team, its capabilities and leadership; and business model innovation process in SMEs is developed. Subsequently this framework is applied to analyze cases of two Polish SMEs, one start-up and one established small business, which went through BMI process. Findings from this research allow to better understand the nature of the business model innovation process in SMEs and the role of the top management and leadership in it. Therefore, this research helps to further advance the business model innovation theory. In addition, such insights have a practical relevance since they help to define the best managerial practices for stimulating business model innovation in SMEs.
Technology, Policy and Management
Engineering, Systems and Services