Business Model Innovation and Organizational Changes in the era of Digital Transformation: an empirical study in the Energy Utility industry

This doctoral thesis aims at studying the complex relationship between business model innovation (BMI) and organizational change, trying to shed light on how organizational changes and BMI are intertwined and how proper organizational changes can facilitate the renewal of a traditional business model (BM). BMI is indeed dictated by the firms’ need to cope with the current wave of digital transformation which is forcing them to renew traditional business models to offer a novel commercial value proposition to the market. We deepened also our understanding of the micro-foundations of how different partners, undergoing digital transformation, work together to develop novel business models. We did so by studying more than 500 heuristics, i.e. simple rules that managers learn to govern their activity. The research starts with a detailed analysis of the relevant literature on BM, BMI, dynamic capabilities and organizational change. We studied the business of energy utilities, which is the context of our research, and how the diffusion of new technologies is changing the way energy solutions are consumed and experienced, while consumers increasingly take ownership of their consumption, acting as “prosumers”. We hence elaborated a framework (Fig. 7) to offer a comprehensive view on the organizational dynamics of BMI, describing the internal and external factors that stimulate and create a need for BMI. The framework presents the relationship between the innovation process and organizational changes realized at firm level. Since there are several organizational changes that can be executed at firm level, we reviewed the most cited ones in academic literature and systematize such changes into four main macro categories (i.e., structural changes; cultural changes; changes in the firm boundaries; changes in the internal resources configuration and management) to better investigate their relationship with BMI. To conclude, the present doctoral thesis contributes to the ongoing academic debate on BMI, its practical applications and its intertwined with organizational changes, while with regard to the analysis of the heuristics, it shows that heuristics provide governance to business model co-innovation by directing the development of BM processes and content.

Questa tesi di dottorato mira a studiare la complessa relazione tra innovazione del modello di business (BMI) e cambiamento organizzativo, cercando di far luce su come i cambiamenti organizzativi e BMI si intrecciano e come cambiamenti organizzativi adeguati possono facilitare il rinnovo di un modello di business tradizionale (BM). Il BMI è in effetti dettato dalla necessità delle aziende di far fronte all'attuale ondata di trasformazione digitale che le sta costringendo a rinnovare i tradizionali modelli di business per offrire una nuova proposta di valore commerciale al mercato. Abbiamo approfondito anche la nostra comprensione delle basi di come diversi partner, sottoposti a trasformazione digitale, lavorano insieme per sviluppare nuovi modelli di business. Lo abbiamo fatto studiando più di 500 euristiche, ovvero semplici regole che i manager imparano per gestire le loro attività.