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Navigating the business model design space : A case of insects as food and feed in Sweden

Thomson, Linus ; Chatthong, Chattraporn LU orcid and Lennerfors, Thomas Taro (2025) In Technological Forecasting and Social Change 216.
Abstract

Business model innovation (BMI) plays a key role in driving sustainability transitions, yet its interplay with the broader socio-technical system is often overlooked. This study investigates BMI in the emerging niche of insect-based food and feed in Sweden, employing a combined Business Model Design Space (BMDS) and dynamic capabilities perspective. Drawing on interviews with ten insect firms, we examine how firm-level dynamic capabilities shape BMI strategies and interact with the BMDS. Our findings show that firms adopt different strategies to navigate the opportunities and constraints they perceive within the BMDS. We introduce a novel typology that outlines how firms perceive and respond to the BMDS through two dimensions: BMDS... (More)

Business model innovation (BMI) plays a key role in driving sustainability transitions, yet its interplay with the broader socio-technical system is often overlooked. This study investigates BMI in the emerging niche of insect-based food and feed in Sweden, employing a combined Business Model Design Space (BMDS) and dynamic capabilities perspective. Drawing on interviews with ten insect firms, we examine how firm-level dynamic capabilities shape BMI strategies and interact with the BMDS. Our findings show that firms adopt different strategies to navigate the opportunities and constraints they perceive within the BMDS. We introduce a novel typology that outlines how firms perceive and respond to the BMDS through two dimensions: BMDS Sensing (systematic & intuitive) and BMDS Enactment (fit-and-conform & stretch-and-transform). This typology identifies four distinct BMI seizing modes: Analytical Adaptation, Analytical Shaping, Instinctive Adaptation, and Instinctive Shaping, highlighting how firms interpret and enact the BMDS through BMI. By integrating dynamic capabilities theory with the BMDS framework, we address the gap of accounting for varied perceptions of the BMDS among different actors. We show how firms exercise strategic agency in shaping and responding to system-level dynamics, offering new theoretical insights that bridge firm-level and system-level perspectives on BMI within emerging niches.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Business model design space, Business model innovation, Dynamic capabilities, Empowerment, Sustainability transitions
in
Technological Forecasting and Social Change
volume
216
article number
124148
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105002862992
ISSN
0040-1625
DOI
10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124148
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c2457566-cbda-4dc3-bc1b-5c8c58fb16be
date added to LUP
2025-08-06 10:05:25
date last changed
2025-08-06 10:08:47
@article{c2457566-cbda-4dc3-bc1b-5c8c58fb16be,
  abstract     = {{<p>Business model innovation (BMI) plays a key role in driving sustainability transitions, yet its interplay with the broader socio-technical system is often overlooked. This study investigates BMI in the emerging niche of insect-based food and feed in Sweden, employing a combined Business Model Design Space (BMDS) and dynamic capabilities perspective. Drawing on interviews with ten insect firms, we examine how firm-level dynamic capabilities shape BMI strategies and interact with the BMDS. Our findings show that firms adopt different strategies to navigate the opportunities and constraints they perceive within the BMDS. We introduce a novel typology that outlines how firms perceive and respond to the BMDS through two dimensions: BMDS Sensing (systematic &amp; intuitive) and BMDS Enactment (fit-and-conform &amp; stretch-and-transform). This typology identifies four distinct BMI seizing modes: Analytical Adaptation, Analytical Shaping, Instinctive Adaptation, and Instinctive Shaping, highlighting how firms interpret and enact the BMDS through BMI. By integrating dynamic capabilities theory with the BMDS framework, we address the gap of accounting for varied perceptions of the BMDS among different actors. We show how firms exercise strategic agency in shaping and responding to system-level dynamics, offering new theoretical insights that bridge firm-level and system-level perspectives on BMI within emerging niches.</p>}},
  author       = {{Thomson, Linus and Chatthong, Chattraporn and Lennerfors, Thomas Taro}},
  issn         = {{0040-1625}},
  keywords     = {{Business model design space; Business model innovation; Dynamic capabilities; Empowerment; Sustainability transitions}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Technological Forecasting and Social Change}},
  title        = {{Navigating the business model design space : A case of insects as food and feed in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124148}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124148}},
  volume       = {{216}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}