Building Without Blueprints: A Case Study on Business Model Change in a Knowledge-Intensive Firm
(2025) BUSN09 20251Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- In today’s world, many companies are pushed to adapt their business models in response to evolving external pressures. While business model change has received increasing attention in research, relatively little is known about how such change actually unfolds inside organizations. Responding to calls for a more dynamic view of business models, this thesis explores how strategy process factors mediate business model change in knowledge-intensive firms, organizations where value is deeply embedded in expertise, identity, and norms.
Based on a single case study of a Swedish architecture firm, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the company. To explore how change unfolds, the study applies a business... (More) - In today’s world, many companies are pushed to adapt their business models in response to evolving external pressures. While business model change has received increasing attention in research, relatively little is known about how such change actually unfolds inside organizations. Responding to calls for a more dynamic view of business models, this thesis explores how strategy process factors mediate business model change in knowledge-intensive firms, organizations where value is deeply embedded in expertise, identity, and norms.
Based on a single case study of a Swedish architecture firm, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the company. To explore how change unfolds, the study applies a business model framework and incorporates a strategy process perspective, focusing on the dimensions of value systems, capacity, and organizational configuration. The findings suggest that business model change in KIFs is rarely a straightforward transition based on one-off decisions, but rather an emergent, ambiguous process. A range of factors, from cultural attitudes to ecosystem readiness, were found to influence how business model change was initiated and enacted within the firm. Moreover, the different dimensions of organizational dynamics proved deeply interconnected, with value systems playing a particularly central role in shaping change trajectories.
The study contributes to previous research by offering deeper insights into the internal dynamics that influence how business models evolve. Furthermore, the resulting framework integrates perspectives that are often treated separately in the literature, offering a more dynamic understanding of business model change. For practitioners, the study provides insights into how change efforts can be shaped more effectively by acknowledging the dynamics that influence how change happens in practice. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9203388
- author
- Andersson, Majken LU and Rejare, Magnus LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN09 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Business Model, Business Model Change, Capacity, Knowledge-Intensive Firms, Organizational Configuration, Strategy Process, Value Systems
- language
- English
- id
- 9203388
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 09:55:48
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 09:55:48
@misc{9203388,
abstract = {{In today’s world, many companies are pushed to adapt their business models in response to evolving external pressures. While business model change has received increasing attention in research, relatively little is known about how such change actually unfolds inside organizations. Responding to calls for a more dynamic view of business models, this thesis explores how strategy process factors mediate business model change in knowledge-intensive firms, organizations where value is deeply embedded in expertise, identity, and norms.
Based on a single case study of a Swedish architecture firm, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the company. To explore how change unfolds, the study applies a business model framework and incorporates a strategy process perspective, focusing on the dimensions of value systems, capacity, and organizational configuration. The findings suggest that business model change in KIFs is rarely a straightforward transition based on one-off decisions, but rather an emergent, ambiguous process. A range of factors, from cultural attitudes to ecosystem readiness, were found to influence how business model change was initiated and enacted within the firm. Moreover, the different dimensions of organizational dynamics proved deeply interconnected, with value systems playing a particularly central role in shaping change trajectories.
The study contributes to previous research by offering deeper insights into the internal dynamics that influence how business models evolve. Furthermore, the resulting framework integrates perspectives that are often treated separately in the literature, offering a more dynamic understanding of business model change. For practitioners, the study provides insights into how change efforts can be shaped more effectively by acknowledging the dynamics that influence how change happens in practice.}},
author = {{Andersson, Majken and Rejare, Magnus}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Building Without Blueprints: A Case Study on Business Model Change in a Knowledge-Intensive Firm}},
year = {{2025}},
}