Sustainable combinations of distinctive features of innovative firms’ business models

Abstract

This article explores innovative firms’ business models during the development of the digital economy. The concept of business models has been in dynamic development for over a decade. Over the years, a significant number of publications have appeared, including results of theoretical and empirical studies. However, the distinctive features of business models of innovative firms have not been sufficiently studied. This article provides data on the attributes of business models of innovative firms and the development of their typology. For the research question, the assumption was taken that innovative business models have a moderately stable set of characteristic features, attributes that can be identified using factor and cluster analysis. In our framework, business models of 100 innovative companies were analyzed. The purpose of this study was to identify sustainable combinations of the characteristic features of business models and the development of typology of identified business models of innovative firms. The results of the study allowed us to develop a typology of business models of innovative firms based on the identification of the distinctive characteristics of business models, including technology, business solutions, and interactions with stakeholders. The results can be used in theoretical and empirical studies to further develop the typology of business models and to determine reasons for their success. The practical significance of the work is to identify sustainable combinations of attributes of business models that can be used for benchmarking, analysis of business models in the process of their transformation, and identifying key success factors in the development of the digital economy.