Designing a development model and business model selection based on social innovation

Developing and selecting a business model is one of the most vital decisions of managers and business owners in order to survive, grow and be profitable in the competitive scene. Since this decision is associated with uncertainties and complications, the development of practical tools is necessary. On the other hand, most of the existing tools are presented only from an economic point of view and pay less attention to solving social problems. Hence the purpose of the current research is to design a model for the development and selection of a business model based on social innovation.

The current research is a qualitative research that is a multiple case study terms of  the objective and a in terms of the method. In order to identify the development process and choose the business model, the interview protocol was compiled using the 5w1h method. Then, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 11 business owners active in the field of social innovation who had experience in business model development with a targeted judgment method. After coding the interviews and analyzing them, based on the results of a multiple case study and the existing literature, the proposed tools were designed, including the business model development matrix based on social innovation and the business model selection matrix based on social innovation. Also, the focus group method including 10 business owners who had experience in business model development and social innovation was used to validate and confirm the model.

The findings of the multiple case study showed that business owners generally use brainstorming sessions in the business model development phase, and in the new business model selection phase, they use expert surveys based on business strategic information. They choose the right business model. Based on this, the proposed model includes 2 stages of development and selection of a business model based on social innovation, in the first stage, possible options for business model development are created with a tool designed as a Development Matrix (DM), and in the next step to prioritize and choose the right business model with the Business Model Selection Matrix (BMSM) .

The model and tools proposed in this research are designed based on the results of the case study and the existing literature. Business model development matrix in order to use the dimensions of innovation in the business model and structuring the ideation sessions and business model selection matrix considering strategic business information are suitable tools for business model development and selection They are aimed at increasing benefits and reducing economic/social costs.