The micro-and small enterprises in creative professional services: A business model perspective

Abstract

Advertising, architecture and design are perceived as an important subset of the creative industries and as having an increasing role in innovations and competitiveness of economies. However, issues such as identifying the underlying business model of the micro-and small enterprises in these industries, the manner in which BMs evolve or the degree to which their evolution is innovative remains unresolved. In the context of creative professional services, an analysis of the six case studies involving microenterprises indicates a heterogeneity in designing business models. Talented professionals, sophisticated management of human resources and creativity processes as well as trustworthy partners are considered generic components of value creation, whereas personalized relationships with customers are a generic component of value delivery in advertising, architecture and design. In addition, the findings indicate that microenterprises in advertising, architecture and design have a capacity to differentiate themselves from the rest of the competition through creation of complex and radical changes in their business models.