Unpacking business model innovation through an attention-based view

Abstract

Attention is considered as a critical driver for business model (BM) innovation in established firms, where existing activities already absorb internal actors' time and effort. Although previous studies acknowledge the role of attention to detect opportunities or to generate new ideas, we still need to understand how actors deal with attentional tensions inherent in the development of a new additive BM. This article addresses this issue by adopting an attention-based view of BM innovation, that is, by examining the forms of attention involved in the process of developing a new BM. Through a longitudinal study in a small consulting company, we unfold an incremental and ongoing process of new BM development. Our findings identify three attentional stages triggered by specific mechanisms that drive BM innovation, from detecting new ideas to their implementation. The attentional perspective we use in this study revises the role of a prevailing BM in the emergence of new business logics in established firms. While previous studies consider it as an impediment for BM innovation, we reveal that actors can develop new BMs by navigating between differentiation and consistency with the prevailing BM.