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Cited by 205Business Strategies and InnovationInnovation and Knowledge ManagementInformation Technology Governance and Strategy

The Case for Viewing Business Models as Abstractions of Strategy

Open access
Seddon, Peter B., Freeman, Phil·2004·Communications of the Association for Information Systems
DOI 10.17705/1cais.01325
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Abstract

This paper examines in detail the meaning of two frequently used terms, namely, "business model" and "strategy". It is argued that as used by leading thinkers these two terms might reasonably be interpreted as being roughly equivalent in meaning. However, we argue that the term "business model" serves another distinct and potentially useful role. In this role, a business model is viewed as an abstraction of a firm's Porter-1996 strategy. It outlines the essential details of a firm's value proposition for its various stakeholders and the activity system the firm uses to create and deliver value to its customers. However, unlike strategy, business models do not consider a firm's competitive positioning; they potentially apply to many firms. Such abstractions, it is argued, attracted the attention of many researchers because they are useful for evaluating alternative possible future ways of building profitable businesses.

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Cites

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  • Strategy needs to be implemented in the business logic as a first step in the BMI process.

    “We follow the view that strategy needs to be implemented in the business logic as a first step in the BMI process.”

    From Digitalization, business models, and SMEs: How do business model innovation practices improve performance of digitalizing SMEs? (2019) · cites this paper as Seddon et al., 2004

    The Introduction (page unavailable) describes business models as abstractions of strategy that capture how a firm creates value. That supports a relationship between strategy and business logic, but the paper does not say strategy must be implemented in that logic or that this is the first step in a business-model innovation process. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Cites

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4 of the 38 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Dickson, G. and DeSanctis, G. (eds.) Information Technology and the Future Enterprise, New Models for Managers, NJ.: Prentice-Hall (49-101).
  2. Applegate, L.M., Austin, R.D, and McFarlan, F.W. (2003). Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases, 6th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin
  3. Collis, D. and Ghemawat, P. (1994). Industry Analysis: Understanding Industry Structure and Dynamics, in Fahey, L. and Randall, R.M., eds., The Portable MBA in Strategy, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1994.
  4. Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy, New York: Free Press.

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Authors
Seddon, P. B., & Freeman, P.
Affiliations
The University of Melbourne (AU)
ORCID
Seddon, Peter B.
Venue
Communications of the Association for Information Systems
Publisher
Association for Information Systems
Published
2004
Volume
13
ISSN
1529-3181 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.17705/1cais.01325
OpenAlex
W1781372108
Cited by
205
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 10
FWCI
11.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Communications of the Association for Information Systems (publishedVersion)
  • Journal of the Association for Information Systems (submittedVersion)
  • Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Innovation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Information Technology Governance and Strategy
Keywords
business models, strategy, value proposition, activity systems, competitive positioning, business model design, strategic management

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