新创企业商业模式设计的机制研究——基于创业学习视角的单案例研究

The Mechanism of New Ventures'Business Model Design:A Case Study Based on Entrepreneurial Learning

商业模式设计是一个持续改进并不断完善的过程,但现有研究对新创企业在不同阶段创业学习对商业模式设计的影响机制尚不清晰。本文以赛尔公司为案例研究对象,基于企业生命周期理论,从创业学习视角,探讨了创业学习如何影响企业商业模式设计过程。研究发现,在新创企业发展的不同阶段,商业模式设计存在差异性;学习方式与新创企业成长阶段相匹配,即孕育期由先天性学习主导,婴儿期由经验学习主导,学步期由模仿学习主导,青春期由探索性学习主导,嫁接学习在婴儿期、学步期和青春期起到辅助作用;创业学习直接影响着不同阶段的商业模式设计,从孕育期形成商业模式框架,到婴儿期商业模式雏形初成,进而到学步期形成相对清晰的商业模式,再到青春期商业模式设计进一步完善,不同方式的创业学习分别发挥着积极作用。研究结论丰富和完善了商业模式设计理论,深化了创业学习与商业模式设计关系研究,对创业实践具有一定指导作用。

Business model design is a process of continuous improvement.However,it is still unclear how entrepreneurial learning impacts business model design at different stages of entrepreneurship.Existing research has dissected the promotion effect of entrepreneurial learning to efficiency-centered or novelty-centered business model design.Still,the mutual relation between entrepreneurial learning and business model design at different stages in the fast-growing start-ups is largely neglected.In fact,due to the different characteristics of each stage,there are also differences in the impact of entrepreneurial learning methods on business model design at different stages.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the mechanism of entrepreneurial learning on business model design based on the theory of corporate life cycle.We select Saier as the subject of our single case study and collect first-hand and second-hand data through interviews and other methods.After coding and analyzing the collected data,we construct the models of business model design and explorethe mechanism of entrepreneurial learning on business model design at different stages.We find that new ventures focus on different entrepreneurial learning styles at different life stages,specifically,dominated by congenital learning in the incubation period,experiential learning in infancy period,vicarious learning in the toddler period,and searching and noticing learning in adolescence period.Grafting learning plays a supplementary role in infancy,toddler and adolescence period.Entrepreneurial learning directly affects business model design at different stages,from the formation of business model framework during the incubation period,to the initial formation of the business model in infancy,to the formation of a relatively clear business model in the toddler stage,and then to the further improvement of the business model design during adolescence.All the different entrepreneurial learning styles play a positive role in business model design.With such findings,this paper constructs the business model design model at different stages,and expands the literature on the dynamic evolution process of business model design.Based on the theory of corporate life cycle,it combines different enterprise growth stages with the formation process of business model design,and builds a model about the process of business model from gradually clear to continuous improvement,which complements and enriches the research on the evolution of existing business model design.This paper explores the entrepreneurial learning styles at different stages in new ventures,and dissects the mechanism of different learning styles on business model design.It shows that congenital learning,experiential learning,vicarious learning,and searching and noticing learning are respectively dominant in the incubation,infancy,toddler and adolescence periods.Besides,grafting learning plays an auxiliary role from infancy to adolescence period.These findings have deepened and enriched the research on the mechanism of entrepreneurial learning on business model design.As to practical implications,the current study,by revealing the mechanism of entrepreneurial learning of entrepreneurs to the design of business models at different stages at of new ventures,guides entrepreneurs to learn actively and choose appropriate learning styles according to the stage of new venture.On the other hand,it provides a reference for entrepreneurs to design and improve their business model through different learning methods.Despite all the contributions,this study still has some limitations.First,the selected case is in the entrepreneurial period of the life cycle and has not experienced the entire life cycle yet.We hope to track it in our future study.Second,this study uses the single case study method to analyze the relationship between entrepreneurial learning and business model design at different stages of a new venture.Future multi-case studies can expand the external validity of relevant findings and introduce other theoretical perspective to explore the mechanism of business model design.Third,business model design is affected by a variety of internal and external factors.This article only explores the impact mechanism of business model design from the perspective of corporate growth stage and entrepreneurial learning.Since the business model design is affected by various factors,we call for QCA method to be used for this topic in the future.