Business model concept for construction businesses: a literature synthesis

Abstract

Despite the importance of a business model (BM) to an organisation’s success, clearing up the fuzziness of the concept of BM before applying it to any business or sector is worthwhile. Since definitions are expected to bring clarity, this paper attempts to analyse various definitions given to BM by different authors. Accordingly, eight notions around which 31 definitions of BM have been centred were identified. These notions are based on stakeholders, value, revenue, strategies, process, causality, elements and dynamicity of the business with which all the BM definitional views are associated. In addition to its two key roles, value creation and value capture, BM plays several other roles as well. Some of these roles relate to being an opportunity facilitator; a common language; a source of industry change; a source of competitive advantage and an exemplar. The paper also distinguishes the term BM from the other commonly used term in the business language, ‘strategy’. Once the basis on which the preliminary views expressed by past researchers on the concept of BM is understood, it will be necessary to review the literature once again to get an understanding of the BM elements, BM design, BM changes and BM innovations, so that the concept of BM in the construction business environment and culture could be fully grasped.