Organizing the business model generation process for mobile application development businesses

Abstract

This thesis aims on getting more knowledge about how to build a sustainable business model for mobile app businesses. A business model plays an important role in generating profit and sustaining a company‟s competitive advantage. In a startup, the customers and the product which customers might find valuable are still unknown. Thus, designing a business model for a startup company involves a set of experiments and in many cases limited funding resource. The case I am using for my thesis is a research project at the University of Agder which is developing an app for rescue purposes, and the plan is to commercialize the app. The examination of my case is based on a qualitative approach and the study combines an observational approach, which includes interviews and some document readings, and a fieldexperimental approach where I apply a tool together with the case-organization. In order to answer my research question, I have collected information about- and analyzed the activities SmartRescue has done during the technology development process to see which consequences this has had for the business model generation. The business model generation process involves experiments to test hypotheses generated for each dimension in the business model canvas. The findings show that the customers‟ problem, the value propositions and the potential customer segments in a business model are most likely identified as an integrated part of the technology and product development process. The findings also show that several dimensions in a business model are being affected by the technology- and product development process. Furthermore, there are three essential dimensions of the business model which need to be integrated with the product development process: value propositions, customer segments, and revenue streams. Integrating experiments in the business model generation- and product development process will result in a higher chance of launching the right product to the market and shorter technology development cycles which are cheaper than the traditional new-product introduction methods.