Identifying and Prioritizing Key Success Factors Of Business Model

Abstract
Research results show that the business model, which has received much attention in recent years, has a decisive role in the success of businesses. The purpose of this study is to identify and prioritize critical factors for business model success. The present study was conducted by the mixed method. The study's statistical population is entrepreneurs, investors, and experts in the information and communication technology industry. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 ICT experts. In the quantitative section, 142 questionnaires were collected. An open and axial coding method has been used to analyze the qualitative data. Confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling approach using AMOS software is used in the quantitative part. The results of the quantitative section show that among the factors affecting business model success are dynamics, clear vision and mission, unique value proposition and effective customer relationship, the internal fit of business model elements, difficulty in imitation of business model, and the effective use of resources are essential, respectively.
Introduction
Businesses face a challenging and rapidly changing environment in today's world. A literature review shows that companies with innovative goods and services have failed. All these failures are due to failure to attract customers and inability to compete. Indicates that a good product, service, or advanced technology does not guarantee success (Teece, 2010: 173). Numerous and valuable studies have been done on why entrepreneurs fail. One of the possible reasons for them is the inability of the business to create a competitive advantage and their failure to design a business model (Morris, Schindehutte & Allen, 2005: 727). A business model is an operational path or method used by a company to provide value to customers. New business models can change the industry's rules by introducing new ways and linking strategy to entrepreneurship (Colabi & Karimirad, 2020: 259).
However, despite many studies in the field of business model, a business model is a concept that is not well developed due to the youth of this field of research and its extraction from various fields and the lack of consensus on what it is (Amit & Zott, 2015: 332). A literature review shows an insufficient understanding of the business model (Dasilva & Trkman, 2014: 381). The business model is a vague concept that needs more transparency to develop (Ritter & Lettl, 2018: 2). As a result, there is a need to examine essential variables in business model design to guide managers to improve their business model design (Zott et al., 2011: 1028). However, because the factors influencing the success of the business model have not been explicitly examined by researchers, identifying the key factors influencing the success of the business model will be an essential achievement for the business model literature. As a result, this research question is what are the key factors influencing the business model's success?
Case study
The statistical population of this research is entrepreneurs, investors, and experts in Information and Communication Technology in Iran.
Theoretical framework
The business model can define the activities necessary to produce the product and provide an appropriate framework for managers to make decisions (Ladd, 2018: 59). A literature review shows that different researchers have offered various definitions for the business model. Osterwalder (2005) defines the business model as the architecture of the company and the network of partners to create, market, and create value and capital relationships with one or more segments of customers to create profitable and sustainable revenue streams.
Entrepreneurs use the business model to describe the company's logic, how it does business, and create value for stakeholders (Aspara, Lamberg, Laukia & Tikkanen, 2013: 461). To maximize the potential of a business model, businesses must be customer-centric, and a business model must be developed to meet customers' specific needs (Liu & Bell, 2019: 517).
Methodology
This study aims to identify and prioritize the key factors affecting the business model's success. The research method is mixed, and the statistical population of this research is entrepreneurs, investors, and experts in the field of Information and Communication Technology in Iran. Data in the qualitative section has been gathered using a semi-structured interview with 15 experts and entrepreneurs of the ICT industry. In the quantitative area, the views of 142 experts and entrepreneurs of the information and communication technology industry have been gathered using a questionnaire. For analyzing qualitative data, open and axial coding method has been used. In the quantitative part, confirmatory factor analysis was performed by structural equation modeling approach using AMOS version 23 software.
Discussion and Results
The results of the quantitative section show that among the factors affecting business model success are dynamics, clear vision and mission, unique value proposition and effective customer relationship, the internal fit of business model elements, difficulty in imitation of business model, and the effective use of resources are important, respectively.
Conclusion
In this study, the factors affecting the success of business model design are investigated. However, it should be noted that there is no such thing as a good business model. Each situation is different and requires another solution, and the design of a business model depends on the situation (Alt & Zimmermann, 2014: 244). Analysis of qualitative research data shows that success factors can be divided into internal fit, clear vision and mission, dynamism, effective use of resources, incredible difficulty, effective customer relations, and unique value proposition. Therefore, the most significant contribution of this research is the introduction of variables to design a successful business model.