From this research various possibilities for future research emerge. The main ones are outlined in this section.
First, only one of the proposed value discipline-based business model frameworks was tested on only a limited amount of cases. Future research would enable further validation of the proposed design method by testing it on more case studies so that at least all four frameworks would have been tested. The more test cases the design method is being applied to, the greater the validity of the model becomes. The model can be compared with existing case studies, but the more effective case studies will be the ones that are specifically designed around testing this design method.
The design method can also be further validated if new academic research studies are being published that are related to aspects of the design method, such as the four value disciplines.
In this research the framework of value disciplines proposed by Treacy and Wiersema (1993) has been extended with a fourth value discipline, namely supply comfort. Although, there exists some academic literature that supports the existence of this fourth value discipline (mainly the work of Kellogg and Chase [1995] and Schneider [1994], as described in Chapter 2.2.2), future research that would further validate current propositions and reveal deeper insights regarding this value discipline is advised.
Two models that are related to the value discipline-based business model framework and are relevant for potential future research are the model of organizational growth by Greiner (1972) (described in Chapter 2.1.5) and the Four-Phase Model by Hardjono (1995).
The relationship between the value discipline-based business model framework and the Four-Phase Model has been explained in Chapter 2.2.3.3. A fundamental difference between the two theories is that a company rarely changes value disciplines (as explained in Chapter 2.7), whereas the Four-Phase Model prescribes a company to change phase every few years. So where a company would generally stick to one value discipline, it would regularly switch between phases to ensure that the company focuses on all aspects that are key to its success. Focusing on one phase for too long results in negative effects (for example, focusing for too long on creativity leads to hobbyism [Hardjono; 1995]). More information about the Four-Phase Model can be found in Appendix 5.1.
The model of organizational growth and the Four-Phase Model have in common that each describes phases of an organization and how an organization can get to the next phase in order for it to grow. One essential difference is that the phases of the Four-Phase Model are reoccurring while an organization goes through the phases of the model of organizational growth only once.
Adapting the four value discipline-based business model frameworks to the two models discussed above can be considered for future research. The key question one would ask is how each of the different phases influences the focus of each of the business model building blocks. For example, is the focus of a business model building block different for a company in its first phase of growth and in the effectiveness phase than for a company in its fourth phase of growth and in the creativity phase?
Since these two models together account for a relatively large number of different phases and combinations of phases that have to be taken into account, the choice can also be made to research the relationships of only one model with the value discipline-based business model framework.
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The research mentioned above relates to the change of focus within business model building blocks. A final aspect relevant for future research is a change of focus between different building blocks, in other words, a company that changes value discipline.
The model of organizational growth by Greiner (1972) could be included in the search for what causes an organization to change its value discipline. Clear is though that there is no direct link between a company changing into a higher phase and therefore changing its value discipline, since the model of organizational growth applies to all organizations, but relatively rarely do organizations switch value discipline.
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