Future ecosystem business model tool: Design science and field test in the efuel ecosystem towards the sustainability transition

Abstract

This paper presents a novel business model design tool called Future ecosystem business model (FEBM). The FEBM aims to address the lack of managerial tools linking business models, foresight, and ecosystem strategizing in the context of systemic technological changes, as those characterizing the sustainability transition in a multi-level perspective. The tool has been shaped through a design science approach building on a structured review of the literature. A field test was conducted through a case study to test the proposed tool. The empirical context was that of a publicly funded project in the field of electrofuels (efuels). The project foresaw the development and integration of several technologies, whose adoption was likely to have significant implications within and across industries. The proposed approach contributes to the literature on business model design in the context of technology-driven transformations characterized by high uncertainty and interdependence, such as those related to the sustainability transition. Strategy and innovation managers may find in the proposed FEBM tool an actionable approach to shape decision-making against far-reaching technological and societal challenges.