The performance implications of the strategy–business model fit
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
ISSN: 1462-6004
Article publication date: 8 October 2018
Issue publication date: 20 May 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight different strategy–business model (BM) alignments using Miles and Snow’s strategic framework and analyze the performance implications of these different alignments.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a composite conceptual model combining Miles and Snow’s strategy typology with Demil and Lecocq’s BM framework to explore the performance implications of strategy–BM fit. This model is empirically examined using a sample of 156 French small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector.
Findings
The results first highlight a limited set of BM configurations across strategic profiles, confirming that a BM reflects a firm’s strategy as a means of realizing strategic choices. Second, they reveal that deviating from ideal strategy–BM alignments negatively affects performance. Finally, they shed light on the dynamics of Miles and Snow’s typology, from intended to implemented strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The intrinsic characteristics of surveyed SMEs led to the hybridization of empirically derived profiles, which allowed to partially associate them with theoretically predicted configurations of BMs.
Practical implications
The paper suggests the patterns of predictive strategy–BM alignment that allow managers and entrepreneurs to monitor the dynamic consistency between strategic choices and their implementation.
Originality/value
Do you need a strategy if you have a BM? Adopting a fit and performance perspective, this paper addresses this question and complements other studies emphasizing the need to connect strategies and BMs.
Keywords
Citation
Chereau, P. and Meschi, P.-X. (2019), "The performance implications of the strategy–business model fit", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 441-463. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-04-2018-0122
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited