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Research has highlighted the cognitive nature of the business model intended as a cognitive representation describing a business’ value creation and value capture activities. Although the content of the business model has been extensively investigated from this perspective, less attention has been paid to the business model’s causal structure – that is the pattern of cause-effect relations that, in top managers’ or entrepreneurs’ understandings, link value creation and value capture activities. Building on the strategic cognition literature, this paper argues that conceptualizing and analysing business models as cognitive maps can shed light on four important properties of a business model’s causal structure: the levels of complexity, focus and clustering that characterize the causal structure and the mechanisms underlying the causal links featured in that structure. I use examples of business models drawn from the literature as illustrations to describe these four properties. Finally, I discuss the value of a cognitive mapping approach for augmenting extant theories and practices of business model design.

This chapter’s focus is comparative causal mapping (CCM) methods in MOC research. For a background, the chapter discusses first the conceptual (cognitive theoretic) basis in typical CCM studies and its implications for understanding the target phenomena and for CCM methods. Next, it presents the CMAP3 software and describes its operating logic and main functions. Third, the chapter describes how to use CMAP3 in three prototypical cases of CCM, each characterized by different research objectives, kinds of data, and methods of data acquisition but also by potential dilemmas. The chapter concludes by speculating about the future directions of causal mapping and suggesting some ideas for developing in particular large-N CCM methods.

The paper's first objective is to develop a new conceptual framework for categorizing and designing cognitive, specifically comparative, causal mapping (CCM) research by building upon the theory‐centred and participant‐centred perspectives. The second purpose is to enable the discerned study prototypes by introducing a new CCM software application, CMAP3.

Building upon the distinction between theory‐centred (etic) and participant‐centred (emic) perspectives in social research, we first construct and apply a conceptual framework for analysing and categorising extant CCM studies in terms of their objectives and basic design. Next, after noting the important role and basic tasks in computerising causal mapping studies, we present a new CCM software application.

The theory‐centred/participant‐centred perspectives define four causal mapping study prototypes, each with different goals, basic designs and methodological requirements. Noting the present lack of widely accessible software for qualitatively oriented CCM studies, we introduce CMAP3, a new non‐commercial Windows application, and summarise how it is used in related research.

The framework and the studies representing the prototypes demonstrate the versatility of CCM methods and that the proposed framework offers a new, systematic approach to categorising and designing CCM studies. Research technically, CMAP3 can support the defined CCM‐prototypes, based on a low‐structured (inductive/qualitative) or a structured (nomothetic/quantitative) methodological approach/stance, and having therefore different needs of data acquisition, processing, coding, aggregation/comparison, and analysis of the emerging aggregated cause maps’ contents or structure.

This study investigates simulated business learning and performance effectiveness during a simulation task. The learning and performance outcomes of two groups of postgraduate student participants are investigated namely: (a) participants who do not struggle with the task and (b) participants who do struggle with completing the task.

An experiment was conducted using a simulated business, which was manipulated into two initial commencement formats: positive initial format (PIF) and negative initial format (NIF). Individual performance on the task was measured via achievement of performance targets whilst individual learning was measured via causal cognitive maps.

Participants using PIF did not struggle with completing the task and achieved higher performance outcomes compared to participants using NIF, who struggled with completing the task. In addition, the positive association between learning and performance was significantly reduced for participants using NIF who struggled with completing the task

This study’s findings are tentative as the sample size is small and several moderator/mediator variables, which may influence the findings (i.e. student learning style/instructor style/cognitive factors), are outside the scope of the study and thus not included.

Causal cognitive mapping results and students’ self-assessment of learning during simulated business debriefing, may further help instructors/students identify the differences in individual learning outcomes between those who have and have not struggled with increasing simulated business performance.

By using an experiment and causal cognitive mapping to measure individual learning, this study contributes further empirical evidence to the literature.

Our primary objective is to provide method-related broad guidelines to researchers on the entire spectrum of issues involved in cause mapping and to encourage researchers to use causal mapping techniques in strategy research. We challenge strategists to open the black box and investigate the mental models that depict the cause and effect beliefs of managers, “walk” readers through the causal mapping process by discussing the “nuts and bolts” of cause mapping, provide an illustration, and outline “key issues to consider.” We conclude with a discussion of some promising research directions.

The implications and influence of different cognitive map structures on decision-making, reasoning, predictions about future events, affect, and behavior remain poorly understood. To-date, we have not had the mechanisms to determine whether any measure of cognitive map structure picks up anything more than would be detected on a purely random basis. We report a Monte Carlo method of simulation used to empirically estimate parameterized probability outcomes as a means to better understand the behavior of cognitive map. Using worked examples, we demonstrate how the results of our simulation permit the use of exact statistics which can be applied by hand to an individual map or groups of maps, providing maximum utility for the collective and cumulative process of theory building and testing.

The major part of studies in the field of strategic cognition focussed on strategy content, while process studies are comparatively rare. Those of the studies that are dedicated to explain strategy occurrence are dominantly restricted to formal decision making. In contrast to this, the purpose of this paper is to draw on a framework that helps to get a differentiated picture on contingent processes, strategies may pass through in organizations. Furthermore, an own elicitation procedure is introduced that enables to measure strategic cognition on different levels.

The paper provides an empirical approach by applying collective causal mapping techniques, both on an individual as well as collective level. The conceptual framework of the study rests on the “genesis” concept of strategy formation introduced by Kirsch and colleagues.

The main contribution of the paper is the presentation of a methodical approach to study the formation of shared strategic orientations in small companies. An operationalization to study these cognitive processes, based on collective causal mapping techniques is provided.

Applying the methodical approach presented in the paper is expected to make a contribution to the understanding of the shared knowledge of organizational members about major strengths and weaknesses of a new strategic reorientation and to contribute to practical concerns of organizational members in specific problematic situations, especially in small companies.

The study empirically approaches the complex phenomenon on strategy formation in small companies and therefore expands the understanding of shared cognition in organizations.

The traditional front‐end‐of‐innovation (FEI) research and requirements engineering (RE) in software development have realized the opportunities for overall innovation process improvements by focusing on improving the front‐end activities. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the managerial perceptions on the similarities and differences in the FEI concepts between software industry and the traditional industrial sector.

The research approach of this paper can be categorized as a case study. Causal cognitive maps are used as graphic tools for collecting and analyzing the perceptions of selected experts about the concepts of FEI, and for recognizing the perceived interrelationships between these concepts.

The paper presents the similarities and differences in the FEI concepts between the two industries. The most similarly assessed concept is that the quality of a product or software development project can be most often influenced by successful execution of detailed customer needs analysis.

The selection of a purely academic interview group representing the traditional industrial sector has some limitations.

This paper provides viewpoints to managers and project team members on the most important factors in their front‐end activities influencing the success of product or software development projects.

The intersection between FEI and RE and its handling by causal cognitive mapping is a novel territory in academic research. In addition, this paper opens up a new strand for academic discussion by connecting these two domains previously unconnected in literature.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, using the case of Finnish small business advisors (SBAs), it aims to clarify a controversy in entrepreneurship policy about using public funds to foster solo and micro entrepreneurship. The study reveals the SBAs’ belief systems to facilitate policy-relevant conclusions about their advisory competence, counseling tendencies and probable impact on nascent entrepreneurs and macro consequences like firm displacement. Second, methodologically, the study’s cognitive perspective and method enable researchers to assess the approach and its potential.

The SBAs’ (n=15) belief systems were elicited by interview-based causal mapping. They are summarized using aggregated causal maps and analyzed to understand the SBAs’ dominant mindset and to draw conditional inferences about their professional competence and impacts.

The SBAs have convergent belief systems about the causes and consequences of micro entrepreneurship. They are generally competent to detect and foster viable solo and small micro firms. From a policy viewpoint, however, they ignore indirect effects like firm replication and appear risk aversive, less inclined to promote their clients’ growth intentions and plans.

For entrepreneurship policy makers, the study clarifies a controversial issue. It finds clear grounds for public funding of SBA type services, but this may depend on policy goals and local conditions. For the SBAs, the study suggests proactive, income-generating services for improved financing and legitimacy. For entrepreneurship researchers, it demonstrates the potential and limits of the cognitive approach and causal mapping.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the use of a qualitative approach using cognitive mapping techniques in the study of a decision‐making process. This study takes place in a public sector and in the context of a performance appraisal system (PAS). This is in line with recommendations by scholars and researchers to conduct a management research in a public service context (see Brown, 1999; Bissessar, 2000; Jabroun and Balakrishnan, 2000; O’Donnell and O’Brien, 2000; Redman, Snape and Thompson, 2000). This article also intends to elucidate and justify the methodological approach used, examine the assumptions underlying the use of a particular research design, and provide arguments for the preference of the methodology used. It is hoped that this will contribute to the understanding of the nature and validity of the research undertaken. This article begins by reviewing the theoretical issues of the research framework, the main features of the qualitative methodologies, and finally, the research method applied in this research is determined and justified.