Looking forward, looking back: Strategic organization and the business model concept

In the past decade, the business model has emerged as a fundamental strategic and organizational concept. In this essay, we first “look back” to synthesize recent research on designing high-performing business models into two influential research streams. Managerial cognition grapples with the role of holistic mental models and strategic thinking for designing effective configurations of business model attributes. Learning processes address the uncertainties that emerge from the major disruptions that create opportunities for new business models. We then “look forward” to the exciting work on business models that remains for both extending current research and exploring broad societal impacts. Overall, we argue that the business model is rapidly replacing strategy as the most significant source of competitive advantage.