Interfunctional Business Models: Map Grid for an Uncharted Quadrant of the Blue Ocean

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2018, Vol. 10 No. 5, pp. 581–595.

15 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2017 Last revised: 19 Jan 2019

See all articles by Steffen Roth

Steffen Roth

Excelia Business School; Kazimieras Simonavičius University

Artak Melkonyan

United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Africa

Jari Kaivo-Oja

Turku School of Economics & Business Administration

Birte Manke

Leuphana University of Lueneburg, Students

Léo‐Paul Dana

Montpellier Business School

Date Written: October 10, 2018

Abstract

This article makes a case for the significance that barriers have for new venture discovery. Since markets are social phenomena, new venture discoveries necessarily refer to the crossing of social borders. We draw on social systems theory and theories of social differentiation to understand how social borders are drawn. We demonstrate how this knowledge may be used to create and unfold a comprehensive market map that is useful for both the tracking of past and the anticipation of new venture discoveries. We use this map combined with illustrative cases to provide evidence that an entire quadrant of entrepreneurial opportunities is still uncharted in traditional maps for new venture discovery. We conclude that the future of new venture discovery is about the strategic transgression of social borders not only between traditional market segments or strata, but also between the function systems of society such as the political system, economy, science, art, religion, or the mass media system.

Keywords: business model innovation, social systems theory, social differentiation, functional differentiation, blue ocean strategy

Suggested Citation

Roth, Steffen and Melkonyan, Artak and Kaivo-Oja, Jari and Manke, Birte and Dana, Léo‐Paul, Interfunctional Business Models: Map Grid for an Uncharted Quadrant of the Blue Ocean (October 10, 2018). International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2018, Vol. 10 No. 5, pp. 581–595., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2896832

Steffen Roth (Contact Author)

Excelia Business School ( email )

102 rue de Coureilles
Les Minimes
La Rochelle, 17024
France

Kazimieras Simonavičius University ( email )

Dariaus ir Girėno g. 21
Vilnius, 02189
Lithuania

Artak Melkonyan

United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Africa ( email )

One United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
United States

Jari Kaivo-Oja

Turku School of Economics & Business Administration ( email )

Rehtorinpellonkat 3
FIN-20500 Turku
Finland

Birte Manke

Leuphana University of Lueneburg, Students ( email )

Scharnhorststraße 1
Wilschenbrucher Weg 69
Lüneburg, 21335
Germany

Léo‐Paul Dana

Montpellier Business School ( email )

2300 Avenue des Moulins
Montpellier, 34080
France

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