Well-being: a new dimension to address in business models

Purpose – The aim of the work is to contribute to the theoretical debate on business model innovation (Chesbrough, 2010; Zott et al., 2011) examining the interplay with a social innovation perspective (Rubalcaba et al., 2013; Russo Spena et al., 2015; Osburg and Schmidpeter, 2013). Specifically the study aims to analyze the relationship between business model innovation for service firms and efforts to improve the well-being of society. Design/methodology approach – Using quantitative survey data collected from a sample of 184 Northern European service firms, this research explores the relationships among social innovation, service innovation and business model innovation. Findings – The findings suggest that social innovation and business model innovation are positively related. More specifically, firms that invest effort in business model innovation – which usually involves a holistic approach to a firm’s business – are likely to put effort into improving the well-being of society. The tentative conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that it is those firms that are actively involved in developing new business models that are more likely to take the social dimension into account than firms that focus more narrowly on service innovation. Main implications – The paper contributes to the scientific debate on business model innovation in service firms by taking into account the possibility of a social dimension. This work adds to the existing discourses on business model innovation and social innovation by providing a broader perspective that includes the social dimension as a potential part of, or indeed a goal of, service business model innovation. Originality/value – This work provides a broader perspective of business model innovation that includes the social dimension. Despite the lively debate in the literature on business model innovation (Chesbrough, 2010; Zott et al., 2011) — as a key to reach business success and higher performance (Boons et al. 2013), and on social innovation — as a new way to resolve societal changes (Osburg and Schmidpeter, 2013), considering these two elements together is a novel approach.