Business Model Evaluation: A Systematic Review of Methods

Background: As a result of factors such as digitization and rapid technology change, organizations are compelled to innovate their business models at an accelerated pace. While the domain of business model innovation has focused on understanding and structuring the process of innovation, it offers limited guidance for evaluating business models during the innovation process. Business model evaluation plays a vital role in supporting decision-making about the performance or viability of new business models and motivating continued investments. Existing literature on methods for business model evaluation and their application is limited and available information is scattered. Furthermore, as the BMI process covers a broad spectrum of activities - from business model initiation to implementation - the evaluation challenges and the effectiveness of evaluation methods vary across the phases of innovation. Thus, there is a need for a better understanding on methods for business model evaluation, and their timing and application for business model innovation. Method: Through a systematic literature review, we have investigated the methods available for business model evaluation and focused on understanding their characteristics and effective timing of application in the business model innovation process. Results: We have identified six groups of methods used for business model evaluation. Additionally, we find that early phase business model evaluation is predominantly qualitative in nature, whereas late phases of business model innovation are generally supported through quantitatively-oriented methods. Moreover, we observe that limited evaluation support is available in the literature to support the initiation phase of business model innovation. Based on our findings, we propose a guiding structure for aligning the available methods with the respective innovation phases. Conclusion: The proposed guiding structure offers guidance for business model evaluation in practice and serves as a basis for future research in developing more effective methods and tools for business model evaluation and development.