What Is a Successful Business Model? Exploration and Measurement of Key Attributes of Business Model

Abstract

The attributes of the business model have become an essential factor affecting enterprise performance and competitive advantage. However, there still needs to be systematic identification of key attributes and empirical tests between key attributes and firm performance. To fill the research gap, we conducted a questionnaire and open-ended coding to identify five key attributes of successful business models, and then a measurement scale was developed. The empirical analysis based on 445 samples shows that the measurement scale of multi-dimensional business model attributes composed of novelty, sustainability, efficiency, expandability, and value co-creation has good reliability and validity. Our findings contribute to identifying key attributes of successful business models from different industries and examining the impact of key attributes on firm performance. Furthermore, the conclusion of this study will be an excellent enlightenment to understand better the key attributes of business models and the firm performance advantages brought by them for both research and practice.