The core concern of this academic essay is to examine the issue of how to make sure that Business Models are useful. For that, a notion of Business Models proposed by Baden-Fuller & Morgan (2010) is taken up, “which comes from the practical and technological domain rather than the scientific one”: They suggest the original concept of thinking Business Models as recipes, “as practical models of technology that are ready for copying, but also open for variation and innovation” (ibid.). I will develop this idea further and extend it by not only taking up the various ingredients but also the typical characteristics of a recipe as well as the external environment, the final dish is served in.
First, the notion of Business Models (as models) will be explained in order to build a profound theoretical background. Afterwards, the original analogy between BMs and recipes will be presented and extended. Based on this idea, the core concern will be discussed: How useful Business Models are in order to represent reality and how it can be made sure, that they are useful – especially for practitioners. In the end, there will be a short summary.
Index
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background: Business Models as Models
3. Business Models as Models to reflect Reality
3.1 Starting Point: From Recipe to Meal
3.2 Serving the Dish: The Restaurant as External Environment
3.3 Business Models and Its Usefulness
4. Conclusion
5. References