When do companies explore business models innovation? – An empirical test

We report an empirical study of the antecedents of business model innovation. Using a survey of manufacturing companies, we examine the top management intentions to explore business model innovations. We divide business model innovation into changes related to customer interface, value proposition, and operational business processes. Building on the strategy process literature, we develop hypotheses that link strategic context, internal stakeholder and market influences, organizational processes, and culture to top management intent to innovate. Our findings show that perceived influence of employees and markets are positively related with business process and customer interface innovation intentions. Formal processes supporting innovation are associated with increased business process innovation, while a culture of intra- organizational secrecy decreases management's intentions to develop new value propositions.