Business models in emerging industries: some lessons from the 'Better Place' electric-car debacle Online publication date: Tue, 08-Aug-2017
by F. Xavier Olleros
International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM), Vol. 75, No. 1/2/3/4, 2017
Abstract: In this article, I explore the role of optimal target markets in developing sustainable business models for promising new technologies. On the basis of a counterfactual analysis of what a failed electric-car pioneer could have done differently in order to survive and thrive, I argue that a high-technology start-up in an emerging industry needs to find the market where its value proposition stands the best chance of being perfectly scalable, fertile and lasting, and I show how these three qualities of a value proposition reinforce each other and can bring an initially reluctant market into being. I conclude that in emerging high-technology industries, the choice of the most adequate target market should be pre-eminent, since it is so pivotal to the selection and calibration of all other elements of a suitable business model. I close with a cautious plea for a more frequent use of theory-based counterfactuals in business research.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook