Making markets: the practice of business models
Published 15 December 2011
Over the last three years, AIM Fellows Katy Mason and Martin Spring have been researching how business models are developed and put to work to make markets. This video captures a recent conference in London attended by over 200 practitioners.
In a day of varied presentations, there were three themes:
- Markets don't just exist 'out there' waiting to be discovered and served, but have to be imagined and made
- The practice of developing, sharing and reworking business models is an important part of market-making work
- Business models are the theories that managers develop about how their business, their business network and their markets work. Thus managers move between theory and practice as they learn what to do next and imagine new possibilities through their work.
In addition to presentations by Katy Mason (Department of Marketing) and Martin Spring (Department of Management Science), there were contributions from Andrew Hawkins of Microsoft, Claudia Simões of the Open University, Al Martyn of Simpler, Frank Azimont of EM LYON Business School and Luis Araujo of Lancaster’s Department of Marketing. The day was chaired by Professor Robin Wensley, Director of AIM.
For a practitioner guide to business models by Katy Mason and Martin Spring, see the AIM Executive Briefing "Using business models to shape business success"
These ideas are also discussed in: Mason K. and Spring M. (2011), 'The sites and practices of business models', Industrial Marketing Management, Vol.40, Issue 6, pp.1032-1041
To find out more about the work going on in the Market Studies Group visit the Marketstudi.es web page.
