IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2018i1p118-d193345.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Developing Evaluation Frameworks for Business Models in China’s Rural Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Xinxiang Zhang

    (School of Information and Safety Engineering, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China)

  • Lijun Hu

    (Research Center of Modern Industrial Economy, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China)

  • Manjula Salimath

    (Department of Management, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA)

  • Ching-Chung Kuo

    (Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA)

Abstract

In rural China, successful and sustainable business model design has been viewed as an important strategy to achieve a win–win scenario in which rural poverty can be alleviated and enterprise profit can be improved. Although business model related literature is strong, it lacks a comprehensive framework for appraising business models in rural markets. As a result, entrepreneurs are facing significant challenges in implementing their market development centered business models or resource development centered business models. This study draws on case analysis to present two frameworks for evaluating the two types of business models, respectively. Through open coding and axial coding on eight Chinese cases, we identify the main components for the evaluation frameworks and critical factors within each component. Using the coding results as a lens, we apply a cross-case comparative data analysis to establish the multi-level evaluation systems. Finally, we provide suggestions for entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to better their business model design in China’s rural markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinxiang Zhang & Lijun Hu & Manjula Salimath & Ching-Chung Kuo, 2018. "Developing Evaluation Frameworks for Business Models in China’s Rural Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-28, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2018:i:1:p:118-:d:193345
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/1/118/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/1/118/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. JinHyo Joseph Yun & DongKyu Won & KyungBae Park & JeongHo Yang & Xiaofei Zhao, 2017. "Growth of a platform business model as an entrepreneurial ecosystem and its effects on regional development," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(5), pages 805-826, May.
    2. Ana Maria Peredo & Nick Montgomery & Murdith McLean, 2018. "The BoP business paradigm: what it promotes and what it conceals," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 411-429, July.
    3. Nicolas Dahan & Jonathan P. Doh & Jennifer Oetzel & Michael Yaziji, 2010. "Corporate-NGO Collaboration: Co-creating New Business Models for Developing Markets," Post-Print hal-00565517, HAL.
    4. JinHyo Joseph Yun & Xiaofei Zhao & Tan Yigitcanlar & DooSeok Lee & HeungJu Ahn, 2018. "Architectural Design and Open Innovation Symbiosis: Insights from Research Campuses, Manufacturing Systems, and Innovation Districts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Ronald U. Mendoza & Nina Thelen, 2008. "Innovations to Make Markets More Inclusive for the Poor," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 26(4), pages 427-458, July.
    6. Beattie, Vivien & Smith, Sarah Jane, 2013. "Value creation and business models: Refocusing the intellectual capital debate," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 243-254.
    7. Olof Sivertsson & Joakim Tell, 2015. "Barriers to Business Model Innovation in Swedish Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Wu, Lei-Yu, 2007. "Entrepreneurial resources, dynamic capabilities and start-up performance of Taiwan's high-tech firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 549-555, May.
    9. Sinkovics, Noemi & Sinkovics, Rudolf R. & Yamin, Mo, 2014. "The role of social value creation in business model formulation at the bottom of the pyramid – Implications for MNEs?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 692-707.
    10. Olinto, Pedro & Beegle, Kathleen & Sobrado, Carlos & Uematsu, Hiroki, 2013. "The State of the Poor: Where Are The Poor, Where Is Extreme Poverty Harder to End, and What Is the Current Profile of the World’s Poor?," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 125, pages 1-8, October.
    11. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    12. Blazevic, Vera & Lievens, Annouk, 2004. "Learning during the new financial service innovation process: Antecedents and performance effects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 374-391, April.
    13. Daniela Rupo & Mirko Perano & Giovanna Centorrino & Alfonso Vargas-Sanchez, 2018. "A Framework Based on Sustainability, Open Innovation, and Value Cocreation Paradigms—A Case in an Italian Maritime Cluster," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-28, March.
    14. Abiodun A. Ogundeji & Emmanuel Donkor & Charmaine Motsoari & Stephen Onakuse, 2018. "Impact of access to credit on farm income: policy implications for rural agricultural development in Lesotho," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(2), pages 152-166, April.
    15. Ted London & Stuart L Hart, 2004. "Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: beyond the transnational model," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 350-370, September.
    16. Van den waeyenberg, Sofie & Hens, Luc, 2012. "Overcoming institutional distance: Expansion to base-of-the-pyramid markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 1692-1699.
    17. Konstantinos Zografos & Konstantinos Androutsopoulos & Teemu Sihvola, 2008. "A methodological approach for developing and assessing business models for flexible transport systems," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(6), pages 777-795, November.
    18. JinHyo Joseph Yun & DongKyu Won & KyungBae Park, 2018. "Entrepreneurial cyclical dynamics of open innovation," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(5), pages 1151-1174, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simona Stojanova & Nina Cvar & Jurij Verhovnik & Nataša Božić & Jure Trilar & Andrej Kos & Emilija Stojmenova Duh, 2022. "Rural Digital Innovation Hubs as a Paradigm for Sustainable Business Models in Europe’s Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gupta, Suraksha & Kanungo, Rama Prasad, 2022. "Financial inclusion through digitalisation: Economic viability for the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) segment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 262-276.
    2. Rosca, Eugenia & Bendul, Julia C., 2019. "Value chain integration of base of the pyramid consumers: An empirical study of drivers and performance outcomes," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 162-176.
    3. Addisu A. Lashitew & Somendra Narayan & Eugenia Rosca & Lydia Bals, 2022. "Creating Social Value for the ‘Base of the Pyramid’: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 445-466, June.
    4. Sharmelly, Rifat & Ray, Pradeep Kanta, 2021. "Managing resource-constrained innovation in emerging markets: Perspectives from a business model," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Raja Usman Khalid & Stefan Seuring, 2019. "Analyzing Base-of-the-Pyramid Research from a (Sustainable) Supply Chain Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 663-686, March.
    6. Conti, Claudio Ramos & Parente, Ronaldo & de Vasconcelos, Flávio C., 2016. "When distance does not matter: Implications for Latin American multinationals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1980-1992.
    7. Ye Jin Lee & Kwangsoo Shin & Eungdo Kim, 2019. "The Influence of a Firm’s Capability and Dyadic Relationship of the Knowledge Base on Ambidextrous Innovation in Biopharmaceutical M&As," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-17, September.
    8. Krzysztof Dembek & Nagaraj Sivasubramaniam & Danielle A. Chmielewski, 2020. "A Systematic Review of the Bottom/Base of the Pyramid Literature: Cumulative Evidence and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 365-382, September.
    9. Dhir, Amandeep & Khan, Sher Jahan & Islam, Nazrul & Ractham, Peter & Meenakshi, N., 2023. "Drivers of sustainable business model innovations. An upper echelon theory perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    10. Larissa Rabbiosi & Stefano Elia & Fabio Bertoni, 2012. "Acquisitions by EMNCs in Developed Markets," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 193-212, April.
    11. Michael D. van der Merwe & Sara S. Grobbelaar & Cornelius S. L. Schutte & Konrad H. von Leipzig, 2018. "Toward an Enterprise Growth Framework for Entering the Base of the Pyramid Market: A Systematic Review," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(04), pages 1-34, August.
    12. Tan, Justin & Wang, Liang, 2010. "Flexibility-efficiency tradeoff and performance implications among Chinese SOEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 356-362, April.
    13. Cieslik, Katarzyna, 2016. "Moral Economy Meets Social Enterprise Community-Based Green Energy Project in Rural Burundi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 12-26.
    14. Michael Yao-Ping Peng & Ku-Ho Lin & Dennis Liute Peng & Peihua Chen, 2019. "Linking Organizational Ambidexterity and Performance: The Drivers of Sustainability in High-Tech Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-17, July.
    15. Namgung, Hyewon & Fujiwara, Akimasa & Yamamoto, Jenny & Zhang, Junyi, 2023. "Small and medium-sized taxi firm operators' stated choices of future business models: A case study in Japan based on hybrid choice model with panel effects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    16. Hwan Jin Kim, 2018. "Reconciling Entrepreneurial Orientation and Dynamic Capabilities: A Strategic Entrepreneurship Perspective," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 27(2), pages 180-208, September.
    17. Pinho, José Carlos & Prange, Christiane, 2016. "The effect of social networks and dynamic internationalization capabilities on international performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 391-403.
    18. Huang, Jing-Wen & Li, Yong-Hui, 2012. "Slack resources in team learning and project performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 381-388.
    19. Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Peprah, Augustine Awuah & Amartey, Abednego Okoe & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2020. "Institutional voids and firms' resource commitment in emerging markets: A review and future research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).
    20. Yunhui Zhao & Zhimin Wang & Taiwen Feng & Ting Kong & Qiansong Zhang, 2022. "Organizational unlearning and inclusive innovation: The moderating role of green control ambidexterity," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 539-555, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2018:i:1:p:118-:d:193345. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.