IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i21p7457-d1274978.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business Model Innovation for Digitalization in the Swedish District Heating Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Jon Williamsson

    (Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 100, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden)

Abstract

Despite decades of research and development, digitalization remains a key challenge for the Swedish district heating sector. Business model innovation is believed to be necessary to capitalize on digitalization, yet it is especially challenging for municipal companies. This study aims to identify the potential impact of digitalization on the business models of Swedish district heating companies and to analyze the barriers that exist for digital business model innovation. Through case studies of eight municipal district heating companies, this study demonstrates how the entire business model is potentially impacted by digitalization. This study also identifies the barriers to digital business model innovation that are linked to two conflicting views (restrictive versus comprehensive) on digitalization. The restrictive view diminishes the importance of business model innovation, outsourcing innovation to minimize both costs and risks for the company. In contrast, the comprehensive view embraces digital business model innovation through trial-and-error and opens the innovation process to stakeholder influence. These two perspectives are motivated by different beliefs about the need for digitalization to secure future business opportunities, as well as differences in owners’ risk appetite. The implications for industry outlooks and the design of policy support for the digitalization of district heating are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jon Williamsson, 2023. "Business Model Innovation for Digitalization in the Swedish District Heating Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-10, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:21:p:7457-:d:1274978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/21/7457/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/21/7457/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Henry Chesbrough & Richard S. Rosenbloom, 2002. "The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation's technology spin-off companies," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 529-555, June.
    2. Paiola, Marco & Schiavone, Francesco & Grandinetti, Roberto & Chen, Junsong, 2021. "Digital servitization and sustainability through networking: Some evidences from IoT-based business models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 507-516.
    3. Kensby, Johan & Trüschel, Anders & Dalenbäck, Jan-Olof, 2015. "Potential of residential buildings as thermal energy storage in district heating systems – Results from a pilot test," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 773-781.
    4. Bolton, Ronan & Hannon, Matthew, 2016. "Governing sustainability transitions through business model innovation: Towards a systems understanding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1731-1742.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ancillai, Chiara & Sabatini, Andrea & Gatti, Marco & Perna, Andrea, 2023. "Digital technology and business model innovation: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Bencsik, Barbara & Palmié, Maximilian & Parida, Vinit & Wincent, Joakim & Gassmann, Oliver, 2023. "Business models for digital sustainability: Framework, microfoundations of value capture, and empirical evidence from 130 smart city services," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    3. Engwall, Mats & Kaulio, Matti & Karakaya, Emrah & Miterev, Maxim & Berlin, Daniel, 2021. "Experimental networks for business model innovation: A way for incumbents to navigate sustainability transitions?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    4. Yuliya Snihur & Christoph Zott & Raphael (Raffi) Amit, 2021. "Managing the Value Appropriation Dilemma in Business Model Innovation," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 22-38, March.
    5. von Delft, Stephan & Zhao, Yang, 2021. "Business models in process industries: Emerging trends and future research," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    6. Jan Brzóska & Lilla Knop & Monika Odlanicka-Poczobutt & Dagmara K. Zuzek, 2022. "Antecedents of Creating Business Models in the Field of Renewable Energy Based on the Concept of the New Age of Innovation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-25, July.
    7. Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Raimund Bleischwitz, 2020. "Business models for environmental sustainability: Contemporary shortcomings and some perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3352-3369, December.
    8. Holzmann, Patrick & Breitenecker, Robert J. & Schwarz, Erich J. & Gregori, Patrick, 2020. "Business model design for novel technologies in nascent industries: An investigation of 3D printing service providers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    9. Luo, Xingwu & Cao, Dongmei & Tjahjono, Benny & Adegbile, Abiodun, 2022. "Business model innovation themes of emerging market enterprises: Evidence in China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1619-1630.
    10. Florian Lüdeke‐Freund, 2020. "Sustainable entrepreneurship, innovation, and business models: Integrative framework and propositions for future research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 665-681, February.
    11. Michael Hamwi & Iban Lizarralde, 2019. "Demand-side management and renewable energy business models for energy transition A systematic review," Post-Print hal-02448505, HAL.
    12. Agarwal, Renu & Mittal, Neeraj & Patterson, Eric & Giorcelli, Michela, 2021. "Evolution of the Indian LPG industry: Exploring conditions for public sector business model innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    13. Stephanie Lang & Giulia Minnucci & Matthias Mueller & Michael P. Schlaile, 2023. "The Role of Consumers in Business Model Innovations for a Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-19, June.
    14. Michael Hamwi & Iban Lizarralde, 2018. "Energy entrepreneurship business models innovation: insights from European emerging firms," Post-Print hal-01961930, HAL.
    15. Junghee Han & Almas Heshmati & Masoomeh Rashidghalam, 2020. "Circular Economy Business Models with a Focus on Servitization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, October.
    16. Mingfeng Tang & Grace Sheila Walsh & Cuiwen Li & Angathevar Baskaran, 2021. "Exploring technology business incubators and their business incubation models: case studies from China," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 90-116, February.
    17. Livio Cricelli & Michele Grimaldi & Silvia Vermicelli, 2022. "Crowdsourcing and open innovation: a systematic literature review, an integrated framework and a research agenda," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1269-1310, July.
    18. Cinzia Battistella & Gianluca Murgia & Fabio Nonino, 2021. "Free-driven web-based business models," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 445-486, June.
    19. Gerrit Remane & Andre Hanelt & Jan F. Tesch & Lutz M. Kolbe, 2017. "The Business Model Pattern Database — A Tool For Systematic Business Model Innovation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(01), pages 1-61, January.
    20. Hao, Ran & Lu, Tianguang & Ai, Qian & Wang, Zhe & Wang, Xiaolong, 2020. "Distributed online learning and dynamic robust standby dispatch for networked microgrids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).

    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:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:21:p:7457-:d:1274978. 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.