Can stimuli improve business model idea generation? Developing software-based tools for business model innovation

A business model describes the mechanisms whereby a firm creates, delivers, and captures value. Following the steadily growing interest in business model innovation, software tools have shown great potential in supporting business model development and innovation. Yet, understanding the cognitive processes involved in the generation of business model ideas is an aspect of software design-knowledge that has so far been neglected. To investigate whether providing stimuli – in this case, brainstorming questions – can enhance individual creativity in this context, we conduct an exploratory experiment with over 100 participants. Our study is the first to systematically investigate the process of idea generation using a software-based business model development tool with stimuli. Our preliminary findings have the potential to support the future development of business model development tools and to refine the research design used to evaluate such tools.