In this paper we review the literature on the business
model concept. We distinguish between the various
business model frameworks according to whether they
concern generic descriptions of the business or whether
they are more specific in their descriptions. The
empirical part of the paper is a case study of financial
analysts’ perceptions of the term business model and how
they describe a specific firm’s strategy in relation to
the business model frameworks. The analysis indicates
that the particularities of strategy and competitive
strengths mobilized by the analysts in their
understanding of the case company can be seen as
elements of a business model. It is concluded which
business model typologies are most similar to the
analysts’ understanding and how these incorporate
elements of both a narrow and a broad comprehension of
the concept. pdf 2008
