New Business Models Through Collaborative Idea Generation

Generating novel and sustainable business model ideas is a crucial yet challenging innovation task. A growing body of literature shows that artefacts, such as visual templates, objects and sketches, can enhance team collaboration and creativity in innovation activities. Drawing on literature from diverse fields we propose a model that aims to explain how artefacts can affect the team processes in developing new business model ideas, positing that they have an impact on creativity and collaboration. We report the results of an illustrative experimental study comparing the team processes of managers working on a business model innovation task. Teams were supported by different types of artefacts (a business model template; physical objects with sketching; or PowerPoint). The results indicate that using the template significantly increases perceived collaboration and decreases perceived creativity, hence showing that artefacts can have the power to shape team work for innovation tasks.