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This study examines the development of a networked business model for emerging technology-based services. Few studies explore the development and use of business models, and research on networked business models is particularly scarce. With observation and interview data from a network pilot of technology-based services the study presents the concept of a networked business model as a dynamic device in planning an emerging business in a net of actors. The findings identify phases of business net evolution when business opportunities are identified, created, and potentially exploited and recognize the role of entrepreneurial actors in the development.

Emerging technologies present market opportunities (Srinivasan, 2008) and hence companies increasingly target R&D activity at identifying and exploiting such opportunities. However, translating research results into industrial innovation and commercially successful technology-based services is challenging (Lundgren, 1995). Despite the presence of market opportunities and novel business ideas, ventures may fail because of a flawed underlying model driving the business (Morris, Schindehutte, & Allen, 2005). A key challenge is to develop business models that create and shape markets for novel technology-based services as new business opportunities (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Business models allow entrepreneurs to explore the market and commercialize their innovations (Doganova & Eyquem-Renault, 2009) and hence, their design is critical (Morris et al., 2005 and Zott and Amit, 2010). Business model literature is largely limited to the firm level remaining somewhat simplified and static. Yet the development of technology and technology-based services require a diverse range of activities and resources from a network of actors, both commercial and non-commercial ones (e.g., Lundgren, 1995 and Möller and Svahn, 2009). Hence, business nets emerge with changed or completely new value activities (Möller, Rajala, & Svahn, 2005). A business model can provide a broader conceptualization of such value creation in a net (Nenonen & Storbacka, 2010). Doganova and Eyquem-Renault (2009) argue that the scholarly view on the use and operations of business models is flawed. Research focusing on the dynamics and processes of business model development (Johnson, Christensen, & Kagermann, 2008) and on the influence of the network on the business model and vice versa is limited (Mason & Spring, 2011). Accordingly, it is necessary to examine business models as dynamic devices creating and planning business in a net of actors. We use the term actor to refer to corporate level actors, both companies and non-commercial organizations. This study focuses on the development of a networked business model in the context of emerging technology-based services and aims to understand the dynamic nature of business models. The examination of the networked business model distinguishes this study from the majority that focus on a single actor, a focal firm. This study elaborates the role of business model in the business net evolution when business opportunities are identified, created, and potentially exploited by entrepreneurial actors — be they firms or individuals. The paper builds a framework for networked business model development of technology-based services in emerging markets. Theoretically, the paper builds on research on business models from the strategic business net perspective. Since the overall objective of a business model is to exploit an opportunity (Zott & Amit, 2010), the study also makes use of literature on entrepreneurial opportunities. Empirically, this longitudinal study utilizes retrospective and real-time data, and expectations of future outcomes. The qualitative observation and interview data originate in a research-based service development net. At the time, the technology-based services were being developed and tested but their future commercialization potential had not been established. The firms involved sought new and flexible ways to act, rather than relying on old decision models (see Halinen & Törnroos, 1995, 518). Thus, the future perspective is an essential element of this study. The researchers were members of the net, following the naturalistic inquiry design (Patton, 2002, 42) but did not make any attempts to manipulate the everyday realities of the organizations. The research merely provided tools to support the aim of the actors; the development of the networked business model. The paper continues with a discussion of business opportunities and business model literature, emphasizing the network perspective. Thereafter, a conceptual framework is developed, and the methodology of the study introduced. Finally, following the findings of the study, the theoretical and managerial implications and suggestions for future research conclude the paper.

6.1. Theoretical implications The paper proposes the concept of a networked business model as a device to be used in planning emerging business and creating markets. By drawing on the network perspective on business models and incorporating the notion of business opportunities, this study adds to knowledge of the development of networked business models in three central ways. First, by adopting a relational notion of time, the research furthers our understanding of networked business model development as a whole, combining a future perspective with the past and present, in the context of emerging technology-based services. The development of a networked business model can illuminate the creation of new businesses and markets by describing the development phases at different levels. Networked business model development comprises three main phases; service development, pilot, and market. During these, the networked business model evolves, instead of merely being the end result of the development. By taking a future perspective, we can better understand how current, firm-level business models constrain the opportunities actors perceive. The empirical study suggests the construction of a networked business model is underway by the service development phase, even if that ‘construction’ is then limited to the actors having a mental picture of it (Storbacka & Nenonen, 2011). Previous studies have examined the development of business models (Chesbrough, 2010, Osterwalder et al., 2005 and Teece, 2010) and their use (Doganova & Eyquem-Renault, 2009); whereas, this study incorporates the use of a networked business model in the development of the business net and business opportunities. According to the relational notion of time, the development phases are iterative and entangled, involving not only two business model levels (the firm and net levels), but also two dimensions of development (the business net and business opportunity development). Thus, the paper complements previous studies that have attempted to identify the phases of business model development (Kijl et al., 2005 and Morris et al., 2005). Second, the study extends the business model literature by adopting a strategic network perspective on the business model. It suggests that the networked business model is a dynamic device to be used in both planning and conducting future business. We have empirically examined the development of a networked business model from the point of view of a service development net. The research incorporates the networked nature of the phases and also the notion of business opportunities being part of the development of the business model. A networked business model can function as a device creating the service development net and supporting its evolution towards becoming a viable business net, whereas the business model itself is transformed through a series of encounters with the actors. This supports the findings of Doganova and Eyquem-Renault (2009). The study extends the traditional view of business models from a focal actor's perspective (e.g., Shafer et al., 2005) to the perspective of a net of actors. A networked business model marks the market offering (a technology-based service) as a central element of the business model, and examines the business model for the net of actors in commercializing the service and creating markets for that service. The concept shows how actors coordinate and combine activities to create value from emerging technology-based services. Thirdly, by stressing the role of business opportunity development, the study illustrates the importance of entrepreneurial activities among the actors in the net. Entrepreneurial actors identify and create the business opportunities and can act as facilitators of the business net. While prior entrepreneurial opportunity literature has emphasized the role of individuals in identifying and exploiting business opportunities (e.g., Shane & Venkataraman, 2000), this study shows that entrepreneurial activities can be dispersed around the organization and the net, lending support to the ideas of Garud and Karnøe (2003) on technology entrepreneurship, and the role of networks in opportunity development stressed by Chandra et al. (2012). While this study acknowledges that entrepreneurs are traditionally viewed as individuals, the study uses the term ‘entrepreneurial actor’ to emphasize the distributed nature of entrepreneurial agency (see Garud & Karnøe, 2003) across organizations and the net. 6.2. Managerial implications Developing business models is a challenging task for many companies, especially those in the field of technology and its applications. This study provides valuable, and very topical, information on the development of business models for technology-based services. Managers face making decisions about the future every day, and need tools to assist them. The findings of the current research can support managers' strategic business planning. When aiming to develop and commercialize novel technology-based services, managers may find it useful to note the phases of business model development. In addition, two areas in the development phases merit particular attention: business net development and business opportunity development. Managers embarking on research and testing activities should first analyze their firms' current business models. It is through their business models that companies interact with each other in the business net. Those business models can pinpoint the business opportunity and how it might be exploited. The business models of the actors involved in the development of new technology-based services influence the development of the networked business model, and vice versa. Next, managers should identify the actors that will contribute to an effective networked business model and structure the resources that will be necessary in the early phases of service development. The views of the different actors may be similar or differ greatly concerning the service development and related business opportunities, which is an aspect that merits special attention in developing the networked business model. Managers could outline the types of actors and resources required to develop the commercial services of technology, and specify how the resources and competencies might best be deployed to complement the net, even in the service development phase. Entrepreneurial actors may be essential in establishing the net and the business model itself. For managers of the focal, entrepreneurial company, it is important to recognize that the development of the service proceeds simultaneously with the development of the business opportunity, and both processes must be guided. Unless the business opportunity development progresses, even a highly sophisticated application may not reach the market. The study suggests that the business net may need new actors to fulfill new roles, and therefore the central actor needs to monitor the development and weave the net to attract new actors, and sever relationships that are no longer productive. A networked business model can be used as a device to identify and open up the business opportunity to new actors. 6.3. Limitations and future research As always, there are certain limitations to this study. Firstly, the networked business model development is examined in the specific context of emerging technology-based services owing to the networked nature of that particular business field. Single companies rarely master all necessary competencies, and such a business environment is also rather dynamic, featuring rapid changes and emerging business opportunities. Furthermore, the empirical setting of the current study is strongly connected to a research project and a real-life experiment conducted in the project. Hence, the results and conclusions mainly address the development of networked business models for services developed in a research or an R&D project. However, the findings of the study can be applicable in other emerging service business fields featuring new innovations and rapid change. Another limitation relates to the collection of the empirical data. Although the future time dimension is justified in this specific empirical setting and contributes to the future business planning, it also sets some limitations for studying the development of networked business models. The data collection did not follow the whole process of developing a specific business model, as part of the development was examined through future-oriented interviews. The future expectations and views expressed in the final phase are thus subjective interpretations of the managers representing the actors in the service development net. However, the interviewees were guaranteed anonymity to encourage them to express their views freely. In addition, throughout the study and the project, the researchers aimed to achieve empathetic neutrality (see Patton, 2002, 52-53), since they focused on studying the business model development, not developing it. The extent to which the findings of the current study may be generalized is limited by the nature of the qualitative research methods employed. The empirical case examined in the study provided unique data on novel technology-based services that required a new market. Accordingly, the aim was to create an understanding of a complex and dynamic phenomenon as a whole. Hence, the study did not target statistical but analytical generalizability (Yin, 2003) by developing theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. To enhance that analytical generalizability, the study applied the trustworthiness criteria suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985). Hence the credibility, the transformability, and the confirmability of the study were improved using the following techniques. The prolonged engagement enabled an in-depth understanding of the context; the researchers were involved in the research project from the start. Triangulation, in other words, multiple sources of data and collection methods (interviews, observation, and other archival data) were exploited. In addition, the researchers employed theories on not just business models but also business opportunities and strategic networks to understand the complex phenomenon. The research design and the data collection processes, and how they relate to past, present and future have been described thoroughly. All interview data were transcribed, and interview excerpts incorporated to show support for the analysis of the data. The limitations of the study offer several future research avenues to explore. Further empirical research on networked business model development is needed. Follow-up studies on the development of networked business models would provide additional insight into the constellation and changes in the net in different phases and specifically into the shift from the pilot to the market phase, which here represents the future perspective of the study. Related to the notion of time, incorporating dynamic aspects in future research on business models and networks is clearly needed. Further exploration of the actors' mental models and sense-making would deepen our understanding of how companies plan emerging business in networks. Looking more closely at the influence of current business models on identifying business opportunities could provide additional insights into the use of business models as schemas. In addition, further studies on the identification of business opportunities in the course of business model development would be beneficial. Empirical research on entrepreneurial activities at the level of the net could increase understanding of the emergence of business models. Finally, the study establishes that the role of the networked business model in creating new markets is important and merits further study.