Business model innovation and competitive imitation

When and why should an entrant adopt a new business model when the innovation could be imitated by an incumbent? In this paper, HBS professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and University of Southern California professor Feng Zhu examine the desirability, or lack thereof, of business model innovations when they cannot be protected, opening the door to competitive imitation. Issues of competing through new business model design become more important given the increasing number of opportunities for business model configurations enabled by technological progress, new customer preferences, and deregulation. (article) Ramon Casadesus-Masanell "Business model innovation and competitive imitation," July 22, 2010

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6385.html