More than a gut feeling: Ensuring your inter-organizational business model works

We present an approach, called BIZ2BIS (from Business Models to the Blueprint of the Information System), to help design, discuss, and evaluate inter-organizational business models without a central point of authority, and also derive high-level requirements for their underlying IS. Its iterative and incremental nature enables the identification of attractive value propositions for all participants, thus ensuring a resilient value network. We have used three case studies to craft the first draft of our approach, accounting for principles, ideas, and concepts from the business model field. We then used action research to refine it, while simultaneously assisting a consortia tasked with setting up an inter-organizational business model and supporting IS for a wine producing region. The varied viewpoints provided by BIZ2BIS and its systematic nature enable the analysts to cope with the complexity of modern networked business models and their IS implications in an integrated manner.