The Business Model Concept and Information Systems Strategy: developing a heuristic tool for exploring knowledge-based SMEs

In the evolving information economy, a theoretical limitation in the analysis of information systems strategy (ISS) amongst small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) has been an overreliance on resource-based strategic management models of competitive advantage. This has hampered the development of information systems strategy theory and is problematic in at least two ways. Firstly, preliminary analysis of knowledge-based SMEs (KSMEs) in the Australian biotechnology industry highlight that resource-based models are inadequate to account for competitive advantage sourced by these firms through inter-firm relationships and industry-structures. Secondly, at the broadest level, recent research on competitive advantage has revealed problems with relying on any single framework to fully explain the range of sources of competitive advantage now being acquired by firms. This paper aims to make a contribution to ISS theory by presenting an integrated framework for analysing ISS amongst KSMEs in the Australian biotechnology industry. This framework is an adaption of Amit and Zott’s (2001) integrated business model concept for exploring sources of value creation. The adapted framework is presented as heuristic tool to be utilised in future research exploring the role of ISS amongst these KSMEs to source competitive advantage, at organisational, relational-based and industry structure levels.