28. Business Model Patterns: A Systematic Literature Review

Recent studies have shown that the application of business model patterns facilitates business model innovation. However, the literature is still quite fragmented, and there is no commonly accepted approach to characterize business models based on patterns. To fill this gap, this paper conducts a systematic literature review, aiming to address three research questions: (1) How are BM patterns defined and operationalized? (2) What are the application domains in which BM patterns are explored? and (3) What methodological approaches are followed in defining BM patterns? The results of the review show that there is a lack of clarity between the concepts of business model archetypes and business model patterns. Furthermore, few studies address business model patterns from a generic point of view; there is a lack of integrative approaches that include business model patterns based on different domains; and some overlap of patterns from one study to another has also been identified. Finally, in terms of methodological approach, the use of morphological analysis and the BM pattern generation methodology suggested by (Amshoff et al. in Int J Innov Manag 19:1540002, 2015) is recommended for the analysis and identification of business model patterns.