A Method for the Viability Analysis of Value Capture in Collaborative Business Models through System Dynamics

As stakeholder collaboration and sustainability objectives become increasingly important, collaborative business models (CBMs) emerge as crucial approaches for organizations aiming to integrate resources and capabilities to achieve shared goals. Existing business model viability evaluation methods are typically static, firm-centric, and qualitative in nature. This limits the insights they offer into the dynamic interdependencies, interactions and value exchanges between actors in CBMs. To bridge this gap, this research develops a structured method guiding the translation of CBM value capture into System Dynamics models, thereby facilitating their systematic and dynamic viability analysis. The method is developed by following the Design Science Research approach and facilitates the identification and quantification of value exchanges, the construction of causal loop diagrams, and the formulation of dynamic relationships to be simulated in a System Dynamics model. Empirical evaluation indicated the method’s usefulness and validity for practitioners and researchers seeking to assess the viability of collaborative business models. As such, this work contributes to the advancement of dynamic business model analysis and offers a practical tool for multi-actor business model viability analysis.