Identification of the Affecting Factors on Development of Business Model of Startups along with the Maturity Stages of a Startup

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Technology Management, Faculty of Management & Economics, Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Faculty Member, Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Management, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. Visiting Lecturer, Department of Technology Management, Faculty of Management & Economics, Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Faculty Member, Department of Technology & Entrepreneurship Management, Faculty of Management & Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

4 Faculty Member, Department of Technology Management, Faculty of Management & Economics, Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Entrepreneurs are the main forces of economic development, which in addition to creating jobs and wealth, they lead to technological innovations, and without them, making significant changes in economic systems is difficult. Previous researches identified that business maturity and its affecting factors are considered as one of the most important areas related to entrepreneurship. Thus, this research seeks to identify the factors affecting changes in the business model of a platform/digital startup and its development in accordance with organizational maturity, enabling startups to provide valuable products. In the present research, by studying 55 business models of the most successful startups in the world, using experts' panel, we achieved a significant relationship between effecting factors on development of business model and startup maturity steps described in Batra model. Using CFA method and data obtained from startup business activists, the achieved conceptual model was analyzed and determined that 33 factors in different stages of business development, from opportunity analysis to launch management, should be considered to design a suitable business model in four dimensions of customer identification, value proposition, value chain and profit mechanism to increase the probability of sustainable business success and overcome barriers to market entry.

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