Digital business models

Learning about digital business models has completely shifted how I think about launching and sustaining a venture in the digital age. Before this course, I thought a business model was just about making money. Now I understand it's a comprehensive system that explains how a company creates, delivers, and captures value — and how digital technology can transform each part of that system (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010; DaSilva and Trkman, 2014).

One major insight for me was the idea that digital technologies don’t just support business models — they actively shape them. For instance, models like subscription services (e.g. Spotify or Netflix) or platforms like Airbnb wouldn’t even exist without the tech infrastructure behind them. These models use data, automation, and connectivity to deliver continuous value, which wasn’t possible in traditional frameworks (Rachinger et al., 2018).

In class, we explored how digital tools can disrupt or even terminate existing models while enabling entirely new ones. The Uber model, for example, completely overturned the traditional taxi business by leveraging mobile platforms and GPS data. As Cöster et al. (2023) note, this kind of innovation often emerges from identifying inefficiencies and redesigning how value is delivered digitally.

Reflecting on this, I see digital business models as living systems — adaptable, scalable, and inherently shaped by emerging technologies. This has deepened my understanding of strategy in a tech-driven world and made me think more critically about how I might build a venture that thrives through business model innovation.