Business model innovation, strategic information and the role of analyst firms

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of analysts in providing information to support business model innovation. Design/methodology/approach – This article is based on initial research by two of the co-authors on business models (Sttott et all. 2016), to which is added the experience of members of the team in working in strategic analyst firms or in working closely with clients of business analyst firms and further secondary data. Findings - The findings of this paper show that analysts could do more to help their clients capture the opportunities and meet the threats of business model innovation, but this may require business leaders and analyst firms to think differently about their mutual relationship, particularly the briefs that clients provide analysts and how analysts aggregate information to provide a clearer picture of business model choices and their likely consequences. Research limitations/implication - Needs confirmation of views by primary empirical research. Practical implications - Identifies the need for firms to brief their analysts to provide much enhanced information concerning business model opportunities and threats. Originality/value - Highlights the gap in the discussion of information provision to business leaders concerning business model innovation requirements and threats.