What is a business model?
Every company has a business model, whether they articulate it or not. At its heart, a business model performs two important functions: value creation and value capture. First, it defines a series of activities, from procuring raw materials to satisfying the final consumer, which will yield a new product or service in such a way that there is net value created throughout the various activities. This is crucial, because if there is no net creation of value, the other companies involved in the set of activities won’t participate. Second, a business model captures value from a portion of those activities for the firm developing and operating it. This is equally critical, for a company that cannot earn a profit from some portion of its activities cannot sustain those activities over time.
商業(yè)模式的定義
每個(gè)公司都有其商業(yè)模式，無論他們是否能清楚地表明。商業(yè)模式有兩個(gè)核心功能：價(jià)值創(chuàng)造和價(jià)值獲取。首先，它界定了一系列諸如從原材料采購到滿足終端顧客等關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)。這些關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)使得產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)產(chǎn)生同時(shí)包含著凈值。這至關(guān)重要，因?yàn)槿绻麤]有價(jià)值凈創(chuàng)造，其他相關(guān)公司是不會(huì)參與的。其次，公司開發(fā)并運(yùn)營商業(yè)模式，而商業(yè)模式則保證其從關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)中獲取部分價(jià)值。這也同樣重要，無法從價(jià)值創(chuàng)造的關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)獲取利潤的公司是不會(huì)持久的。
商業(yè)模式在價(jià)值創(chuàng)造和價(jià)值獲取兩方面可能是相互制約的。例如，如果替代品價(jià)值較低，高價(jià)值附加的技術(shù)能使公司輕易獲得利潤。但是很多情況下顧客并不愿意購買（鑒于價(jià)格、可獲性以及運(yùn)送和服務(wù)問題）。于是，推廣技術(shù)，以使其更具吸引力，卻使價(jià)值獲取反而更困難。所以，這對矛盾因素間需要平衡。
如何界定商業(yè)模式？“商業(yè)模式”一詞已司空見慣，卻很少有明確的定義。哈佛大學(xué)名譽(yù)教授理查德•S•羅森布魯姆（Richard S. Rosenbloom）和我做了一個(gè)明確有效的界定（見表1）。