Digitalisation of Start-Up Business Models

Abstract: Research Question: How is digitalisation impacting and developing start-ups' business models? Purpose: The study’s purpose is to examine how digitalisation affects entrepreneurship and how start-ups create and develop their business models in response to digital changes. Methodology: The study is a qualitative multiple case study and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The empirical data consist of citations obtained from interview transcripts. Theoretical Perspective: The theoretical framework for the study was focused on digital technologies, business models, digital transformation of business models, and a theoretical model. Result: The empirical material confirms previous research regarding digitalisation's impact on business models and how digital technologies and digital outsourcing are used to develop business models. Conclusion: Digitalisation brings both opportunities and challenges for start-ups and their development. External driving factors such as COVID-19 can strongly impact how digitalisation develops and, thus, companies' business models. The implications of the study incline that companies and researchers began to pay more attention to the implementation of digitalisation to improve the development of the different parts of the business model for effective adaptation and leverage.