Metamodeling for Business Model Design : Facilitating development and communication of Business Model Canvas (BMC) models with an OMG standards-based metamodel.

Abstract: Interest for business models and business modeling has increased rapidly since the mid-1990‘s and there are numerous approaches used to create business models. The business model concept has many definitions which can lead to confusion and slower progress in the research and development of business models. A business model ontology (BMO) was created in 2004 where the business model concept was conceptualized based on an analysis of existing literature. A few years later the Business Model Canvas (BMC) was published; a popular business modeling approach providing a high-level, semi-formal approach to create and communicate business models. While this approach is easy to use, the informality and high-level approach can cause ambiguity and it has limited computer-aided support available. In order to propose a solution to address this problem and facilitate the development and communication of Business Model Canvas models, two artifacts are created, demonstrated and evaluated; a structured metamodel for the Business Model Canvas and its implementation in an OMG standards-based modeling tool to provide tool support for BMC modeling.This research is carried out following the design science approach where the artifacts are created to better understand and improve the identified problem. The problem and its background are explicated and the planned artifacts and requirements are outlined. The design and development of the artifacts are detailed and the resulting BMC metamodel is presented as a class diagram in Unified Modeling Language (UML) and implemented to provide tool support for BMC modeling. A demonstration with a business model and an evaluation is performed with expert interviews and informed arguments.The creation of a BMC metamodel exposed some ambiguity in the definition and use of the Business Model Canvas and the importance of graphical presentation and flexibility in the tools used.The evaluation of the resulting artifacts suggests that the artifacts do facilitate the development and communication of the Business Model Canvas models by improving the encapsulation and communication of information in a standardized way and thereby the goals of the research are met.