Crafting Business Architecture: the Antecedents of Business Model Design

Drawing on the broad design literature we derive four antecedents of business model design, including Goals, Templates, Stakeholder Activities, and Environmental Constraints. These design drivers, which are agnostic to the exact definition of a business model, are illustrated using comprehensive interview data with nine new ventures in the P2P lending space. We proceed with the theoretical development to link design drivers to the value drivers of business models, and conclude with implications for entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.