The evolution of facility management business models in supplier-client relationships

CITATION

Nardelli, G., & Rajala, R. (2018). The evolution of facility management business models in supplier-client relationships. Journal of Facilities Management, 16(1), 38–53.

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ABSTRACT
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve the current understanding of business model innovation
by outlining how business models unfold over time within supplier–client relationships in facilities
management (FM) services.
Design/methodology/approach – This study of FM services in Denmark consists of an explorative
case study and three case studies of FM clients. Both phases, related and overlapping, involved collection and
analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews and archive data.
Findings – Findings show that business model innovation entails interorganisational collaboration across
different phases of the innovation process. The research demonstrates that external orientation within FM
service ecosystems involves both a reaction to changes in the external environment and the proactive
involvement of stakeholders throughout business model innovation.
Research limitations/implications – The selection of business model innovation processes was
limited to the Danish context. The sample, although heterogeneous and representative, represented only a
fraction of the total population, which may have excluded processes of business model innovation that
contradict the research.
Practical implications – This paper suggests that by observing the business models of the value
network over time, organisations could learn from the interdependencies between intra- and
interorganisational stakeholders, thereby supporting the monitoring of risks and uncertainties as well as the
anticipation of potential consequences of changes in the ecosystem.
Originality/value – This paper introduces new thinking on the subject of business model innovation to
the context of FM. It presents the external orientation of FM business models as a way to combine planned
and emergent business model innovation through interorganisational collaboration and value creation in FM
ecosystems


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