Table 1. Four pillars of a business... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

Four pillars of a business model

Pillars	Building blocks	Content
Product	Value proposition	How products and services, as well as complementary value-added services, differentiate a company from its competitors? Why a company’s value proposition could be valuable to customers? At which stage of the value lifecycle a value proposition creates value?
Customer interface	Target customers	How a company identifies its customers? Which segmentation strategy a company adopts to identify its customers?
	Distribution channel	How advertising, promotions, public relations partnerships and other initiatives are used to maximize the number of customers? Support services involved in the evaluation process and the transactions or after-sales assistance that are aimed at increasing value for customers?
	Relationship	Initiatives aimed at attracting and acquiring new customers Mechanisms to extend the duration of the relationship between a company and its customers Every action aimed at selling additional products and services to current customers
Infrastructure management	Resource and capability	How certain inputs and abilities underpin a company’s creation process?
	Value configuration	How certain activities drive a company’s value-creation process?
	Partnership	How various arrangements with one or more entities can create value for the company or customers?
Financial aspects	Revenue model	How the value proposition affects revenue streams? How pricing mechanisms are defined? How a company’s value proposition translates into financial performance?
Financial aspects	Cost structure	How significant costs are managed to reduce their impact on company performance?

Pillars	Building blocks	Content
Product	Value proposition	How products and services, as well as complementary value-added services, differentiate a company from its competitors?Why a company’s value proposition could be valuable to customers?At which stage of the value lifecycle a value proposition creates value?
Customer interface	Target customers	How a company identifies its customers?Which segmentation strategy a company adopts to identify its customers?
	Distribution channel	How advertising, promotions, public relations partnerships and other initiatives are used to maximize the number of customers?Support services involved in the evaluation process and the transactions or after-sales assistance that are aimed at increasing value for customers?
	Relationship	Initiatives aimed at attracting and acquiring new customersMechanisms to extend the duration of the relationship between a company and its customersEvery action aimed at selling additional products and services to current customers
Infrastructure management	Resource and capability	How certain inputs and abilities underpin a company’s creation process?
	Value configuration	How certain activities drive a company’s value-creation process?
	Partnership	How various arrangements with one or more entities can create value for the company or customers?
Financial aspects	Revenue model	How the value proposition affects revenue streams?How pricing mechanisms are defined?How a company’s value proposition translates into financial performance?
Financial aspects	Cost structure	How significant costs are managed to reduce their impact on company performance?

Source(s): Authors’ elaboration on Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010)