A review and analysis of the business model innovation literature

How far has research into disruptive innovations in the field of sustainability come to date?

The term 'disruptive innovation' has been on everyone's lips for some years now, both in theory and in practice. This type of innovation is considered promising when it comes to the transition to sustainability. Based on a critical literature review comprising 121 academic articles, this study provides a systematic overview of the state of research on disruptive innovation for sustainability over 20 years. This overview makes it possible to determine whether and how an accumulation of knowledge has taken place in this area. The study reports on the selected theories, methods and definitions of the core concepts used. A thematic analysis was conducted that identified five broad themes, namely business models, people skills, supply chains, product/service development and transformations/transitions. In addition, the evolution of thematic areas over time is presented. The results indicate that there is a significant need for greater knowledge accumulation. This paper proposes concrete directions for future research to come closer to this goal.

Digital platforms' growth strategies and the rise of super apps

Super apps allow users to access messaging, payments, e-commerce, deliveries, ridesharing, and many other services within the same app. While there are some very successful and dominant super apps in Asia such as WeChat, KakaoTalk, Alipay, or Grab, others, including Elon Musk with X (Twitter), are aiming to establish super apps in the U.S. and Europe. This explanatory study analyzes the super app phenomenon from a firm-level perspective. It provides preliminary insights on how digital platforms are reaching the super app status, and are evolving from single-purpose to multi-purpose apps. Using data from 380 platforms in the mobility sector, a regression model is estimated to understand which platforms are capable of pursuing a super app strategy: young, agile, and risk-taking firms. I also discuss the case of Uber to illustrate the motivations and the various growth strategies that are incrementally paving the way to becoming a super app. Finally, testable propositions and a conceptual model are forwarded to stimulate future research on this timely topic.