When regulatory changes become a driver for business model innovation: An illustrative case in an Italian airport

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of how an airport’s business model (BM) has been innovated. In particular, it considers a BM innovation owing to an exogenous driver, i.e. a change in the legislative environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an in-depth case study. It analyses the case of an Italian regional airport that has been renewed by changes in the National Plan of Transport.

Findings

The paper extends previous research on BM and air transport industry in two ways. First, the authors contribute to Gillen’s (2011) framework, via introducing a new kind of ownership/governance structure, that of long-term concession, characterized by the concession of the comprehensive management to a private company for 30 years. Second, the authors look at how a BM has been implemented and used as a manipulating device over the two phases of the airport development, namely, incubation and generation.

Originality/value

The paper provides an in-depth case study on an airport BM innovation.

Citation

Berti, C. and Casprini, E. (2018), "When regulatory changes become a driver for business model innovation: An illustrative case in an Italian airport", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 63-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-01-2017-1118