The Meta-Business Model: A Systemic Framework for the Orchestration of Business Model Portfolios

Raphaël Maucuer () and Lionel Garreau ()
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Raphaël Maucuer: ESSCA - ESSCA – École supérieure des sciences commerciales d'Angers = ESSCA Business School
Lionel Garreau: DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres

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Abstract: Organizations increasingly operate multiple business models across business units, markets, or missions. Yet, existing research lacks a dynamic, systemic framework to explain how these models are orchestrated over time. This paper introduces the concept of a meta-business model -a strategic and ontological system that governs the articulation, transformation, and governance of business model portfolios. Drawing on an action research study involving three organizations, we identify three mechanisms of articulation -sharing, transferring, and transmuting -that reconfigure resources, competencies, organizational structures, and value components across business units. We further show how strategic governance decisions and managerial activation shape the evolution of business model systems. The meta-business model thus emerges not only as a coordination architecture but as a sensing and world-making device that enables strategic coherence and adaptability. Our findings contribute to research on business model innovation, dynamic capabilities, and portfolio strategy, and offer a dynamic framework for managers seeking to orchestrate synergies across diverse business models.

Keywords: Action research; System; Portfolio; Orchestration; Meta; Business model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05803277v1
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Published in Association Internationale de Management Stratégiue (AIMS), 2026, Saint-Étienne, France

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