Unlocking how start-ups create business value with mobile applications: Development of an App-enabled Business Innovation Cycle

•Multiple-case study into how start-ups create business value with mobile apps•Develops the App-enabled Business Innovation Cycle (ABIC) based on the NEBIC (Wheeler, 2002)•Matches twelve routines to four dynamic capabilities for creating business value using apps,•Explains the interactions between these four dynamic capabilities•Distills eleven types of app-enabled business value indicators from four business value dimensions

Little is known about the business value that mobile applications (apps) can create, and how start-ups can leverage this value. We present a multiple-case study to both explain the process of app-enabled value creation and the type of value outcomes associated with the use of apps for business purposes. The study develops an App-enabled Business Innovation Cycle model that includes 1) twelve routines matched to four dynamic capabilities for creating business value using apps, 2) an explanation of the interactions between these capabilities, and 3) eleven types of app-enabled business value. Based on the developed model we give directions for future research and practice.

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