CUSTOMER-CENTRIC BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION: A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE FROM ROMANIAN SMES

Cristina Terezia DREȘAN, Raul Ionuț RITI, Andra Emanuela PLEȘA CHIOREAN, Laura BACALI

Abstract


The rapid spread of digital technologies and the constantly shifting needs of consumers are changing daily life and considerably impacting how businesses function and innovate. Small and medium-sized companies must therefore continually alter both their business models and their offerings. This study explores how Romanian SMEs use marketing strategy orientation and customer insights to drive business model innovation. To gather data, a structured questionnaire was distributed to SMEs across various industries. Findings suggest that, in contrast to popular belief, business model innovation cannot be directly predicted by marketing strategy orientation or customer insights alone. Instead, complex, nonlinear relationships emerge, influenced by possibly other organization and environmental factors. The study highlights the limited strategic integration of customer insights and underdeveloped marketing capabilities as barriers to practical business model innovation in the surveyed SMEs. These results contribute to theory by challenging linear norms in mainstream business innovation models and supporting a more context-sensitive approach tailored to different business contexts. The study also provides sound practical advice for SME managers and policymakers by emphasizing the necessity of enhancing marketing capabilities and customer insight systems as key facilitators of successful business model transformation.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Akbar, M. A. (2024). Customer-Centric Strategies: Navigating the Dynamics of Marketing Management for Competitive Advantage. Advances in Business & Industrial Marketing Research, 2, 96–109.

Albats, E., Podmetina, D., & Vanhaverbeke, W. (2021). Open innovation in SMEs: A process view towards business model innovation. Journal of Small Business Management.

Bouwman, H., Nikou, S., & de Reuver, M. (2019). Digitalization, business models, and SMEs: How do business model innovation practices improve performance of digitalizing SMEs? Telecommunications Policy, 43.

Bujang, M. A., Omar, E. D., & Baharum, N. A. (2018). A review on sample size determination for Cronbach's alpha test: A simple guide for researchers. Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 25, 85–99.

Chang, H. (2022). Research on innovation of enterprise marketing model based on "Internet +."

Academic Journal of Business & Management, 4.

Chang, H. H. S., Knight, G., & Fong, C. M. (2024). Marketing Capabilities, Strategy, and Performance in International Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Journal of International Marketing, 32, 21–37.

Dash, M. K., Sahu, M. K., Bhattacharyya, J., & Sakshi, S. (2023). Customer-Centricity: The Quest for Customer Focus. In Customer-Centricity in Organized Retailing (pp. 9–23). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.

Einhorn, M., & Löffler, M. (2021). Transformation of Customer Insights. In The Machine Age of Customer Insight (pp. 5–18). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Fang, T. M., Ahmad, N. H., Halim, H. A., Iqbal, Q., & Ramayah, T. (2024). Pathway towards SME competitiveness: Digital capability and digital business model innovation. Technology in Society, 79, 102728.

Fathiya Putri Zahra, & Suharto, Y. (2024). Innovative Business Models for Design Service Providers: Enhancing MSME Digital Transformation. Journal Integration of Management Studies, 2, 205–210.

Foss, N. J., Schmidt, J., & Teece, D. J. (2023). Ecosystem leadership as a dynamic capability. Long Range Planning, 56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2022.102270

Geissdoerfer, M., Vladimirova, D., Fossen, K. Van, & Evans, S. (2018). Product, service, and business model innovation: A discussion. Procedia Manufacturing, 21, 165–172. Elsevier B.V.

Hughes, J., Chapnick, D., Block, I., & Ray, S. (2023). What is Customer-Centricity, and Why Does It Matter? California Management Review, 8–26.

Ibarra, D., Bigdeli, A. Z., Igartua, J. I., & Ganzarain, J. (2020). Business model innovation in established SMEs: A configurational approach. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6.

Kafetzopoulos, D., Samara, E. T., & Theodorakioglou, Y. (2024). Multiple organizational capabilities for effective business model innovation and increased performance. European Journal of Innovation Management, 27, 2925–2943.

Kalinin, A. (2023). Using the Principle of Customer-Centricity in Public Administration: Agenda for Implementation. Public Administration Issues, 7–25.

Keiningham, T., Aksoy, L., Bruce, H. L., Cadet, F., Clennell, N., Hodgkinson, I. R., & Kearney, T. (2020). Customer experience driven business model innovation. Journal of Business Research, 116, 431–440.

Kergroach, S. (2021). SMEs Going Digital: Policy challenged and recommendations. In OECD Publishing. Paris.

Kim, S., Bowen, M., & Wen, X. (Hannah). (2019). The ultimate co-creation: leveraging customer input in business model innovation. AMS Review, 9, 339–356.

Klimanov, D., & Tretyak, O. (2018). Linking Business Model and Marketing Research for Successful Business Model Innovation. Global Fashion Management Conference, 2018, 930–934.

Korayim, D., Shaik, A. S., Agarwal, R., Nijjer, S., & Sasso, P. (2025). Entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable business model innovation through technology transfer. A study of SMEs leadership in knowledge-based economies. Journal of Knowledge Management, 29, 789–813.

Marolt, M., Lenart, G., Maletič, D., Borštnar, M. K., & Pucihar, A. (2016). Business model innovation: Insights from a multiple case study of Slovenian SMEs. Organizacija, 49, 161–171.

Massiera, P. (2024). How do adaptive market experimentation, open marketing and strategic flexibility contribute to small firms' business model innovation in the context of a crisis? Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 31, 1302–1326.

Matosas-López, L. (2024). The importance of customer relationship management systems to business management and marketing strategies. In The Impact of Digitalization on Current Marketing Strategies (pp. 131–145). Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.

Merín-Rodrigáñez, J., Dasí, À., & Alegre, J. (2024). Digital transformation and firm performance in innovative SMEs: The mediating role of business model innovation. Technovation, 134.

Miller, K., McAdam, M., Spieth, P., & Brady, M. (2021, July 1). Business models big and small: Review of conceptualisations and constructs and future directions for SME business model research. Journal of Business Research, Vol. 131, pp. 619–626. Elsevier Inc.

Morton, F., Benavides, T. T., & González-Treviño, E. (2024a). Taking Customer-Centricity to New Heights: Exploring the Intersection of AI, Hyper-Personalization, and Customer-Centricity in Organizations. 23–41.

Morton, F., Benavides, T. T., & González-Treviño, E. (2024b). Taking Customer-Centricity to New Heights: Exploring the Intersection of AI, Hyper-Personalization, and Customer-Centricity in Organizations. In Management and Industrial Engineering (pp. 23–41). Springer, Cham.

Mulyana, M., & Azka, M. (2022). Market Sensing Capability and Customer Relationship Management on Marketing Performance: Role E-Marketing Strategy. Jurnal Manajemen Indonesia, 22, 279–288.

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Pardo-Jaramillo, S., Gómez, M. I., Muñoz-Villamizar, A., Lleo-de-Nalda, Á., & Osuna Soto, I. (2025). Towards sustainable organizations through purpose-driven and customer-centric strategies. In AMS Review.

Pati, R. K., Nandakumar, M. K., Ghobadian, A., Ireland, R. D., & O'Regan, N. (2018). Business model design–performance relationship under external and internal contingencies: Evidence from SMEs in an emerging economy. Long Range Planning, 51, 750–769.

Pucihar, A., Lenart, G., Borštnar, M. K., Vidmar, D., & Marolt, M. (2019). Drivers and outcomes of business model innovation-micro, small and medium-sized enterprises perspective. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11.

Rabetino, R., Kohtamäki, M., Foss, N. J., Rahman, N., & Huikkola, T. (2025). Microfoundations for business model innovation: Exploring the interplay between individuals, practices, and organizational design. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 42, 704–736.

Robertson, T. S. (2017). Business model innovation: a marketing ecosystem view. AMS Review, 7, 90–100.

Roni, S. M., & Djajadikerta, H. G. (2021). Data Analysis with SPSS for Survey-based Research. In Data Analysis with SPSS for Survey-based Research. Springer Singapore.

Saebi, T., Lien, L., & Foss, N. J. (2017). What Drives Business Model Adaptation? The Impact of Opportunities, Threats and Strategic Orientation. Long Range Planning, 50, 567–581.

Sjödin, D., Parida, V., Palmié, M., & Wincent, J. (2021). How AI capabilities enable business model innovation: Scaling AI through co-evolutionary processes and feedback loops. Journal of Business Research, 134, 574–587.

Stahl, L., Magnoni, B., & Coetzee, G. (2017). The Business Case for Customer Centricity. Cgap, 40, 4.

Tahiri, S. (2022). Business Model Innovation through customer co-creation – a literature overview.

International Journal of Applied Research in Management and Economics, 5, 61–73.

Teece, D. J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long Range Planning, 43, 172–194.

Tuominen, S., Reijonen, H., Nagy, G., Buratti, A., & Laukkanen, T. (2023). Customer-centric strategy driving innovativeness and business growth in international markets. International Marketing Review, 40, 479–496.

Urbany, J. E., & Dapena-Baron, M. (2024). The pursuit of customer centricity. AMS Review, 14, 298–307.

van Tonder, C., Hasanefendic, S., Bossink, B., Schachtebeck, C., & Nieuwenhuizen, C. (2023). Internal organizational factors driving digital transformation for business model innovation in SMEs. Journal of Business Models, 11, 86–109.

Visser, M. (2024). Digital transformation, strategy and business models. In Digital Marketing Fundamentals (pp. 30–72). Routledge.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


JOURNAL INDEXED IN :