Value Distribution through Business Models: A Discussion based on the Largest Brazilian Company in the Low-income Construction Industry

Abstract

Business models (BMs) are expressions of how companies are organised to generate value for themselves and for their stakeholders. The literature indicates a lack of evidence that might characterise the relationship between the BM and the capacity for creating and distributing value to stakeholders. The study reported here discusses this relationship in a large-size organisation that operates in the low-income civil construction segment, which is a particularly important segment, considering the current economic context in Brazil and the housing deficit the country faces. The empirical research followed the single-case qualitative method. Content analysis of data derived from in-depth interviews and of categorised secondary data was conducted using the NVivo software application. Results indicate that the BM analysed includes frequent practices of value distribution to stakeholders. This study contributes, from a theoretical perspective, to the understanding of distributed value in a way that goes beyond value creation and captures analyses usually identified in the literature on BMs. In practice, the research highlights the relevance of value distribution by means of practices guided by the existing BM.