Tangible business model sketches to support participatory innovation

This paper introduces the notion of “tangible business model sketches” – interactive sculpture-like mechanisms – to stimulate discussions concerning how businesses create and capture value. We outline the need for opening up discussions around innovation that these models address and their proposed utility for designers. We present three examples that model aspects of lighting design, audiology and internet businesses. Responses from industrial partners suggest that unforeseen interactions and unpredictable feedback are important qualities for tangible business models to achieve the aim of expanding business discussions among non-specialists like designers.