Leveraging business model innovation in the international space industry

This chapter provides insights on the dynamics of the space industry, which, despite its remarkable potential, tends to remain an under-studied sector within the field of business studies. By drawing on our existing work on the space industry, this chapter investigates the leveraging of innovative business models in the industry utilizing three case studies. The findings demonstrate that all three companies (Virgin Galactic, Mars One, and Unilever with the Axe/Lynx Apollo campaign) have extensively relied on business model innovation by leveraging specific design elements: content, structure, and governance. The findings highlight that business model innovation is an imperative to operate successfully in the space industry. Furthermore, a wide variety of private actors appear to be particularly resourceful in adopting novel business models that address the involvement of non-space actors and rely on non-space revenues.