Breitfuß Gert, Berger Martin, Doerrzapf Linda
2019
The Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology created an initiative to fund the setup and operation of Living Labs to provide a vital innovation ecosystem for mobility and transport. Five Urban Mobility Labs (UML) located in four urban areas have been selected for funding (duration 4 years) and started operation in 2017. In order to cover the risk of a high dependency of public funding (which is mostly limited in time), the lab management teams face the challenge to develop a viable and future-proof UML Business Model. The overall research goal of this paper is to get empirical insights on how a UML Business Model evolves on a long-term perspective and which success factors play a role. To answer the research question, a method mix of desk research and qualitative methods have been selected. In order to get an insight into the UML Business Model, two circles of 10 semi-structured interviews (two responsible persons of each UML) are planned. The first circle of the interviews took place between July 2018 and January 2019. The second circle of interviews is planned for 2020. Between the two rounds of the survey, a Business Model workshop is planned to share and create ideas for future Business Model developments. Based on the gained research insights a comprehensive list of success factors and hands-on recommendations will be derived. This should help UML organizations in developing a viable Business Model in order to support sustainable innovations in transport and mobility.