Study of the Business model of a Moroccan technological startup through the lenses of Effectuation

Abstract

In her book "Effectuation, Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise", Saras Sarasvathy (1998) presents the logic of effectuation. This logic, according to the researcher, is the main decision mode used by the 27 entrepreneurial experts she studied in the framework of a Think Aloud protocol to understand their paths to success. The objective of this article is to study the relationship between the decision logic of effectuation and the business model. In order to do so, we conducted a qualitative analysis using an interpretativist epistemological posture based on a single case study of a young technological company installed in the Marrakesh Safi region. Within the framework of this analysis, we conducted a serie of semi-structured interviews with the founder of the company and each member the management team. Through a vertical and horizontal manual analysis of the interviews, we tried to understand the role of effectuation in the creation and development of the business model of this young company. The results obtained confirm our initial postulate that there is a relationship between the use of effectual logic and the development of a successful business model. We understand that the founder based himself on the effectual logic from the beginning of the creation of his company and led all his decisions by being an actor who can influence and change the market. The management team confirms that all actions taken have contributed to a continuous change of the initial value proposition and an adaptation based on the inputs of the company's self-selected stakeholders.