How Founders’ Values Enable Business Model Innovation in New Ventures: The Case of Magnum Photos

This study explores why and how founders’ values lead them to design novel business models. To address these questions, we conducted a historical case study of Magnum Photos, a photo agency whose novel business model revolutionized magazine photography in the mid-20th century. Our abductive analysis reveals that personal values can be a principal driving force for business model innovation (BMI). Actors who believe that their personal values are difficult to reconcile with existing business models engage in BMI to retain control over activities that are perceived to be central to their values. Our findings highlight values as an important and hitherto under-studied antecedent of BMI and of entrepreneurial innovation and strategy more generally.