The Human Side of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Business Model Innovation
Strategy professionals use GenAI for business model innovation through 'reflexive augmentation' shaped by tensions around trust, skills, value-add and client disclosure.
Summary
Two-stage qualitative study at one multinational consulting firm: 38 interviews, then 49 strategy consultants tracked through 8-week diaries, interviews and focus groups. It identifies 20 GenAI use cases in business model innovation, concentrated in backstage work such as industry analysis and data synthesis rather than high-stakes client-facing strategy. Four tensions shape what gets handed to the AI: uncertainty about one's own prompting skill, the value of human expertise, trust in outputs, and whether to disclose AI use on high-value deliverables. The authors call the resulting behaviour 'reflexive augmentation': deliberately weighing each task against client expectations, professional identity and ethics.
Editor's opinion
Even at a consulting firm, GenAI has taken over the backstage work of strategy (research, synthesis, first drafts) while visible, client-facing judgment stays human. Strategy teams should decide explicitly which tasks get automated and which get augmented, and set a clear rule on when to disclose AI use, since that is where the professionals hesitated most.
Key concepts
generative AI · business model innovation · reflexive augmentation · strategy consultants