Résumé
Despite the rich literature addressing entrepreneurial business models and processes, the sources of entrepreneurial value creation are still under debate. Recent studies focus on the value creation processes applied by technology entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, and transformational entrepreneurs; however, the business models behind some of these conceptual labels are rather simplistic and confusing. To provide a clear analysis and classification of the sources of entrepreneurial value creation, this study starts with a presentation of the value-related processes, which define modern business models. Using this theoretical approach, the paper develops a criticism of the existing models and then identifies and describes three major sources of entrepreneurial value creation, using the primary data collected from 34 successful start-ups: innovative, relational and circumstantial entrepreneurship; and the root processes which support their exploitation: innovation, marketing, and respectively market research and reactivity.