Modeling Value Delivery Architecture for Digital Health Startups: A Strategic Framework for Business Model Innovation

The success of digital health startups in bringing innovative solutions to market depends largely on their ability to navigate complex stakeholder ecosystems and identify appropriate value propositions. This study employs Value Delivery Architecture Modeling (VDAM) to examine stakeholder roles and value creation networks, offering a structured approach to understanding the ecosystem dynamics of digital health startups. Through a systematic literature review, a broad range of actors within the digital health domain were identified. By abstracting these findings, we conceptualized 12 meta-roles and 25 individual roles that these actors can assume. These roles were then mapped into a Value Proposition Exchange Diagram, a hierarchical framework that places the digital health solution provider meta-role at the center. Supporting meta-roles are positioned on the left, foundational providing meta-roles on the right, supervising and competitive meta-roles at the top, and the meta-roles for users, payers, and intermediaries at the bottom. This structured layout enhances clarity in multi-stakeholder environments, particularly for startups. Additionally, the framework highlights that a single actor can take on multiple roles, reflecting the complexity and diversity of the digital health ecosystem. Unlike existing models, which often overlook startup-specific dynamics and restrict actors to a single role, our approach offers deeper insights into the intricate value chains in which digital health startups operate. By clarifying stakeholder relationships and value exchanges, our model enables startups to better understand their position within the ecosystem and the roles of other participants. Moreover, it facilitates the recognition and development of innovative business models.