Showing papers on "Business model published in 2002"

The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation's technology spin‐off companies

Abstract: This paper explores the role of the business model in capturing value from early stage technology. A successful business model creates a heuristic logic that connects technical potential with the realization of economic value. The business model unlocks latent value from a technology, but its logic constrains the subsequent search for new, alternative models for other technologies later on—an implicit cognitive dimension overlooked in most discourse on the topic. We explore the intellectual roots of the concept, offer a working definition and show how the Xerox Corporation arose by employing an effective business model to commercialize a technology rejected by other leading companies of the day. We then show the long shadow that this model cast upon Xerox’s later management of selected spin-off companies from Xerox PARC. Xerox evaluated the technical potential of these spin-offs through its own business model, while those spin-offs that became successful did so through evolving business models that came to differ substantially from that of Xerox. The search and learning for an effective business model in failed ventures, by contrast, were quite limited.

Why business models matter.

Abstract: "Business model" was one of the great buzz-words of the Internet boom. A company didn't need a strategy, a special competence, or even any customers--all it needed was a Web-based business model that promised wild profits in some distant, ill-defined future. Many people--investors, entrepreneurs, and executives alike--fell for the fantasy and got burned. And as the inevitable counterreaction played out, the concept of the business model fell out of fashion nearly as quickly as the .com appendage itself. That's a shame. As Joan Magretta explains, a good business model remains essential to every successful organization, whether it's a new venture or an established player. To help managers apply the concept successfully, she defines what a business model is and how it complements a smart competitive strategy. Business models are, at heart, stories that explain how enterprises work. Like a good story, a robust business model contains precisely delineated characters, plausible motivations, and a plot that turns on an insight about value. It answers certain questions: Who is the customer? How do we make money? What underlying economic logic explains how we can deliver value to customers at an appropriate cost? Every viable organization is built on a sound business model, but a business model isn't a strategy, even though many people use the terms interchangeably. Business models describe, as a system, how the pieces of a business fit together. But they don't factor in one critical dimension of performance: competition. That's the job of strategy. Illustrated with examples from companies like American Express, EuroDisney, WalMart, and Dell Computer, this article clarifies the concepts of business models and strategy, which are fundamental to every company's performance.

Internet Business Models and Strategies: Text and Cases

Abstract: From the Publisher: Despite the Internet's phenomenal impact on business and its reach across all sectors,no model has emerged for thoughtfully valuing companies' Internet efforts. In addition,strategies for effectively competing in this environment are just beginning to materialize. This book addresses both of these critical aspects of the Internet and offers business models and strategies for better understanding this important phenomenon. In the words of the authors,"The framework (presented here) allows users of the text to make more informed theory-based arguments as to how successful an Internet-based firm is likely to be,how much it might be worth,and the relative merits of formulating and implementing an Internet strategy for an established firm. "

Technological Opportunism and Radical Technology Adoption: An Application to E-Business

Abstract: Using the resource-based view of the firm, the authors hypothesize that differences in adoption of radical technologies among firms can be attributed to a sense-and-respond capability of firms with respect to new technologies, which is termed technological opportunism. Using survey data from senior managers in business-to-business firms, the authors study the adoption of e-business, a radical technology with the potential to alter business models. The authors first establish the distinctiveness of technological opportunism from related constructs, such as organizational innovativeness, and show that it offers a significantly better explanation of technology adoption than existing constructs do. In a follow-up survey of senior managers, the authors investigate the antecedents of technological opportunism and find that organizations can develop technological opportunism by taking specific actions such as focusing on the future, by having top management advocate new technologies, and by becoming mor...

E‐business model design, classification, and measurements

Abstract: “Business model” is one of the latest buzzwords in the Internet and electronic business world. This paper has the ambition to give this term a more rigorous content. The objective is threefold. The first one is to propose a theoretical e-business model framework for doing business in the Internet era. The second one is to propose a multi-dimensional classification-scheme for eBusiness Models, as opposed to the actual tendency in academic literature to use two-dimensional classifications. The final objective is to define critical success factors, based on a field study in order to find out and compare the performance indicators used by e-business firms which are competing with similar businesses models.

Is the International Business Research Agenda Running out of Steam

Abstract: This research note suggests that the international business research agenda is running out of steam after a period of vibrancy. It suggests that ‘the big research question’ with which international business researchers are engaged is no longer clear cut and that, after three distinct periods where a definite research agenda was pursued, no distinctive topic has emerged to take the place of the issues previously, and largely successfully, tackled.

Metamodelling Platforms

Abstract: The elements of an enterprise are managed more and more model-based. The state-of-the-art in the area of modelling of organisations is based on fixed metamodels. Product models are created by using product modelling environments, process models are created in business process modelling tools and organisational models are realised in personnel management tools. Web service models link these business models to information technology. They are created by using standardised languages and common ontologies. Information technology is modelled in tools supporting notions such as workflow or object-orientation. The models of the company's strategy, goals and the appropriate measurements are described and monitored by using tools supporting management concepts such as Balanced Scorecard.Major requirements to an enterprise modelling platform are flexibility and adaptability. These are fulfilled by environments providing flexible metamodelling capabilities. The main characteristic of such environments is that the formalism of modelling - the metamodel - can be freely defined. This raises research issues on how to design, manage, distribute and use such metamodels on a syntactic as well as on a semantic level and how to integrate, run and maintain a metamodelling platform in a corporation's environment.Platforms based on metamodelling concepts should support the following topics: 1. Engineering the business models & their web services 2. Designing and realizing the corresponding information technology 3. Evaluating the used corporation resources and assets.This paper presents a framework for metamodelling platforms and gives some answers to the research issues stated above. As part of the framework flexible metamodel integration mechanisms, using meta-metamodels (meta2-models) and semantical mapping, are discussed. Additionally, a system architecture and the building blocks of a corporate metamodelling platform are described. Finally, best practices from three EU funded projects - REFINE, ADVISOR, and PROMOTE - all realised with industrial partners, are presented.

Business Models for Internet-Based B2B Electronic Markets

Abstract: Information technology (IT) has long been applied to support exchanges of goods, services, and information between organizations. With the advent of Internet-based business-to-business (B2B) electronic markets, however, real opportunities for online transactions have opened up. This paper develops an extended framework for studying business models of B2B electronic markets in terms of their roles and functions. Synthesizing prior research on electronic markets, interorganizational information systems, and adoption of network technologies, we reveal that B2B electronic markets offer basic market functions, as some researchers have indicated, and that the current functionality base for electronic markets is beginning to emphasize other capabilities that aim to satisfy management information and risk-management needs and enable technological adaptation and systems integration. The analytic framework is applied to a systematic study and classification of representative electronic markets to make sense of the landscape of the emerging on-line B2B marketplaces. Several potential impacts and characteristic development trends are identified, along with a variety of opportunities that B2B e-markets can exploit to create competitive advantage. The extension of prior evaluative frameworks builds a strong foundation that managers can rely upon to enhance their understanding of future developments in this arena.

Family Business Research: The Evolution of an Academic Field:

Abstract: The establishment of a field of study or a discipline with academic or professional standing requires, among other things, a body of knowledge that expands understanding of that domain. This paper ...

Making Competition Work in Electricity

Abstract: Introduction. PART I: THE STANDARD PRESCRIPTION. The Essential Aspects of Electricity. Reforming the Industry. Requirements for Competition: Demand Side. Requirements for Competition: Supply Side. Liquid, Efficient, and Complete Marketplaces. Trading Arrangements. Details of the Integrated Trading Model. Transmission Business Model. Issues in the Retail and Distribution Business. Summary and Conclusions to Part One. PART II: THE UNITED STATES. The Structure of the Industry. Changes in the 1990s. The New Players. Trading Arrangements in the United States. Transmission Business Model. Control of Market Power. Retail Regimes. Current Jurisdictional Situation. Five Major Changes Revisited. Appendix A: Electricity Restructuring in England and Wales. Appendix B: National Grid Company (U.K.). Appendix C: The California Crisis 2000-2001. Appendix D: The U.S. Gas Experience--A Comparison with Electricity. Appendix E: Building New Generators--When, Where, and How. Appendix F: Building New Transmission--When, Where, and How. Glossary. Index.

Foundations for Growth: How to Identify and Build Disruptive New Businesses

Abstract: The probability of creating a successful, new growth business is 10 times greater if the innovators pursue a disruptive strategy rather than a sustaining one. A sustaining innovation is one which meets the demands of existing customers in established markets. In contrast, a disruptive innovation is one which creates entirely new markets and business models. One strategy for creating disruptive growth is to compete against non-consumption and target customers who are currently not buying at all (perhaps because existing products are too expensive or complex) with simple, inexpensive products. When it is not possible to compete against non-consumption, the strategy must compete against markets dominated by industry leaders. When the existing market already offers products which are 'more than good-enough' and is 'overserving' its customers, the successful disruptive strategy will be able to target the less demanding customers who would be happy with a product which is just 'good-enough' and is less expensive than those currently available. The business model must also allow the growth company to price the disruptive product with a deep discount. Companies usually fail to capitalize on disruptive opportunities not because they are lacking good ideas, but because they do not have a robust process for creating and launching disruptive innovations. Company should establish a corporate team dedicated to disruptive innovation ideas, made of up select members who intuitively understand the 'litmus tests' that make these ideas successful.(LMH)

Platform competition in two sided markets

Abstract: Many if not most markets with network externalities are two-sided. To succeed, platforms in industries such as software, portals and media, payment systems and the Internet, must "get both sides of the market on board ". Accordingly, platforms devote much attention to their business model, that is to how they court each side while making money overall. The paper builds a model of platform competition with two-sided markets. It unveils the determinants of price allocation and enduser surplus for different governance structures (profit-maximizing platforms and not-for-profit joint undertakings), and compares the outcomes with those under an integrated monopolist and a Ramsey planner.

Beyond the Business Case: New Approaches to IT Investment

Abstract: New research from MIT's Center for Information Systems Research and others reveals that successful companies are revolutionizing the way IT investments get decided. Investments are no longer justified merely on the basis of making a functional silo more profitable. Today the strategic needs of the whole company come first. In the last 15 years, write professors Jeanne Ross of MIT's Sloan School of Management and Cynthia Beath of the University of Texas, a tidal wave of IT-enabled initiatives has elevated the importance of investing strategically. The Internet alone has created numerous opportunities: to reengineer processes, introduce online products and services, approach new customer segments and redo business models. The opportunities seem limitless, but the resources required ? capital, IT expertise, management focus and capacity for change ? are not. How to choose? Traditionally, companies justified a given project by presenting a strong business case. But with IT's growing strategic importance, companies must now weigh individual ROIs against demands for organizationwide capabilities ? and must assess opportunities to leverage and improve existing systems and infrastructures, create new capabilities and test new business models. The authors recommend a new investment approach based on a framework they developed after studying the e-business initiatives and supporting IT investments of 30 enterprises. The framework encourages simultaneous investment in four kinds of IT initiative. Transformation investments are necessary if a company's core infrastructure limits its ability to develop applications critical to long-term success. Renewal investments maintain the infrastructure's functionality and cost-effectiveness. Process improvements allow business applications to leverage infrastructure by delivering short-term profitability. Experiments enable learning about opportunities and testing the capabilities of new technologies. The new tools are helping managers grapple with an increasingly complex world.

The Southwest Airlines Way : Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance

Abstract: This book offers management lessons from the world's most profitable airline. 'As a former Southwest insider, I often wondered why other organizations couldn't duplicate the business model. Anyone who wants to understand how it works should read this book' - Libby Sartain, Senior VP of Human Resources, Yahoo. 'Professor Gittell has tackled one of the hottest and most important topics in business circles today - why some airlines continually fly high over the economic wreckage of the rest of the industry' - Thomas Winkelmann, VP - The Americas, Lufthansa German Airlines. 'Through extensive research, Jody Hoffer Gittell gets to the bottom of what has sustained Southwest Airlines' positive employee relations and high performance through good and bad times' - Thomas A. Kochan, professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, MIT Global Airline Industry Program."Fortune" magazine calls Southwest Airlines "the most successful airline in history." In an industry that regularly loses billions of dollars, Southwest has had 31 consecutive years of profitability. "The Southwest Airlines Way" reveals the secret to Southwest's remarkable success - high performance relationships - and it creates enormous competitive advantage in motivation, teamwork, and coordination among Southwest employees. Based on Professor Jody Hoffer Gittell's eight years of field research, this book explores Southwest's innovative policies, strategies, and techniques, showing how these methods can be implemented in any organization, and explains how to: lead with credibility and caring; invest in frontline leaders; hire and train for relational competence; use conflicts to build relationships; and, encourage mutual respect among employees, managers, unions, and suppliers.

M-Commerce: Technologies, Services, and Business Models

Abstract: From the Publisher: Presenting the first book ever to provide a complete introduction to m-Commerce! Mobile Commerce, or m-Commerce, is part of an explosion of new usage scenarios that overcome the limitations of mobile devices in support of highly personalized and time-critical activities for consumers and enterprises alike. With tens of millions of m-Commerce consumers around the world today and a billion mobile phone users, the question is not whether m-Commerce will materialize but rather whether you and your company are ready for it. In this innovative book, Norman Sadeh, an internationally recognized authority on m-Commerce, dives into a discussion of the exciting developments that are currently impacting businesses and consumers the world over. In addition to reviewing the background and driving forces behind m-Commerce, such as the transition to 3G, Sadeh thoroughly explores the m-Commerce value chain and the changing role of many of its actors from mobile network operators and portals to content providers, e-tailers, and financial organizations. Along with offering a managerial overview of m-Commerce, Sadeh draws on his experience to provide in-depth analysis on topics such as: WAP, 3GPP’s OSA, and positioning technologies Mobile security and payment Opportunities for new m-Commerce services and applications What it takes to succeed based on lessons learned from leaders such as NTT, DoCoMo, Webraska, Nordea, and Oracle Mobile Author Biography: Norman Sadeh is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science and the Institute for eCommerce at Carnegie Mellon University and, until recently, also served as Chief Scientist of the European research initiative in "New Methods of Work and eCommerce." Dr. Sadeh is also well known for his pioneering research in planning, scheduling, and supply chain management. He is on the editorial board of several journals, is frequently invited to speak at industry conferences, and has conducted research and consulted with a number of Fortune 1000 companies in North America, Europe, and Asia.

A framework for creating hybrid‐open source software communities

Abstract: The open source software (OSS) model is a fundamentally new and revolutionary way to develop software. The success of the OSS model is also setting the stage for a structural change in the software industry; it is beginning to transform software industry from manufacturing to a service industry. Despite the success of the OSS model, for-profit organizations are having difficulty build- ing a business model around the open source paradigm. Whereas there are some isolated empirical studies, little rigorous research has been done on how tradi- tional organizations can implement and benefit from OSS practices. This research explores how organizations can foster an environment similar to OSS to manage their software development efforts to reap its numerous advantages. Drawing on organizational theory, we develop a framework that guides the creation and man- agement of a hybrid-OSS community within an organization. We discuss the impli- cations of this framework and suggest areas for future research.

Business performance measures and alignment impact on strategy: The role of business improvement models

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the longitudinal alignment between performance measures and business strategy. Moreover, the paper will probe the role of business improvement models as a key catalyst in this alignment process. Since the late 1980s performance measurement has become topical with ever‐increasing interest in the subject. The increasing interest has been driven by the rapidly changing business environment and strategy, in both the private and public sectors. A literature review covering the current issues concerning performance measurement was undertaken, emphasising the development of performance measurement in relation to business strategy. The continual alignment of performance measures and frameworks with business strategy is stressed. Also, business improvement models are reviewed as possible mechanisms for enabling this alignment. Following this review, a longitudinal case study approach, based on a five‐year university/industry learning partnership with an international aerospace organisation, was used to investigate alignment between performance measures and business strategy. The findings of the study confirm that performance measures linked to strategy are more effective. Moreover, the alignment between the measures, measurement framework and the strategy must be continually reviewed and treated as a dynamic and complex issue, rather than a linear mechanistic relationship.

Foundations for Growth: How to Identify and Build Disruptive New Businesses

Abstract: Many companies proudly think of themselves as innovative. The great majority of them, however, are adept at producing only sustaining innovations ? products or services that meet the demands of existing customers in established markets. Few companies have introduced genuinely disruptive innovations, the kind that result in the creation of entirely new markets and business models. And yet the motivation to pursue such innovations should be urgent. In almost any industry you care to examine, the most dramatic stories of growth and success were launched from a platform of disruptive innovation. Clayton M. Christensen of Harvard Business School, Mark W. Johnson of Innosight in Woburn, Massachusetts, and Darrell K. Rigby of Bain & Co. have been close observers of innovation successes and failures at large and small companies. Drawing on a decade's worth of research, they offer two sets of litmus tests that senior managers can use to shape business plans to improve their chances of success. Following a detailed exploration of the litmus tests, they try out their ideas in a hypothetical example that asks whether Xerox could disrupt Hewlett-Packard's ink-jet printer business. They conclude by outlining the process any company will need to institute if it wants to create an engine capable of building new disruptive businesses over and over again. If senior managers pursue the path outlined here ? and if the growth businesses they start or acquire are truly disruptive in character ? companies will find it less difficult and risky than many have supposed to create wave after wave of new corporate growth.

An eBusiness Model Ontology for Modeling eBusiness

Abstract: After explaining why business executives and academics should consider thinking about a rigorous approach to e-business models, we introduce a new e-Business Model Ontology. Using the concept of business models can help companies understand, communicate and share, change, measure, simulate and learn more about the different aspects of e-business in their firm. The generic e-Business Model Ontology (a rigorous definition of the e-business issues and their interdependencies in a company’s business model), which we outline in this paper is the foundation for the development of various useful tools for e-business management and IS Requirements Engineering. The e-Business Model Ontology is based on an extensive literature review and describes the logic of a “business system” for creating value in the Internet era. It is composed of four main pillars, which are product innovation, infrastructure management, customer relationship and financials. These elements are then further decomposed. Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur

Understanding mobile commerce end-user adoption: a triangulation perspective and suggestions for an exploratory service evaluation framework

Abstract: In the literature on mobile commerce service adoption, aggregate diffusion issues or technology issues are usually the focus. However; a comparison of the slow adoption of WAP services in Europe with the successful adoption of comparable I-mode services in Japan and technologically simple SMS-based services in Scandinavia, suggests that aggregate and technology-based models are insufficient to explain the mobile commerce adoption process. We suggest that alternative explanations may be found in both the business models at the supply side and in the individual end-users behavior at the demand side of the mobile commerce value chain. We focus on this demand side issue, and consider the adoption requirements of mobile commerce end-users. A triangulation of three perspectives on the mobile commerce end-user is suggested to understand and explain the end-user adoption process. The three perspectives view the end-user as a technology user, a consumer and a network member, respectively. The three perspectives are combined in a common framework. With each perspective follows relevant theories, models and methodologies. We also suggest applying the framework to design evaluation guidelines that can be used by service providers, operators and terminal producers to evaluate and predict end-user adoption of mobile commerce services in 3G and later mobile technologies.

Bid Together, Buy Together: On the Efficacy of Group-Buying Models in Internet-Based Selling.

Abstract: In recent years, the advent of electronic commerce has led to the creation of many new and interesting business models for Internet-based selling. In this paper, we will explore a variant of the typical dynamic pricing mechanism, in which buyers and sellers actively engage in the price discovery process, that emphasizes the power of group buying. Dynamic pricing approaches are used by many well known Internet-based firms, including firms that offer online auctions such as eBay and Amazon.com. A group-buying discount is a dynamic pricing mechanism that mimics the general approach of traditional “discount shopping clubs.” Group buying pricing mechanisms permit buyers to aggregate their purchasing power and obtain lower prices than they otherwise would be able to get individually. However, with the recent closing of Mercata.com, a leading group-buying Web site, and the change in strategic direction of another market leader, Mobshop.com, the future of group-buying discount business models in Internet-based selling is no longer clear. In this essay, we will: (1) introduce the innovations associated with group-buying business models in Internet-based selling; (2) characterize the operational aspects of dynamic pricing mechanisms for group-buying through a discussion of a series of mini-cases with different firms that are widely recognized as the innovators in this area; (3) assess the quality of their business models relative to other new business models for Internet-based selling; and (4) draw conclusions about their sustainability in light of competitive forces in the marketplace.

Explaining the Growth of E-Commerce Corporations (ECCs): An Extension and Application of the Eclectic Paradigm

Abstract: The emergence of the Internet has created a dynamic electronic marketplace, where a new species of e-commerce corporations are taking root. However, the factors affecting the growth of these e-commerce corporations is a relatively unexplored area in international business. This study contributes to the international business literature in two significant ways. First, it attempts to critically evaluate the major international business theories to identify the variables affecting the growth of e-commerce corporations. Second, the proposed framework in the study extends the explanatory power of the eclectic paradigm not only by interpreting the paradigm in the context of e-business, but also by including an element of network-based advantages to the OLI-configuration.

How International is Management

Abstract: As business becomes more international, have academic journals, particularly management journals, followed suit? In this paper we examine the amount and type of international research in 19 top management journals from 1976 to 1980 and again from 1996 to 2000. International business studies are classified as multinational enterprise (MNE) research and comparative research. Although the amount and type of international content varies by journal, it appears that many management journals are increasing their international content while others are not.

Making things click: Distributive leadership in an online division of an offline organization

Abstract: The business model that looks likely to dominate the future in the wake of the convergence between Internet and traditional economies is the “bricks and clicks” organization. We conducted an in-depth study of the top executives of a prototypical Fortune 500 company's online division. We tracked and interviewed the president and other top management team (TMT) members over the first 22 months of the launch of the e-business venture. Our findings show that two contextual features, the extraordinary speed and the unsettling complexity/ambiguity of the online business environment, profoundly affected not only leadership requirements but also other key managerial processes, including communication, decision making, and vision. Within this disorienting context, two substantive themes emerged: (1) coping with organizational identity/image tensions with the offline parent organization and (2) becoming a holographic learning organization. We draw upon and extend some of the emerging literature on shared/relational and dispersed leadership to explain how dotcom leaders can adapt to the challenging contextual and substantive features of the e-business environment through the practice of distributive leadership, which we distinguish from prior related articulations of the concept.