Showing papers on "Business model published in 2012"

From cloud computing to cloud manufacturing

Abstract: Cloud computing is changing the way industries and enterprises do their businesses in that dynamically scalable and virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. This model creates a brand new opportunity for enterprises. In this paper, some of the essential features of cloud computing are briefly discussed with regard to the end-users, enterprises that use the cloud as a platform, and cloud providers themselves. Cloud computing is emerging as one of the major enablers for the manufacturing industry; it can transform the traditional manufacturing business model, help it to align product innovation with business strategy, and create intelligent factory networks that encourage effective collaboration. Two types of cloud computing adoptions in the manufacturing sector have been suggested, manufacturing with direct adoption of cloud computing technologies and cloud manufacturing-the manufacturing version of cloud computing. Cloud computing has been in some of key areas of manufacturing such as IT, pay-as-you-go business models, production scaling up and down per demand, and flexibility in deploying and customizing solutions. In cloud manufacturing, distributed resources are encapsulated into cloud services and managed in a centralized way. Clients can use cloud services according to their requirements. Cloud users can request services ranging from product design, manufacturing, testing, management, and all other stages of a product life cycle.

Business Models for Sustainable Innovation: State of the Art and Steps Towards a Research Agenda

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to advance research on sustainable innovation by adopting a business model perspective. Through a confrontation of the literature on both topics we find that research on sustainable innovation has tended to neglect the way in which firms need to combine a value proposition, the organization of the upstream and downstream value chain, and a financial model, in order to bring sustainability innovations to the market. Therefore, we review the current literature on business models in the contexts of technological, organizational, and social sustainability innovations. As the current literature does not offer a general conceptual definition of sustainable business models, we propose examples of normative 'boundary conditions' that business models should meet in order to support sustainable innovations. Finally, we sketch the outline of a research agenda by formulating a number of guiding questions.

Business Cases for Sustainability: The Role of Business Model Innovation for Corporate Sustainability

Abstract: A considerable body of literature deals with the creation of economic value while increasing corporate environmental and social performance. Some publications even focus on the business case for sustainability which aims at increasing corporate economic value through environmental or social measures. The existence of a business case for sustainability is, however, mostly seen as an ad hoc measure, a supplement to the core business, or simply a coincidence. As a contrast, this paper argues that business model innovations may be required to support a systematic, ongoing creation of business cases for sustainability. A framework for business model innovation is proposed as a means to strategically create business cases on a regular basis as an inherent, deeply integrated element of business activities.

Business Model Generation

Abstract: “Design Tomorrow’s Enterprises” Upstart technologies and lightning-fast implementation drive various new business models that are radically altering industries and commerce. Just look at how Apple’s iPod has revolutionized the music industry, how Skype has turned the telecommunications field upside down and how Grameen Bank has “popularized microlending” as a new form of finance. A business model – defined as “the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value” – can launch an entrepreneur’s new idea or readjust the thrust of an existing company. The Swatch Group is a case in point: Previously specializing in high-end watches, the Swiss company diversified into the production of the low-priced Swatch line of watches in response to Asian rivals. The Swatch Group has thrived in both the upper and lower segments of its market largely because it chose to serve these segments by using different business models. Swatch is an example of a company that manages not just one but a “portfolio” of business models. Constructing a Business Model Strategizing an innovative business model, a process which sometimes can resemble structured chaos, demands a fresh approach to creativity. The “Business Model Canvas” delivers a framework for focused brainstorming and staff inspiration. Major companies such as Ericsson, IBM and Deloitte have adopted it for their “business model generation.” The Business Model Canvas provides a flexible template for capturing the nine essential parts of a business model. The “canvas” is usually a large piece of paper with sections “In today’s climate, it’s best to assume that most business models, even successful ones, will have a short lifespan.” “A business model can best be described through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how a company intends to make money.”

Innovations in Retail Business Models

Abstract: A retail business model articulates how a retailer creates value for its customers and appropriates value from the markets. Innovations in business models are increasingly critical for building sustainable advantage in a marketplace defined by unrelenting change, escalating customer expectations, and intense competition. Drawing from extant strategy and retailing research, we propose that innovations in retail business models are best viewed as changes in three design components: (1) the way in which the activities are organized, (2) the type of activities that are executed, and (3) the level of participation of the actors engaged in performing those activities. We propose six major ways in which retailers could innovate their business models to enhance value creation and appropriation beyond the levels afforded by traditional approaches to retailing. We also describe the drivers of business model innovations, the potential consequences of such innovations, and numerous examples from retail practice that highlight our concepts and arguments. In doing so, we provide a starting point for academic research in a domain that is deficient in theoretical and empirical research, and offer retailing managers a framework to guide retail business model innovations for sustainable competitive advantage.

Maximizing the Triple Bottom Line Through Spiritual Leadership

Abstract: O ne of the greatest challenges facing leaders today is the need to develop new business models that accentuate ethical leadership, employee well-being, sustainability and social responsibility without sacrificing profitability, revenue growth, and other indicators of financial performance. This article seeks to address top managers’ need to simultaneously maximize the so-called triple bottom line, or ‘‘People, Planet, Profit.’’ In doing so, we draw from the emerging fields of workplace spirituality, spiritual leadership, and conscious capitalism. Research conducted with Interstate Battery System of America, Inc. (Interstate Batteries) is offered as a case study of a company that may serve as a role model for spiritual leadership. We also present a general process for maximizing the triple bottom line through the development of the motivation and leadership required to simultaneously optimize employee wellbeing, social responsibility, organizational commitment, and financial performance. Enron Corp., Adelphia Communications Corp., Arthur Andersen, Tyco International and WorldCom Inc. are but some of the many scandals that have cast a chilling pall over the way business is conducted. These companies have given people the perception that corporations are amoral, corrupt, and lack both ethical leadership and a sense of social responsibility. Michael Douglas’ Oscar winning performance in Wall Street claiming that ‘‘greed is good’’ still appears to be the mantra of most businesses big and small. However, there are companies, such as SAS Institute, Google, Shell Oil Co., NEC Corp., and Procter & Gamble Co., that have committed themselves to a course of developing business models that accentuate ethical leadership, employee well-being, sustainability and social responsibility. These companies believe this can be done without sacrificing profitability, revenue growth, and other areas of financial and performance excellence. In effect, they are experimenting with new business models and adopting sustainable business strategies that have a positive economic, social, and environmental impact, often referred to as the triple bottom line.

Internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship: business models for new technology-based firms

Abstract: New technology-based firms, particularly those that develop their business around a new technological platform, are likely to be impacted by globalization, in terms of both pace of innovation and pressure of competition. For these firms, strategic decisions and growth processes are characterized by a deep inter-relationship amongst the processes of internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship; processes which have tended to be examined independently in distinct bodies of literature. In practice strategic decisions concern each of these processes and address issues such as organizational boundaries, location of the operational activities, what activities to focus on and selection of value partners. The business model by which firms operate needs also to accommodate the spatial dimensions indicated by globalization; and the emergence of global technology markets. Little is known to date about the extent to which business models accommodate or are adapted to internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper presents a review of the business model literature from which a generic business model framework is derived, identifying and introducing the main elements of these processes as the firms’ focus, modus and locus. This contribution makes a clear distinction between the business model and the strategy concepts and highlights the relevance of location decisions—not considered by extant business model literature to date. While our discussion draws on the high technology new venture as our primary example, we believe our business model conceptualization has general applicability.

Innovation for Inclusive Business: Intrapreneurial Bricolage in Multinational Corporations

Abstract: It is often argued that multinational corporations (MNCs) are in a unique position to innovate business models that can help to alleviate poverty. This empirical study into intra-organizational aspects of pro-poor business innovation in two MNCs suggests, however, that certain elements of their management frameworks – such as short-term profit interests, business unit based incentive structures, and uncertainty avoidance – may turn into obstacles that prevent MNCs from reaching their full potential in this respect. We introduce the concept of intrapreneurial bricolage to show how middle manager innovators may promote pro-poor business models despite these obstacles. We define intrapreneurial bricolage as entrepreneurial activity within a large organization characterized by creative bundling of scarce resources, and illustrate empirically how it helps innovators to overcome organizational constraints and to mobilize internal and external resources. Our findings imply that intrapreneurial bricolage may be of fundamental importance in MNC innovation for inclusive business. In addition to the field of inclusive business, this study has implications for the study of bricolage in large organizations and social intrapreneurship, as well for managerial practice around innovation for inclusive business.

Towards Systematic Business Model Innovation: Lessons from Product Innovation Management

Abstract: Although business model innovations are decisive for a company's long-term success or failure, they are still poorly understood compared to product innovations. Thus, their execution is imperfectly supported, and their organizational accountability is insufficiently regulated. In this paper, we systematically investigate similarities and differences between product and business model innovation to assess the potential of transferring insights and best practices. Therefore, we condense key findings of product innovation management into a framework as a basis for the analysis of 11 current cases of business model innovation. This paper intends to contribute to a better understanding of the options that exist for business model innovation. We derive implications for an improved management of business model innovation based on the cases analysed. For the innovation process and its organizational anchoring, we disclose potential benefits of a more structured and holistic approach.

The Effects of Culture and Structure on Strategic Flexibility during Business Model Innovation

Abstract: This study uses responses from 107 multinational firms to reveal CEO perceptions of the drivers of strategic flexibility during business model innovation. While the positive effect of creative culture is confirmed, partner reliance reduces strategic flexibility during business model innovation. Further, structural change is disaggregated into efforts that either focus managerial attention on core activities or reconfigure existing activities. CEOs perceive that structural flexibility requires structural simplification while retaining control of non-core functions. We find that the relative magnitude of business model innovation effort moderates the effect of reconfiguration on strategic flexibility. The implications for theories of organizational design and dynamic capabilities are discussed.

From the Editors: Endogeneity in international business research

Abstract: This essay builds on the exposition by Thomas et al. and focuses on analyzing cause and effect in international business research. We attempt to explain how endogeneity problems occur and why they are so prevalent in international business research in a non-technical fashion. We then discuss the importance of explicitly identifying how the chosen research design best approximates a randomized-controlled experiment. Finally, we provide some guidelines on achieving this goal and emphasize the practices that seem most relevant to JIBS reviewers in evaluating high-quality international business research.

Utilities’ business models for renewable energy: A review

Abstract: The transformation of today's electric power sector to a more sustainable energy production based on renewable energies will change the structure of the industry. Consequently, utilities as the major stakeholders in this transformation will face new challenges in their way of doing business. They will have to adapt their business models to remain competitive in the new energy landscape. The present review of business model literature shows that two basic choices exist: utility-side business models and customer-side business models. The two approaches follow a very different logic of value creation. While the former is based on a small number of large projects, the latter is based on a large number of small projects. The article reveals that blueprints for utility-side business models are available, whereas customer-side business models are in an early stage of development. Applying the business model framework as an analytical tool, it is found that existing utility-side business models comprise a series of advantages for utilities in terms of revenue potential and risk avoidance. This study provides new insights about why utilities will favor utility-side business models over customer-side business models and why they also should engage in customer-side business models in their quest for more sustainable future business models.

Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: Theory, Practice and Cases

Abstract: Written by an international group of researchers widely known for their expertise in the field of the Internet and tourism, this book presents cutting-edge theory, research and case studies. It investigates web 2.0 applications and tools that transform the role and behaviour of the new generation of travellers, as well as examining the ways in which firms reengineer and implement their business models and operations, such as new service development, marketing, networking and knowledge management.

Managing innovation for sustainability

Abstract: ‘Sustainability’ is a major and growing driver of business change. Its implications for innovation are clear – living and working in a world of up to 9 billion people with rising expectations, providing energy, food and resource security, dealing with climate change, ecosystem degradation, a widening economic divide and a host of other interdependent issues will require massive change in products, services, processes, marketing approaches and the underlying business models which frame them. The focus of this paper is to develop an understanding of new approaches to innovation management required to take account of the growing pressures and emerging opportunities in the ‘sustainability’ agenda. In particular, it draws on case studies of a variety of organisations to help answer the question of what practical actions might be taken beyond the rhetoric of moving towards greater sustainability or ‘greening’ of business.

Value creation by knowledge‐based ecosystems: evidence from a field study

Abstract: A growing number of research and development-driven companies are located in knowledge-based ecosystems. Value creation by these ecosystems draws on the dynamics of single firms (interacting and partnering) as well as the ecosystem at large. Drawing on a field study of a Dutch high-tech campus, two key sources of value creation are identified: (1) facilitation of the innovation process for individual companies and (2) creation of an innovation community. Furthermore, the coevolution of the ecosystem's business model with firm-level business models explains why technology-based firms join, stay in, or leave the ecosystem at a certain point in time. A remarkable finding is that ecosystem managers have to deliberately facilitate exit routes for companies that no longer fit the ecosystem in order to enhance and reinforce its business model. As such, this study suggests a dynamic capability perspective on knowledge-based ecosystems that need to develop a business model at the ecosystem level to create sufficient innovative capacity and entrepreneurial fitness.

Fashion and Sustainability: Design for Change

Abstract: This book examines how sustainability has the potential to transform both the fashion system and the innovators who work within it. Sustainability is arguably the defining theme of the twenty-first century. The issues in fashion are broad-ranging and include labour abuses, toxic chemicals use and conspicuous consumption, giving rise to an undeniable tension between fashion and sustainability. The book is organized in three parts. The first part is concerned with transforming fashion products across the garment's lifecycle and includes innovation in materials, manufacture, distribution, use and re-use. The second part looks at ideas that are transforming the fashion system at root into something more sustainable, including new business models that reduce material throughput. The third section is concerned with transforming the role of fashion designers and looks to examples where the designer changes from a stylist or creator into a communicator, activist or facilitator. Includes a foreword by Paul Hawken, International authority on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy. Kate Fletcher is a Reader in Suatainable Fashion at London College of Fashion and director of design for sustainable fashion consultancy, Slow Fashion. Her work, in business, education, policy and research has been at the forefront of sustainability ideas and research practice in fashion for the last 15 years. She advises and paticipates in fashion and sustainability initiatives around the globe. Kate is author of 'Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys'. Lynda Grose is a practising designer, consultant, educator and assistant professor at California College of the Arts. She co-founded ESPRIT's ecollection line, which was the first complete ecologoical clothing line developed by a major corporation. Lynda has advised clients across the non-profit, private and government sectors on issues of sustainability for almost two decades, including Patagonia, Gap, Sustainable Cotton Project, Aid to Artisans, Armenian Crafts Council and UNDP.

The Evolution of Plug-In Electric Vehicle-Grid Interactions

Abstract: Over the past decade key technologies have progressed so that mass-market viable plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are now set to reach the first of many major vehicle markets by 2011. PEV-grid interactions comprise a mix of industries that have not interacted closely in the past. A number of these commercial participants have utilized the same basic business model for nearly a century. The various participants include vehicle manufacturers, utilities, and supplier firms who have radically different business models, regulatory and legal environments, geographical scope, and technical capabilities. This paper will provide a survey of PEV technology trends and other factors. From an analysis of these factors this paper synthesizes and provides a likely scenario for PEV-grid interaction over the next decade.

Integrating Sustainability into Firms' Processes: Performance Effects and the Moderating Role of Business Models and Innovation

Abstract: Innovation has been widely regarded as a panacea for sustainable development, but there remains considerable uncertainty about how it will lead to a more sustainable society. We analyze the role of innovation and business models for the link between the integration of sustainable management with other corporate functions and the economic and environmental performance of companies. Drawing on survey data in the manufacturing sector, we apply structural equation modeling to compare differences between business models and the role of different stakeholder groups in a moderation analysis. We find a positive association of the integration of strategic issues and environmental management with the economic and environmental performance of firms. The results also suggest differences in the link between integration and economic and environmental performance, respectively, depending on the type of business model or innovation pursued, and that secondary stakeholders influence sustainability integration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

How Does Business Analytics Contribute to Business Value

Abstract: This paper presents a model, synthesized from the literature, of factors that explain how business analytics contributes to business value. It also reports results from a preliminary assessment of that model. The model consists of two parts: a process and a variance model. The process model depicts the analyze‐insight‐decision‐action process through which use of an organization's business analytic capabilities is intended to create business value. The variance model proposes that the five factors in Davenport et al.'s DELTA model of business analytics success factors, six from Watson & Wixom and three from Seddon et al.'s model of organizational benefits from enterprise systems, assist a firm to gain business value from business analytics. A preliminary assessment of the model was conducted using data from 100 customer success stories from vendors such as IBM, SAP and Teradata. Our conclusion is that the business analytics success model is likely to be a useful basis for future research.

The hybrid model for open access publication of scholarly articles: A failed experiment?

Abstract: Since 2004, mainstream scholarly publishers have been offering authors publishing in their subscription journals the option to free their individual articles from access barriers against a payment (hybrid OA). This has been marketed as a possible gradual transition path between subscription and open access to the scholarly journal literature, and the publishers have pledged to decrease their subscription prices in proportion to the uptake of the hybrid option. The number of hybrid journals has doubled in the past couple of years and is now over 4,300; the number of such articles was around 12,000 in 2011. On average only 1–2% of eligible authors utilize the OA option, due mainly to the generally high price level of typically 3,000 USD. There are, however, a few publishers and individual journals with a much higher uptake. This article takes a closer look at the development of hybrid OA and discusses, from an author-centric viewpoint, the possible reasons for the lack of success of this business model. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.