Now showing 1 - 10 of 50
  • Publication
    Hybrid Business Platforms - Marketplaces of the Future
    (Gabler/GWV-Fachverl, 2019-04-01) ; ;
    Stalder, Céline
    The aim of this research report is to evaluate the potential of the new phenomenon of hybrid business platforms. Currently there is a development from fully digital platforms to “hybrid” platforms that are characterized by featuring digital and analog ingredients at the same time. Even more interestingly, new start-ups built around this hybrid value creation can be observed. Out of many examples of this kind, we highlight two – Jingle and b8ta.
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  • Publication
    Business model innovation processes in large corporations: insights from BASF
    Purpose Despite the fact that business model innovation (BMI) has attracted intense attention from scholars and practitioners alike, practicable knowledge on the organizational implementation of BMI efforts in large multinational corporations is rather rare. This paper aims to investigate how BMI is managed in the complex environment of the chemical industry based on a study at BASF SE, a leading global chemical company. Design/methodology/approach The empirical data draw from six case studies (i.e. six BMI projects) within BASF which were observed in the 2010-2014 timeframe. Findings There is not one uniform BMI process archetype. Three different types can be identified, whereby the degree of technology involvement and the maturity of this technology act as determining factors for the form of the process and its organizational implementation. Originality/value This paper profits from its unique empirical setting, which allows identifying practices for the organizational implementation of systematic BMI processes in large corporations. The guidelines derived are highly relevant for general managers and business development departments.
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    Scopus© Citations 21
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    Keeping Reins on the Sharing Economy : Strategies and Business Models for Incumbents
    (Springer Gabler, 2015-08-12) ; ;
    Krieg, Lukas
    The sharing economy has grown from a minor phenomenon to a considerable business in its own right. While start-ups have taken the lead in incorporating sharing economy principles in their business models, this article argues that incumbent firms with a traditional hardware-based business model also have an opportunity to respond to the needs of the sharing economy. Based on a conceptual framework and case examples, this article delineates four strategies traditional incumbents can draw on to keep reins on the sharing economy.
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  • Publication
    Information-Communication Technologies Open Up Innovation
    (Industrial Research Inst., 2009-01)
    Awazu, Yukika
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    Baloh, Peter
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    Desouza, Kevin C.
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    Kim, Jeffrey
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    Jha, Sanjeev
    Information-Communication Technologies (ICTs) are no longer just for internal use. Rather, in the era of open and distributed innovation, they must be leveraged by businesses and organizations to reach, record and review ideas from internal and external sources ranging from vendors, suppliers and customers to employees. ICTs enable the entire innovation process, from idea generation and development to experimenting and testing, and, finally, to commercialization of ideas.
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  • Publication
    Extreme Customer Innovation in the Front End: Learning from a New Software Paradigm
    (Inderscience Enterprises Ltd., 2006) ;
    Sandmeier, Patricia
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    The front-end phase of the innovation process constitutes up to two-thirds of the total cost of new product development (NPD). In response to the new open innovation paradigm, new ways to integrate customers' knowledge into the innovation front-end must be explored. In an attempt to learn from analogous situations in which the interface between developers and customers has been managed successfully, this article analyses the Extreme Programming (XP) approach of software engineering. Through its iterative but disciplined probe-and-learn cycles, the approach helps companies effectively develop advanced products with the help of their customers. Using case studies from interviews with R&D directors of 16 technology-intensive companies, the applicability of successful practices from XP to traditional NPD is analyzed. The authors identify four determinants for front-end management that reside between creativity and resource efficiency. These determinants dictate the potential for front-end effectiveness improvement and enable the maximum amount of knowledge generation and absorption from the customer.
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    Scopus© Citations 93
  • Publication
    Open Platforms at Incumbents
    Open platforms become an increasingly popular phenomenon in industry practice and have proven to disrupt established industries within only a few years. Incumbent firms started to progressively adapt underlying business principles of open platforms, which are mainly known from successful tech-companies such as the likes of Google, Apple, Facebook, or Uber. By studying five incumbents from different industry settings, which started to transform their product focused businesses into open platforms, we derive interesting and counterintuitive insights for research and management practice. Our results uncover that open platforms of incumbents are formed around the companies’ existing infrastructure, do not exclude competitors to participate at the platforms’ ecosystems and make customers of the core business users of the open platform.
  • Publication
    Knowledge Transfer in the Context of Frugal Innovation
    (International Society for Professional Innovation Management ISPIM, 2017-06-18) ; ; ;
    In this paper, we explore knowledge transfer in the context of Frugal Innovation (i.e. a specific form of resource-constraint innovation). Based on original data from 11 case studies, we observe two distinct cluster. Firms in the cluster “Active” are signified by their direct experience in the target market. Companies in the cluster “Non-active” were not physically present in the target market prior to the Frugal initiative. Further, three distinct phases emerged along the value creation process: (a) Market research, (b) Development and (c) Go-to-market. It became evident that firms from the cluster Non-Active are confronted much more with an influx and outflow of knowledge. Transfer in both directions requires significantly more effort. With this research we contribute to the growing body of literature on Frugal Innovation and the emerging middle class. We conclude this study with a discussion of the implications of our findings for management practice and research.
  • Publication
    Insights on Organizational Processes and Structures for Frugal Innovation
    Frugal Innovation are becoming increasingly relevant in academia and among practitioners. Yet, a lot of research in this field is still based on anecdotal evidence and mainly focusses on conceptual aspects or the outcome level (i.e. products or services). In order to deepen gain more insights into the workings of Frugal Innovation this study investigates the organization of processes and structures for Frugal Innovation. For this to be examined this study draws on 11 case studies from Western firms that successfully developed Frugal Innovations for emerging and developing markets. We find that the processes and structures vary depending on whether the firm has already been active in the market prior to the Frugal Innovation initiative. In terms of structure firms tend to leverage synergies within the existing organisational infrastructure wherever possible. When it comes to processes an emphasis is put on processes that accommodate knowledge transfer, greater autonomy and allow input from the outside.
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    Resource-constrained innovation in Western MNCs: The role of headquarters in achieving low-end disruption and new market creation in emerging economies
    Western multinationals are increasing their efforts to innovate for resource-constrained customers in emerging markets. Past studies highlight how this unique context influences and shapes the characteristics of products and services developed for these emerging economies. However, extant literature lacks empirical insights on how firms organize for these kinds of innovation. This study employs a multiple case study approach at 12 Western MNCs who developed resource-constrained innovation for emerging and developing markets. Contrary to extant notions in literature, this study finds that the first resource-constrained innovation within a Western MNC is initiated by the HQs and that strategic autonomy in emerging market subsidiaries is no prerequisite for success. The initial target market defined and the operational autonomy assigned by the HQs influence the degree of product novelty achieved. The degree of product novelty has effects on the type of market disruption caused by
  • Publication
    Achieving business model innovation in large corporations
    Despite the fact that business model innovation (BMI) has attracted intense scholarly attention, there is a paucity of insights concerning the organizational implementation of BMI efforts in large corporations. This paper investigates how business model innovation is managed in the complex environment of the chemical industry and derives consequences for the establishment of a systematic BMI process in large corporations. Based on a multiple case study design, we identify three different types of BMI processes and show that (1) the degree of technology involvement and (2) the stage of technology development act as key moderators for the choice of process. With our results, we contribute novel insights to the ongoing academic discussions on BMI processes in corporate environments and on the relationship between technology and business model innovation. Practitioners will profit from rich implications gained from our study.