The future of broadband in Africa

Info ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Stork ◽  
Enrico Calandro ◽  
Ranmalee Gamage
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Mobile Internet ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mobile Broadband ◽  
Urban Elites ◽  
Fixed Line

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an answer as to whether fibre to the home and other types of fixed internet access still have a role to play in Africa beyond a few urban elites, as well as what business models are likely to be successful in the African context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses data from nationally representative ICT household surveys conducted in 12 African countries in 2012. These data are complemented by an OECD broadband pricing methodology and data. In addition to the OECD basket methodology, own baskets were defined to capture the complexity of African products, and to draw out the different business models for fixed and mobile broadband. Findings – The paper demonstrates that if fixed internet is provided as an uncapped service at an affordable price, it has a chance to at least co-exist with mobile broadband in Africa. The availability of fixed internet is rapidly diminishing where it is offered as a capped service and not at prices similar to mobile broadband. The paper also demonstrates that fixed-line telecommunication companies should to focus on data only before mobile operators do, and they lose out once again. Practical implications – In Africa, mobile voice overtook fixed voice at the turn of the millennium with the introduction of prepaid services. Ten years later, mobile internet is rapidly overtaking fixed internet by overcoming key obstacles to fixed internet access. While the developed world discusses the merits of fixed and mobile broadband, it is clear that for Africa, fixed broadband in the form of fibre to the home, or even plain ADSL, will only reach a few urban elites in the next decade. Fixed-line operators then should rethink their pricing and investment strategies: they are advised to invest in high-speed technologies such as VDSL or fibre to the home, if fixed broadband is to stand a chance against mobile broadband. Whether fixed-line operators will lose the data battle as well will be determined by their business decisions as well as by policy and regulatory interventions. Originality/value – This paper uses primary household and individual data that allows for a better understanding of internet access and use in Africa. The analysis of internet access prices for ADSL against prepaid and post-paid mobile broadband is used to assess broadband business strategies across 12 African countries. The paper provides policymakers and regulators with the evidence required for an informed ICT policy and regulation and it recommends business strategies that should be pursued by operators to improve broadband sector performance.

A practical guide for understanding online business models

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won Kim
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Business Plan ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Online Business ◽  
Proper Perspective ◽  
Google Search

Purpose There is a lack of clarity about what online business models are. The top 20 Google search results on online business models are articles that explain online business models. However, each of them deals with just one or two elements of business strategies. The list of business models is also a mixture of business strategies. This paper aims to provide practical guide that puts these business models into proper perspective. Design/methodology/approach A business model includes all key elements of the business, marketing and operational strategies. There are many such elements. The author has reviewed the popular use of the term online business models and found that just five of the key elements can put almost all of them into proper perspective. Findings Five elements of the business and marketing strategies constitute a practical guide for understanding, discussing and even designing the first working draft of a business plan. Practical implications The practical guide will serve as a robust vehicle for understanding, discussing and even designing the first working draft of a business plan. The current haphazard use of the term online business models does not shed light on online business models. Originality/value The author has examined 20 top Google search results for “online business models” and “business models”. These are articles that talk about 3-17 “business models”. The author examined all of them and confirmed that the five key elements of the business and marketing strategies can put all of them into proper perspective.

Integration of Internet of Things components into a firm’s offering portfolio – a business development framework

Info ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten J Gerpott ◽  
Sebastian May
Keyword(s):  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Development ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Product Portfolio ◽  
Sensors And Actuators ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Development Objectives

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a foundation for firms trying to evaluate the suitability of Internet of Things (IoT)-enhanced offerings against the background of their current portfolio. Currently, quite a number of companies consider revising or extending their portfolio of products and services by incorporating IoT components to achieve competitive advantages. However, an unsystematic and autotelic addition of connected sensors and actuators to present offerings does not necessarily lead to substantial market success. Design/methodology/approach – The approach of this paper is to identify different roles which IoT components can play in offering portfolios; clarify business development objectives, which can be achieved by the combination of products and services with IoT components; and report case examples which help to highlight how business development objectives can be reached with the help of IoT components fulfilling specific roles. Findings – IoT components may play three different roles when integrated into product or service offerings. This role differentiation is crucial in understanding how IoT amendments can be instrumental in supporting the achievement of specific business development objectives pursued by a firm. Research limitations/implications – The framework is based on conceptual considerations. To overcome this limitation, empirical research on technology-, cost- and customer-related impacts of IoT-enhanced offerings is desirable. Practical/implications – Firms need to evaluate three roles which IoT components can play against the background of their present product portfolio when developing new business strategies. Originality/value – This paper combines literature on the principles of operation of IoT applications and business models with current use-cases to provide implications for IoT-related business development issues.

Can profit and sustainability goals co-exist? New business models for hybrid firms

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando G. Alberti ◽  
Mario A. Varon Garrido
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Hybrid Organizations ◽  
Business Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Shed Light

Purpose This paper aims to discuss hybrid organizations whose business models blur the boundary between for-profit and nonprofit worlds. With the aim of understanding how hybrid organizations have developed commercially viable business models to create positive social and environmental change, the authors contend that hybrids are altering long-held business norms and conceptions of the role of the corporation in society. Building on an analysis of the most updated literature on hybrid organizations and with the use of case study approach, the purpose of this paper is to derive managerial lessons that traditional businesses may apply to innovate their business models. Design/methodology/approach This paper has a practical focus to help organizations to develop successful business strategies and design innovative business models. It applies emerging thinking on hybrid business models to provide new insights and ideas on the use of business models as tools for innovating and delivering value. To comply with this, first, the authors discuss the distinctive characteristics of hybrids and the hybrid business model through a concise but comprehensive review of all the literature on hybrid organization, which is still very recent. Second, we relied on a short case study that introduces information technology and digital innovation as the premises of the emergence of a new hybrid business model that adds additional elements to traditional business managers on how to learn from hybrid organizations’ avenues to innovate their business models. Findings In this paper, the authors aimed to shed light on the management of any organization or initiative that aims to embrace multiple and competing yet potentially synergistic goals, as is increasingly the case in modern corporations. Spotting hidden complementarities of antagonistic assets can be arduous, time-consuming, costly and risky, but businesses driven by innovation may want to keep a close eye on the expanding hybrid sector as a source of future entrepreneurial opportunities. To this regard, hybrid social ventures have the potential to shed light on ways to innovate traditional business models. The essence of studying hybrids is that firms may learn how to innovate their business models in ways that go beyond current conceptualizations, making their mission profitable, rather than making profit their only mission! The research design (literature analysis and case study) allowed the authors to disentangle different innovative business models that hybrids suggest highlight strengths and weaknesses of such business models, understand strategies and capabilities associated with hybrids and transpose all these lessons learned to traditional business managers who constantly struggle for innovation. Research limitations/implications The main implication is that hybrid organizations may serve as incubators for new practices that can gain scale and impact by infusion into existing corporations. The authors can assist to a process of “hybridization” of incumbent firms, pushing the boundaries of corporate sustainability efforts toward strategies in which profit and social purpose share more equal footing. Practical implications Firms interested in benefiting from antagonistic assets that can have a dramatic impact on their business model innovation may want to consider some lessons: firms can attempt to build antagonistic assets into their mission, asking themselves what activities they can undertake with the potential to create (or erode) social, environmental and economic value and how these activities might be mediated by the context/environment in which they operate; they can partner with hybrids to benefit from them and absorb competencies from them, so to increase their likelihood to generate value-creating activities and to impact on wider range of stakeholders, including funders, partners, beneficiaries and communities; they can mimic hybrids on how to innovate their business model through the use of the “deliberate resource misfit” dynamic capability, mitigating negative impacts and trade-offs and maximizing positive value spillovers, both for the firms themselves and for the community. Social implications Sharing know-how with hybrids opens up to ways to innovate business models, and hybrids are much more open to sharing lessons and encouraging others to copy their approaches in a genuine open innovation approach. Originality/value The main lesson businesses can take away from studying hybrids is that antagonistic assets – and not only profitable complementary ones, as the resource-based view would suggest – do not have to be a burden on profits. Hybrids ground their strategy first and foremost on their beneficiaries, thus dealing with a bundle of antagonistic assets. The primary objective of hybrids is thus to find imaginative ways of generating profits from their given resources rather than acquiring the resources that generate the highest profit. Profit is the ultimate goal of traditional businesses’ mission, but by making profit their only mission, firms risk missing out on the hidden opportunities latent in antagonistic assets. Learning from hybrids about how to align profits and societal impact may be a driver of long-term competitive advantage.

Hackers may exploit insecure Africa internet

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Mobile Internet ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Internet Connectivity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Commerce ◽  
The World ◽  
Internet Penetration ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Fixed Line

Subject Implications of Africa's growing internet connectivity Significance Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which has lagged behind the rest of the world in terms of internet connectivity, is now the continent in which internet penetration is growing the fastest. This includes improvements in both fixed line and mobile internet connectivity. However, this growth will be accompanied by an explosion in cybersecurity threats. Impacts Cybercrime will undermine confidence in African online businesses, denting prospects of online commerce. The rise in cybercrime in SSA will necessitate improvements in law enforcement capabilities. This could mean greater assistance from and cooperation with other countries.

Satellite internet could have global impact

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Broadband Access ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Impact ◽  
The World ◽  
Ground Systems

Subject Satellite internet. Significance Plans are moving ahead fast to launch ‘mega-constellations’ consisting of thousands of satellites that will provide high-speed internet access worldwide. These constellations have the potential to bring millions, if not billions, more people online around the world. Impacts The ground systems for use with internet mega-constellations could emerge as a huge new market. Polar coverage could help open up the Arctic to shipping, resource exploitation and other uses. Disaster response efforts would benefit from global mobile broadband access. Competition from low-priced, high-speed satellite broadband could severely disrupt the business of terrestrial providers.

The characteristics and evolution of business model for green buildings: a bibliometric approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojing Zhao ◽  
Wei Pan
Keyword(s):  
Core Collection ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Green Buildings ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Web

PurposeThe wide uptake of green building is hindered by factors such as limited market demand and high up-front cost despite substantial policy incentives. Successful business models (BMs) help facilitate the diffusion of sustainable innovation and have attracted increasing attention. However, little attention has been paid to examining the adoption of green building from the perspective of BM. This paper aims to identify the characteristics of BM that companies adopted to deliver green building projects and examine the evolution path of BM for green buildings.Design/methodology/approachA total of 744 interdisciplinary bibliographic records related to BM and green buildings from the Web of Science Core Collection database have been identified from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed through co-author analysis, co-word analysis and co-citation analysis.FindingsBM research mainly focuses on five subjects, namely, environmental science, engineering, business, economics, science and technology. Keywords “strategy”, “capability”, “perspective” and “design” receive the highest centrality index, which suggests that the strategy design and corporate capability are indispensable elements when designing or innovating a company's BM. “BM canvas” and “resource based view” received the burst citations in the recent decade. Twelve research clusters are identified, including performance evaluation, waste management, energy efficiency, BM, project business, professional capital, leadership and product innovation. These topics highlight three evolution direction for green building projects, i.e. life cycle-oriented value proposition, collaborative value delivery and innovative cost and revenue structure.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to a systematic understanding of the underlying mechanisms of BM for green buildings and illuminate the development trend of business strategies for sustainability.

Study of collaborative PRM business model for sustainability

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1891-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankita Ray ◽  
Sandeep Mondal
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Sustainable development comprises three bottom line concepts, i.e. protect environment, improve economic performance, and social performance. Business organization with only profitability as the primary objective may lead to a highly competitive market which mainly focuses on financial performance and pay less attention to environmental and social performance. Companies that adopt the product recovery activities also select economic performance as the prime priority of their business objectives. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief idea about a different kind of business model other than conventional business models. Here, the authors aim to represent collaboration among firms, companies, and players within a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) to build a leading business model that establishes three basic concepts of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach From literature the authors identified that the primary objective of establishing a sustainable business model is environmental issues but achieving economic performance and gaining market share increase competition among companies. The authors also identified that increasing financial performance results in the development of a competitive business model. This literature review helps to represent the concept of collaborative business model, its benefit, and its mechanism and also helps to compare it with competitive business model in terms of sustainability. Findings In case of the collaborative business model, the authors found that collaboration is better than competition to sustain in the market. The authors described the collaborative business model and mechanism of both competitive and collaborative business strategies in a CLSC. The authors gave an idea to adopt some well-known business model and pricing policies for the collaborating firms. The authors presented a comparison between the collaborative and competitive business model and also identified different types of collaborative and completive relationship among the players within a CLSC. Originality/value Government legislations, e-waste rules, and environmental rules involve original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for taking back its end-of-life (EOL)/end-of-use products. A collaborative business model helps OEM to manage those huge amounts of used products by involving third parties within the supply chain. Here, in this paper the authors represent different collaborative parties and their purpose for collaboration, and also represent a strong belief that collaborative business model is the recent trend for establishing sustainability than competitive business model.

Farmcrowdy: digital business model innovation for farming in Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Kwaku Atuahene-Gima ◽  
Joshua Amuzu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Model Innovation ◽  
Background Information ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Learning outcomes The Farmcrowdy case pursues the following aims: familiarizing students with the concept of business models for agricultural businesses and explaining the key decisions and activities within a business model; recognizing different opportunities for business model innovation by farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector; identifying concepts and tools from the business world that can be used in farming and other agribusiness-related ventures; highlighting opportunities for agribusiness firms to engage in business model innovation; and developing a business model canvas that highlights key components of a business model. Case overview/synopsis Agriculture stands as the leading driver of economies in most African countries. Most people depend on this sector directly or indirectly for their livelihoods on a daily basis. However, due to challenges like climate change and its variability, high initial startups capital, poor pricing, pest attacks, among other factors, people are gradually opting out of this sector. This has implications for employment, food and human security issues for farmers, their families and the society at large. Individual farmers that opt to remain in this sector are often met with challenges accessing technology in adapting to the challenges aforementioned. This decreases their resilience to the impact of climate change and its variability, pest and disease attack, securing loans to expand farming operations, among others. This raises the risks associated with investment in this sector as one cannot be assured of a fixed return on investment at the end of each crop cycle. Investors who opted to manage this risk associated with investment in the agriculture sector had challenges getting an official database of farmers to invest in as well as knowing whether individual farmers are experienced enough and committed to fixed agreements. It is against this backdrop that Onyeka Akumah founded Farmcrowdy in Nigeria with the aim of empowering farmers and connecting investors to right farmers with an assured return on investment at the end of every crop growing or animal-rearing season using online technological packages. The Farmcrowdy business model allowed Nigerians to venture into farming and other agricultural ventures at the touch of a button while empowering local farmers and boosting food production, creating employment for all stakeholders in the agricultural value chain. With ensuing challenges and competitors in the agro-technological industry, Farmcrowdy aims at extending their business model to other West African countries like Ghana. A few suggestions are made to help improve Farmcrowdy business model. First, they can add novel activities to the business model. Second, they can change one or more parties that perform business model activities. Finally, they can link business model activities in new ways like the development of model farms as a training ground for new farmers and the development of a go-back-to nature campaign to end-users of the products from farms. This case can be used by different audiences. The case can be used for teaching students at the graduate level, especially in the development of executive courses on innovation and entrepreneurship, strategy, agricultural technology and innovation. A wealth of supporting materials is available to the Professor, including videos and background information. Complexity academic level PhD, Doctor of Business Administration, Executive MBA Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

Co-productive interrelations between business model and zero carbon building

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojing Zhao ◽  
Wei Pan
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Policy Promotion ◽  
Stakeholder Network

Purpose The zero carbon building (ZCB) approach has gained momentum in improving energy performance and reducing carbon emissions. Despite policy promotion for achieving zero carbon, innovative business models (BMs) are needed to overcome the challenges and accelerate the ZCB uptake. However, little research has examined ZCB and BM in tandem, and business strategies for ZCB delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical relations between BM and ZCB. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a critical review of the definitions, components, and theoretical bases of BM and ZCB, this paper develops a conceptual model that maps out the multifaceted interrelations between ZCB and BM at both project and organisational levels. Findings The results discover co-productive interrelations between BM and ZCB in four aspects, namely, value offering, project delivery process, stakeholder network, and revenue generation logic. Innovative BMs address the socio-technical challenges to delivering ZCBs through innovating BM components, while ZCB provides a new paradigm of organisational-level systems to BM innovations as a source of corporate competitiveness. Practical implications The findings will be of immense benefit to the decision makers of construction organisations in enhancing their business strategies for successful ZCB deliveries, and help to de-risk business innovations and ZCB take-up for their maximised synergies. Originality/value The findings contribute a novel approach to disentangling the complex co-productive interrelations between BM and ZCB. This review calls for a step change in future research into the two important areas, BM and ZCB, in an interrelated manner.

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