Enticing the IT crowd: employer branding in the information economy

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1403-1409
Author(s):  
Amir Dabirian ◽  
Pierre Berthon ◽  
Jan Kietzmann
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Work Skills ◽  
Employer Branding ◽  
Information Economy ◽  
Comprehensive University ◽  
Content Type ◽  
It Employees ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Branding Value

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to measure employer branding in the information age. Firms increasingly migrate from matter-intensive business models to information-intensive models, where value lies in information rather than the physical objects. This shift has, in turn, led to a change in employee work skills. This is particularly true in the information technology (IT) sector, where firms rely on a limited supply of skilled labor. Employer branding, a firm’s reputation as a place to work, is an important strategy to attract and retain employees. Design/methodology/approach From the literature, the authors developed and refined an instrument to measure key value propositions of employer brands. The potential IT employees surveyed in the study were students enrolled in the disciplines of computer science and information systems at a comprehensive university in North America. The study went through three stages resulting in an instrument for psychometric properties. Findings This research revealed eight employer branding value propositions that future IT employees care about. These dimensions are important for both IT firms and industries competing for skilled IT labor to understand and manage. Originality/value This paper extends the work of Berthon et al. (2005) on employer branding to the information intensive age and particularly the IT sector. It allows executives to manage and measure their employer brand so as to maximize competitive advantage in attracting and retaining skilled employees.

Customers as creative resources: their influence on firm freedom

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé ◽  
Xavier Lecocq
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Customer Integration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Business Cases ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Negative Side Effects

Purpose – Researchers and practitioners usually consider that integrating customers in firms’ business models comes with positive consequences. However, customer integration may also detrimentally influence firms by limiting their strategic and operational latitude, which, in this context, refers to the degree of freedom companies possess over their strategic and operational decisions and actions. Being aware of that would enable companies to limit this potentially harmful influence. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that relies on recent business cases. It is suggested that the negative influence of customers on firms’ latitude occurs through the three dimensions of their business model, namely, resources and competences, value propositions (i.e. the firm’s offer) and the organization. Findings – By influencing the use of resources and competences, the design and evolution of the value proposition or the functioning of the organization, customers may constrain firms’ strategic and operational moves and thus have detrimental effects on their performance and evolution. Three ways to counterbalance this potentially negative influence are proposed. Research limitations/implications – A lack of prior research on the negative side effects of customer integration in firms’ business models is emphasized. Further studies are needed to help firms take these into consideration. Practical implications – Being aware of the potential drawbacks associated with using customers as resources, firms are invited to balance the level of their strategic and operational latitude with the importance that they grant to their customers. Originality/value – This paper introduces the concept of strategic and operational latitude. It is also one of the few to highlight the negative consequences of customer integration in firms’ business models.

scholarly journals On the road to digital servitization – The (dis)continuous interplay between business model and digital technology

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yihua Chen ◽  
Ivanka Visnjic ◽  
Vinit Parida ◽  
Zhengang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Delivery System ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Value Capture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Propositions

PurposeThe authors seek to understand the process of digital servitization as a shift of manufacturing companies from the provision of standard products and services to smart solutions. Specifically, the authors focus on changes in the business model (i.e. the value proposition, the value delivery system and the value capture mechanism) for digital servitization.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine a Chinese air conditioner manufacturer, Gree, who became the global leader with their smart solutions. These solutions included performance-based contracts underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI)-powered air conditioners that automatically adjust to environmental changes and are capable of remote monitoring and servicing thanks to its Internet of things (IoT) technology.FindingsTo successfully offer smart solution value propositions, a manufacturer needs an ecosystem value delivery system composed of suppliers, distributors, partners and customers. Once the ecosystem relationships are well aligned, the manufacturer gains value with multiple value capture mechanisms (i.e. efficiency, accountability, shared customer value and novelty). To arrive at this point, a manufacturer has to pass through different stages that are characterized by both discontinuous and continuous interplay between business models and digital technologies. At the beginning of each stage, new value propositions and value delivery systems are first discontinuously created and then enabled with digital technology. As a result, new value capture mechanisms are activated. Meanwhile, the elements of the existing business model are continuously improved.Research limitations/implicationsBy combining process-perspective and business-model lenses, the authors offer nuanced insights into how digital servitization unfolds.Practical implicationsExecutives can obtain insights into the business model elements, they need to change over the course of digital servitization and how to manage the process.Originality/valueA longitudinal case study of a traditional manufacturer that has achieved stellar success through digital servitization business models development.

Hospitality business models, customer well-being and trust: the mediating role of competitive service advantage

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenna V. Shulga ◽  
James A. Busser ◽  
Billy Bai
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Generational Cohorts ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Hospitality Business

Purpose This study aims to examine how hospitality consumers of different generations appraise competitive service advantage (CSA) of service providers, based on providers’ business models and value propositions, particularly, how these perceptions influence consumers’ purchase intention, subjective well-being and trust in service provider. Design/methodology/approach This study used a 3 × 4 between-within online scenario-based experimental design (business models: traditional, collaborative, shared; value propositions: innovation, marketing, service production, recovery) using equal and randomized assignment to experimental conditions. Following equal quota-based randomized sampling, three generations were examined (n = 180): baby boomers, Generation Xers and millennials. Multivariate analysis of variance and PROCESS macro were used to analyze the data. Findings Hospitality consumers perceived value propositions from providers with different business models inversely based on their perceptions of firms’ CSA, subjective well-being and trust. CSA amplified the outcomes and served a mediating role for purchase intention, subjective well-being and trust. Different outcomes were based on generational cohorts. Practical implications Customer perceptions of firm’s unique competitive position should be managed holistically by combining business models, value propositions and generational cohorts to ensure customers’ purchase intention, trust and subjective well-being. CSA should be communicated to customers differently based on generational membership. Originality/value This study deepens knowledge of CSA, specifically from the consumer level of analysis. The key contribution is the role of CSA as a mediator for hospitality business models and customer-related outcomes of purchase intention, subjective well-being and trust. This study brings forward consumer subjective well-being as a potential goal for hospitality firms.

Sustainable institutional entrepreneurship in practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 476-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Gasbarro ◽  
Francesco Rizzi ◽  
Marco Frey
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Strategic Partnerships ◽  
Institutional Entrepreneurship ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Geothermal Heat ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurship Research ◽  
Institutional Entrepreneurs ◽  
Value Propositions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how sustainable entrepreneurs (SEs) address the regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive institutional pillars when operating in conservative contexts. It aims to study in depth the use of sustainable innovation (SI) as a means of increasing legitimacy within the institutions, thus triggering an institutional change. Design/methodology/approach The paper opted for an exploratory study on the Tuscan geothermal heat pumps market, which presents a promising but still largely unexploited sustainability potential despite its low institutional support, using the open-ended approach of grounded theory. The data include interviews and archive data, such as newspapers, magazines. Findings The paper provides empirical insights on how sustainable institutional entrepreneurs (SIEs) have developed innovative business models based on direct relationship with the final customers and strategic partnerships as a means of increasing legitimacy within the normative and cultural-cognitive institutions, and subsequently in the regulative institutions, through: innovative value propositions aimed at changing industry norms and social beliefs; increasing the private benefit of innovative sustainable business models in order to trigger imitation dynamics; inter-sector strategic partnerships sharing the same sustainability objectives; the inclusion of the relevant actors in relation to the social norms and cultural-cognitive barriers in a value proposition. On the basis of these findings a model has been developed. Research limitations/implications The study enriches the sustainable entrepreneurship research stream by providing empirical evidence on how SEs foster changes in the three institutional pillars with SI. It also contributes to the institutional entrepreneurship research by extending the results of previous studies regarding institutional tactics. Practical implications The paper could help SIEs prioritizing changes in value propositions and strategic partnerships to create market-based coalitions, as a means of institutional legitimization for SI. Originality/value The study illustrates the relationship between the sustainable institutional entrepreneurial practices and each institutional pillar, including the cultural-cognitive institutions, which have been neglected in previous research. This allows formulating five key propositions that guide SEs in succeeding as both sustainable and institutional entrepreneurs.

Digital transformation: opportunities to create new business models

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saul J. Berman
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Open Collaboration ◽  
Customer Interaction ◽  
New Business ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
New Business Models

PurposeAccording to IBM research, companies seeking opportunities in an era of constant customer connectivity focus on two complementary activities: reshaping customer value propositions and transforming their operations using digital technologies for greater customer interaction and collaboration. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explains that businesses aiming to generate new customer value propositions or transform their operating models need to develop a new portfolio of capabilities for flexibility and responsiveness to fast‐changing customer requirements.FindingsThe paper finds that engaging with customers at every point where value is created is what differentiates a customer‐centered business from one that simply targets customers well. Customer interaction in these areas often leads to open collaboration that accelerates innovation using online communities.Practical implicationsCompanies focused on fully reshaping the operating model optimize all elements of the value chain around points of customer engagement.Originality/valueThe article explains how companies with a cohesive plan for integrating the digital and physical components of operations can successfully transform their business models.

scholarly journals Co-owned resources: IP and data in smart cities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeliki Maria Toli ◽  
Niamh Murtagh ◽  
Hedley Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Business ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Operant Resources

PurposeSmart city projects typically operate in consortia of actors that lead to the co-creation of jointly owned intellectual property (IP) and data. While IP and data are significant for economic development, there are very limited studies on their co-ownership regimes especially on co-ownership of open data and open intellectual property. This study address this gap.Design/methodology/approachThis study is qualitative. In total, 62 in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out, with predominantly senior members of organisations actively involved in smart city projects. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThere are three models of co-ownership of IP and data: contractual joint ownership, undetermined or not-yet-determined ownership and open ownership. Each ownership model impacts differently the value-in-use. The relationships between actors in the consortia affect the way in which they co-create IP and data.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates how projects that operate in new models of innovation-led consortia produce new types of resources that are not simply co-created but co-owned. Co-owned resources have different value-in-use for each one of the different actors, independently of the fact that they jointly own them. This is influenced by the type of ownership model and predisposition of the actors to initially share resources and be flexible. Co-owned resources may generate future value propositions, act as interconnected operant resources and lead to the creation of new business models.

Business cooperatives: when does sharing become a drawback?

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Benoît Roux ◽  
Loïc Plé
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Cases ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Conceptual Study ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Cooperatives are relatively understudied compared with investor-owned companies, yet their economic impact makes them important to consider. This study is to focus on business cooperatives that gather firms or entrepreneurs that share the same social and economic motivations and need to ally to grow. The positive and negative consequences of membership on the members’ business models are detailed. Insights to address and prevent the detrimental influences of membership on members’ business model are provided. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual study relies on several business cases to suggest that cooperative membership comes with positive and detrimental consequences for the three dimensions of members’ business models: their organization, resources and competences and value propositions (i.e. members’ offers). Findings Because organization, resources and competences, and value propositions are affected by membership in a cooperative, business members’ control over their own business models may diminish. This can offer positive consequences but may also be too constraining and harmful in the long term. Research limitations/implications Only scant research has investigated the influence of cooperatives on members’ business models. Further studies could help firms and entrepreneurs maximize the advantages of their membership in cooperatives while limiting the detrimental consequences over time. Practical implications If they are aware of the potential drawbacks of business cooperative membership, members can implement proactive efforts to avoid losing control of their business models. Originality/value Prior literature mainly concentrates on how cooperatives work and develop. No prior study seems to have investigated the consequences of cooperatives’ membership on members’ business models.

The monistic diversity of continuum informatics

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 258-271
Author(s):  
Frank Upward
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Continuum Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Applications ◽  
Professional Norms ◽  
Information Governance ◽  
New Business ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
New Business Models

Purpose The Information Age during the transition from the paper era to the digital one saw the fracturing and fragmenting of the information-based specialisations. More recently, professional norms for governance have been swept aside within new business models based on information based business applications. This paper aims to support an advance towards networked cohesion based on informatics, regenerating professionalism for the complex networked age. Design/methodology/approach New regulatory approaches will have to manage monistic diversity, connecting the deeper logic of continuum thinking in which information governance exists as part of a simple whole (the monistic component) with a recognition that the parts of information governance are much more complex than the whole (the expanding diversity). A continuum approach of this type involves studying things in motion as part of evolutionary processes. Findings The production of information is galloping ahead of its authoritative management, and this is at the heart of many of the failings of the post-truth information era. Informatics with its emphasis upon the joint operation of technologies, social processes and knowledge forming and its ability to be an umbrella term for many specialisations can be a cohering force. Practical implications The alignment of thought, action and ethical information governance across inter-connected practices for individuals, groups and organisations can be supported by the deeper logic and grounded experience of continuum thinking. Originality/value This paper will look to expand the array of sympathisers who wish to get more in touch with studying things in motion, including those trying to cope with the need to develop more adequate ways for managing nanosecond archiving processes.

Managing digital transformation through hybrid business models

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
Herbert Endres ◽  
Kristina Stoiber ◽  
Nina Magdalena Wenzl
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Value Capture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Business Model Canvas ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Successful Business ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This paper aims to examine how hybrid business models can help companies to survive in a constantly evolving digital world. The hybridization of business models is a promising approach to innovation. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss the key elements of a successful business model hybridization along the Business Model Canvas (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010). In particular, the elements of value propositions, customer segments, channels and a company’s cost structures demonstrate the individual steps toward a hybridized business model. Using Paddy Power Betfair as an example, the authors showcase how the concept of a hybrid business model can be successfully implemented in practice. Findings By hybridizing its business model, Betfair not only expanded existing customer value propositions but also introduced new ways of co-creating value with customers. Simultaneously, the hybridization positively affects a company’s revenue model, hence evolving in new ways of capturing value. Originality/value To effectively hybridize and thus innovate a company’s business model, the two key factors are successful value creation and value capture. By hybridizing elements of existing business models, new value for customers can be generated. Companies capturing this additional value may achieve sustainable and successful business models and thereby gain a competitive advantage.

Energy efficiency in commercial buildings: capturing added-value of retrofit

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Morrissey ◽  
Niall Dunphy ◽  
Rosemarie MacSweeney
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Commercial Buildings ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Value Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Propositions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate, the functioning of value creating configurations and stakeholder interactions in networks of organisations of the retrofit industry for commercial buildings. Design/methodology/approach – A value approach was applied to develop a model of retrofit activities. A Europe wide stakeholder engagement, consisting of over 50 face-to-face interviews with key informants with energy efficiency retrofit (EER) knowledge and expertise, informed analyses on flows of both tangible and intangible value for commercial EER projects. Findings – Given the need to expand the EER marketplace, the sustainability of EER processes is as important as the sustainability of EER project outcomes. Understanding value creation in retrofit processes is crucial to successfully harnessing the available energy savings potential from the built environment. Practical implications – The increasing importance of externalities, such as carbon, means that previously unaccounted for costs are now being considered in business models. For EER projects, the challenge is to respond to this new business environment, while maintaining adequate value for stakeholders. For commercial property developers, this means a growing impetus to understand the value propositions of other EER stakeholders. Originality/value – The evaluation of value creation across business relationships such as those of the construction industry has not been conducted in a systematic manner to date. This paper provides a novel application of value analysis. Interrogating materials and monetary flows, value interactions between stakeholders and stakeholder perception of value are vital in fostering the long-term capacity of the EER sector.

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