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.

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.

How firms can deal with a global crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Global Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Disruption to business is inevitable during a global crisis situation. Organizations can be better positioned to manage negative consequences by developing business models that shape a long-term commitment to sustainable goals which can bring benefits to the firm and its different stakeholders. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

From sustainability constraints to innovation

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-715
Author(s):  
Goran Calic ◽  
Anton Shevchenko ◽  
Maryam Ghasemaghaei ◽  
Nick Bontis ◽  
Zeynep Ozmen Tokcan
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Organizational Success ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Develop Theory ◽  
Strategic Leaders ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to connect the literatures on sustainability, innovation and paradox to suggest that sustainability constraints – simultaneously addressing commercial and sustainability goals – will increase organizational innovation. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from the literatures on paradox, innovation and sustainability, the authors develop theory about how managers can deliberately enhance the generation and implementation of creative ideas within their organizations. Findings The authors build on the existing literature that suggests sustainability considerations should be strategically and deeply integrated elements of business activity by developing arguments about how such integration improves organizational performance. The authors argue sustainability considerations, by creating unique forms of constraints, improve organizational success by enhancing creative idea generation and implementation. Practical implications Even strategic leaders espousing to only maximize economic efficiency face the challenge of effectively managing sustainability constraints. The discrepancy between what they should do and the problems they face means strategic leaders often have fewer tools to manage and reflect on their own decision-making than is available in the management literature. This paper presents arguments from diverse research that describes potential decision processes and their outcomes. Social implications This paper highlights an important shift in how sustainability constraints are fundamental drivers of long-term organizational performance. Originality/value Extant literature treats the simultaneous attention to sustainability concerns and commercial success as difficult accomplishments of clever strategic leaders. Instead, the authors propose that simultaneous attention to sustainability and commercial imperatives is fundamental to long-term organizational success, because it is a powerful determinant of new products, services and business models.

Decisions on participation in music festivals: an exploratory research in Portugal

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
João Pedro Portugal ◽  
Antonia Correia ◽  
Paulo Águas
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeMusic festivals offer new opportunities for leisure and tourist experiences in Portugal. Some tourists and residents, the so-called festival goers, participate and come back to these events, whereas others, the non-goers, never participate and are not willing to do so. The aim of this research is to understand the decision to participate or not based on facilitators and constraints to participate or not in a music festival, dismantling residents and tourists' attitudes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 1,178 music festival goers and non-goers in Portugal. Content analysis was undertaken to depict the most important determinants of their decisions. Those determinants were categorized according to the three dimensions of factors of ecological systems theory, considering festival goers and non-goers as well as tourists and residents.FindingsThe results suggested that although constraints are not as often voiced as facilitators, both influence decisions that are expressed as delaying, postponing, avoiding or complying with others by participating in these events. Furthermore, the results suggested that the decision to participate or not depends on the social contexts of the festival goers or non-goers, and that these social contexts may invert their decision, be it by facilitating or constraining their participation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to festivals in Portugal and used a qualitative analysis that may be confirmed in other countries with quantitative methods. Nevertheless, this research opens paths to discuss facilitators and constraints through ecological system theory and gives insights into this industry.Practical implicationsThe results provide important insights for festival organizers to retain and build long-term relationships with festival goers. The results also provide insights into how to overcome the resistance which non-goers demonstrated.Social implicationsThis research offers an in-depth and insightful understanding of individuals' attitudes towards music festivals, allowing festival demand to be better understood. Furthermore, this research proves that attendance of music festivals is mostly a socially driven behaviour.Originality/valueBy eliciting facilitators and constraints of the decision to participate in music festivals, considering residents and tourists, festival goers and non-goers, this study provides a deeper understanding of the decision to participate, through a theoretical framework which is rarely applied in this field.

Shapeholders: managing them as allies, partners and significant constituents

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleksiy Osiyevskyy ◽  
Vladyslav Biloshapka
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
The Public ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The authors review the concept of building relationships with Shapeholders,: a broad group of players that have no financial stake in the company yet can substantively influence it. The process for doing this is the subject of a new book by Mark Kennedy, Shapeholders: Business success in the age of social activism. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine Mark Kennedy’s framework for managing the firm’s shapeholders, a model composed of seven basic steps (7A’s): Align with a purpose, Anticipate, Assess, Avert, Acquiesce, Advance common interests, and Assemble to win. Findings Managing corporate reputation in alliance with enlightened shapeholders is a potential defense against self-aggrandizing schemes to wantonly maximize shareholder value in the short run. Practical implications Managing shapeholders is part of the messy democratic process that works when power is apportioned fairly among those affected by a firm’s decisions, and this process underpins the winning business models of true market leaders. Social implications Stakeholders previously discredited as mere “mosquitos” have gained new power, particularly when their legitimate concerns and unfair treatment resonate with the interests of a significant segment of the public and influential shapeholders. Originality/value Shapeholders can create enormous opportunities for smart managers capable of effectively engaging with them.

scholarly journals Sinabung volcano: how culture shapes community resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-303
Author(s):  
Marta Mori ◽  
Ronan McDermott ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Yasmina Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aid Dependency ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Cultural Experts ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how culture, including traditions and social structures, can influence resilience and how culturally sensitive relief operations can put affected people and their context at the core of any interventions. Design/methodology/approach A case study of the Mt Sinabung volcano area in Indonesia was undertaken. As part of the case study, an analysis of interventions was conducted, which was complemented by semi-structured interviews with Karo cultural experts and humanitarian organisations. Findings Culture influences the manner in which the Karo people react to volcano eruptions with varying implications for recovery. In addition, relief organisations which understand people’s actions through a cultural lens have better managed to tailor programs with long-term impact, thereby avoiding aid dependency. Practical implications Practical examples of disaster management activities that adequately account for the beneficiaries’ way of living prior to the eruptions are provided. Aid actors are provided with guidance concerning how to better tailor their activities in line with a cultural lens. Originality/value The study provides empirical grounding for claims concerning the role of culture in planning interventions in Indonesia and other similar contexts.

Intertwining CSR with strategy – the way ahead

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shital Jhunjhunwala
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Business Models ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance and means of making corporate social responsibility (CSR) an integral part of corporate strategy with the help of case studies. Design/methodology/approach – The article explores the transformation of business from being egocentric to socially responsible. With the use of examples it demonstrates how integrating CSR into strategy can create sustainable business models. Findings – Firms need to develop a framework for integrating CSR into their business strategy for long term successful survival. Social implications – Corporates and society are intertwined and mutually dependent. Business cannot survive without society's acquiescence nor succeed without its active support. Originality/value – The article explains the benefits of CSR and how to make it an integral part of business strategy to gain a competitive advantage.

Why management models are crucial to the success of business models

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Denning
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Models ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The author posits that the management model of an organization determines what kind of business models can be pursued within that organization and that successful 21st century management models are very different from those that succeeded in the 20th century. Design/methodology/approach The author compares and contrasts successful 21st century management models with models that succeeded in the 20th century. Findings Success in the digital age requires a 21st century management model and mindset based on an obsession with delivering value to customers. Practical implications The management model incorporates the key ‘written and unwritten rules’ of the firm. The success of digital innovation can be threatened by 20th Century management assumptions that thwart Agile initiatives. Originality/value Article explains how Agile mindsets and practices are essential to the 21st century management model, and how they potentiate the firm’s focus on creating customers.

The transition of a socio-technical system to a smart grid: illustrated with the Indian electricity network

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lakshminarayana Kompella
Keyword(s):  
Technical System ◽  
Transition Theory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Pressures ◽  
Policy Systems ◽  
Transition Trajectory ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to explain transitions in a socio-technical system characterized by non-economic entities that influence economic activity, i.e. embeddedness and coalitions. The selected socio-technical system is an Indian electric network with an interventionist policy. Its embeddedness and coalitions drive the transition. The insights from such analysis expand socio-technical transition theory and provide valuable insights to practitioners in their policymaking. Design/methodology/approach The authors need to observe the effects of non-economic institutions in their setting. Moreover, in India, the regional policies influence decision-making; therefore, selected two Indian states. The two Indian states, along with their non-economic entities, provided diverse analytic and heuristic views. Findings The findings show that coalitions, with their embeddedness in the absence of any mediating policy systems, act as external pressures and influence innovation and the socio-technical system’s transition trajectory. Their coalitions’ embeddedness follows a shaping, not selection logic. Thereby influence innovations in cumulating as stable designs. Such an approach provides benefits in the short-term but not in the long-term. Research limitations/implications The study selected two states and examined two of the four trajectories. By considering other states, the authors can obtain more renewable energy investments and further insights into the transformational trajectory. Practical implications The study highlights the coalition dynamics specific to the Indian electric power network and its transition trajectories. The non-economic entities influenced transition trajectories, innovation and policymaking of the socio-technical system. Originality/value The study expands the socio-technical transition theory by including embeddedness. The embeddedness brings a shaping logic instead of a selection logic.

Building a new resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Buell Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Cyber Security ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business System ◽  
New Business ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of the viewpoint is to examine the various ways in which the pandemic has exposed structural vulnerabilities in global business infrastructures that have long existed and been long ignored. It urges business leaders not to return to a “new normal” but make fundamental changes to ensure that their businesses are truly resilient and can withstand future threats more effectively. Design/methodology/approach The viewpoint looks at the various kinds of vulnerability to which businesses are exposed – such as supply chain, human capital, cyber security and climate change – and proposes ways to ensure that businesses, as well as shareholders and government entities work together to build true resilience. Findings At its core, the viewpoint exposes the various ways in which businesses have turned a blind eye to vulnerabilities that have always lurked just below the surface and suggests. The argument is that to secure the long-term future of our global business system, we can no longer remain oblivious to fundamental weaknesses in our infrastructures. Research limitations/implications The viewpoint looks selectively at the available data and is, therefore, by definition, subjective and non-comprehensive. Practical implications If businesses and shareholders truly take the recommendations of this viewpoint to heart, we can build a more resilient future through long-term investments in risk management infrastructures of all kinds that will secure a more prosperous and stable future. Social implications Developing a more resilient and stable global business infrastructure will help reduce the business volatility deriving from last minute responses to predictable threats. This will, in turn, help provide more stable, fulfilling employment, especially in developing countries that will act as a fly wheel for the secure development of human potential around the world. Originality/value While there has been much speculation of what the “new business normal” will look like once the pandemic has been conquered, this is, the author believes, the first piece to look concretely on how we can not only “build back better” but build back more soundly for the long term.

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