Bio-inspired Design

Author(s):  
Ilaria MAZZOLENI ◽  
Massimo GARBUIO ◽  
Boris EISENBART

Policymakers and stakeholders are asking corporations to innovate and synchronize their practices with that of the natural environment. In this hopefully thought-provoking position paper, we use a comprehensive review of literature and industrial practice in gradually building strong arguments that bio-inspired design is a possible pathway to achieve this. This approach is directly inspired by nature, given that it is nature that ultimately will suggest novel ways to conserve biodiversity and provide human beings with a sustainable lifestyle. We strive to show the value of bio-inspired products and services, not only by virtue of being more environmentally sustainable, but, when consolidated in a concerted business model and value chain to lead to a sustainable competitive advantage for companies.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juhong Chen ◽  
Ruijun Zhang ◽  
Di Wu

The equipment maintenance services have become a new profit center and an important way to gain sustainable competitive advantage for manufacturing enterprises. The business model is an important tool for manufacturing enterprises to derive economic benefits from sustainable competitive advantage in the context of digitalization technologies, such as IoT, big data, and cloud computing. At present, the concept of equipment maintenance business model innovation is still vague, and it is rare to report on the innovation behaviors and types of equipment maintenance business models adopted by manufacturing enterprises. Based on literature analysis of equipment maintenance services and business model innovation, following business model gestalt theory, the concept of equipment maintenance business model innovation is analyzed at the business-level, the types are divided into novel and efficient following value sources—“innovation and efficiency”. The initial scale is developed through literature investigation, semi-structured interviews and expert reviews, and tested by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis by using the data of two independent large-sample questionnaires. The results indicate that the behavior and types of equipment maintenance business model innovation can be described by two types and 19 items.


Author(s):  
David L. Bahn

The strategic benefit of IT (information technology) in supporting business functions is often seen as the basis for competitive advantage that is sustainable. The value chain concept has been a handy tool widely utilized in business strategy analysis to match firm competency in performing business activities with the achievement of sustainable marketplace advantage. When it comes to the assessment of the competitive value of information technology, the value chain concept seems to either categorize IT as a support activity or to overly narrow the scope of IT’s role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This chapter reviews the concepts of the value chain and sustainable competitive advantage. Short case studies from a number of industries are presented in order to illustrate the limitations of using the value chain to describe information technology’s role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. These examples demonstrate the subtle and often complex relationship between information technology and competitive advantage.


Author(s):  
Mark R. Nelson

The strategic benefit of IT (information technology) in supporting business functions is often seen as the basis for competitive advantage that is sustainable. The value chain concept has been a handy tool widely utilized in business strategy analysis to match firm competency in performing business activities with the achievement of sustainable marketplace advantage. When it comes to the assessment of the competitive value of information technology, the value chain concept seems to either categorize IT as a support activity or to overly narrow the scope of ITs role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This chapter reviews the concepts of the value chain and sustainable competitive advantage. Short case studies from a number of industries are presented in order to illustrate the limitations of using the value chain to describe information technologys role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. These examples demonstrate the subtle and often complex relationship between information technology and competitive advantage.


Author(s):  
Sarah Philipson

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate key antecedents to the use of radical innovation of the business model of a service firm to achieve competitive advantage. “Business model” emerged fairly recently as an academic concept, competing with “sustainable strategic competitiveness”, “strategic fit” (Porter, 1996) and “dominant logic” (Prahalad and Bettis, 1986) to give key explanatory understanding of firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on action research, in which the re-engineering of a service business turned into radical innovation of the business model. Findings – Radical innovation (conceived of as a new dominant logic) of the business model of a service firm is shown to give sustainable competitive advantage. It shows how fundamental the concept of business model is to understanding the nature of the business and links it to fundamental academic discussion of recent decades around concepts such as “sustainable competitive advantage”, “structural capital” and “tacit knowing”. Research limitations/implications – This is based on a case, and more research is needed to generalize the findings. Practical implications – In contrast to the knowledge management and structural capital evangelization, much tacit knowing cannot be converted to structural capital. Originality/value – Business model is a central concept to understand business performance, but must not be conceived as all-encompassing. We give a model for what the concept should cover and contrast it with other important models.We show the role of tacit knowledge in a business model.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Katri Kerem ◽  
Dietmar Sternad

Subject area Marketing, branding, strategic management, online retailing, and entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability Postgraduate courses in: strategic management; marketing management (branding); and entrepreneurship. Case overview The case describes the founding and the first year of an Estonian internet start-up, the “deal-of-the-day” web site Cherry.ee. The focal topic of the case is the analysis of alternative scenarios for the further development of the company after the first year in business: selling the company, entering into a merger with similar businesses, or continuing to develop the brand independently. The case gives an example of creating a new market, introducing a new business model and launching a brand with substantial use of social media marketing. The successful business model was quickly copied by a lot of followers creating a fierce competitive environment and raising a question of sustainability of the competitive advantage. The case provides an opportunity to discuss how to strategically handle the development of a growing start-up company in an increasingly competitive market environment. Expected learning outcomes Understanding the critical success factors and potential pitfalls for an internet start-up; developing skills to critically analyze the concept of sustainable competitive advantage; comprehension of the main factors influencing the strategic decision on whether to follow a growth, cooperation, or exit strategy; and awareness of the relative advantages of online and offline marketing and understanding how social media strategies can be used to build a brand. Supplementary materials Teaching note.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-49
Author(s):  
Aram Massoudi ◽  
Mohamed Ahmed

This study aims to detect the extent of adoption of the Blue Ocean Strategy in the Syrian ‎food industry companies and its role in improving its competitive advantage. Syrian ‎Companies need to shape their blue ocean strategy in accordance with consumer value, ‎price, cost, and adoption. This permits them to construct a feasible business model and ‎ensure that profits from the blue ocean is created. The study used descriptive-analytical ‎approach. The data were composed of a questionnaire distributed to 293 personnel ‎working in 85 Syrian food companies. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 22) were ‎applied to analyze the data. The result showed there are a substantial interest by Syrian ‎food companies to adopt Blue Ocean strategy indicators in its operations. Also, there was ‎a significant relationship between the adoption of Blue Ocean Strategy and the ‎improvement of sustainable competitive advantage for the investigated companies. The ‎researchers suggested that Syrian companies should emphasize on the importance of the ‎innovation indicator and its role in producing new brands and creating markets free of ‎competition which sequentially contributes to increase in the company's market share. The ‎study achieves a qualitative benefit for both researchers and academics about the concept ‎of BOS because it is the first study that introduces the BOS and its impact on sustainable ‎competitive advantage in Syrian‎.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Husni Mubarok

This paper develops a complexity of adaptive business modelson digital technology and international business network towards a sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, this paper aims to integrated the concept of adaptive organizational design with complex business models based on digital technology and and international business network. Adaptive organization design should change consistently with changing technological, ecological, economic, social, digital technology and international business networks.Theoretical basis of the concept of business model and relate it to elements of business model, digital technology and international business network. The complexity of adaptive business models based on digital technology emphasizes the importance of building change, international business networks, developing complex and adaptive organizations for innovation in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Keywords:complexity,adaptive,technology<br /><br />


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Sumit Mitra ◽  
Ranjith V.K.

Subject area Strategic Management. Study level/applicability MBA, Executive MBA. Case overview This case deals with Harsh Mariwalla’s struggle to develop an innovative company from scratch. The journey of innovation is not an easy one. Marico was forced to compete with multinationals in many markets where it operated. Constant pressure from rivals has made the company develop a new innovative business model, which is expected to generate profitability and sustainable competitive advantage. Expected learning outcomes Students will be able to appreciate the business models, understand the competitive moves by rivals, understand strategy formulation and implementation, understand product innovation and competitive advantage and understand the ability to tackle competition with innovation. 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 11: Strategy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 334-347
Author(s):  
Francis Kwadade-Cudjoe

Mergers and acquisitions have been popular in the time past, where organizations pride themselves by engaging in that venture to develop and promote their businesses to achieve competitive advantage. However, in the modern technological business dispensation, it has been a different ball game all together. This is due to the abandonment of the significance associated with the concept that mergers and acquisitions produce the expected gains that management look for. Currently, the magic wand found for organizations is to integrate backward / forward within the industry’s processing line or value chain for expansion and achievement of competitive advantage. This has been made possible, because organizations in the same market and value chain could easily integrate backward / forward to expand their businesses for success, as being practiced by the Japanese and most American companies in the vehicular and computer industries, respectively. Furthermore, the previous belief in the myth that mergers and acquisitions produce the expected results that managers look for, is now vilified. It therefore, behooves on organizations to integrate backward / forward within their market / supply chain for expansion, and consequently work hard to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.


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