Introduction
In recent years we have seen entire industries disappear (video rental, photo shops) and we are facing high unemployment in professions where robots / software can take over (banks, real estate agents, financial brokers, and many others). At the same time, new industries and new opportunities are being created, for example through e-commerce and sharing economy (Uber, AirBnB).
Companies must innovate - they must create new products, services, and platforms. But even more important is developing new business models to generate sustainable earnings.
The first half of the course is mainly about innovation strategy: How should companies go about creating value for new ideas? We provide an insight into how companies can use both physical and digital channels to achieve their strategic goals, and how they can build a culture of innovation. We also address the important theme of value-based management.
The second part of the course is about developing new business models that will put innovations in the market. A business model describes the background to how a company creates, delivers and retrieves value. This value can be economical or non-economic (for example, environmental).
A business model is a perspective for commercializing an existing or new value proposition. A value proposition is a presentation of the content that makes customers pay for what the companies offer.
In this course, we look at three key perspectives in business models. The perspectives each have their own strengths and complement each other. During the course, the students will develop specific business models for companies, and be able to use these to develop viable and innovative strategies.