Business Models And Their Linkage To Innovation And Sustainable Development

Archetypal Connotations Of Business Model

In the 21^st century, the market scenario is competitive. The main theme of this ambience is to blindly run the rat race. This motive reflects continuation of the traditional legacy, which the businessmen have established during their reign. This continuation contradicts innovation, which is the need of the hour in terms of luring the customers (Boons & Lüdeke, 2013). Adopting the appropriate business models helps the companies and organizations to standardize the quality of the business. Viewing it from other perspective, business model links the two variables of the assignment, innovation and sustainable development. This assignment, through the means of literature review attempts to validate this linkage.       

Model is thought as something or someone, reliance upon whom would help the individuals to attain success in their life. This is applicable in all of the fields including business. The usual conventions associated with business model are something, which helps the personnel to alter their predicament from the phase of crisis (Boons et al., 2013). As an example, taking into consideration, the model of Porter’s five forces enhances the awareness of the personnel regarding the competitive scenario of the market.

Delving deep into the business terminology, a business model is something, which provides an insight into the ways and means by which the companies and organizations preserves the identified and specified values. As a matter of specification, business models have nine blocks-customer segments; value propositions; channels; customer relationships; revenue streams; key resources; key activities; partners and cost structure (Carayannis, Sindakis & Walter, 2015).

Figure 1: Components of business model

All these blocks complete the business process of the companies and organizations. Key resources help in carrying out the allocated tasks in an efficient and effective manner. Within this, adopting the means of social media enhances the network chain, which escalates the sales revenue and adds value to the profit margin. Herein lays the effectiveness of the block, “channels”. Involving the stakeholders, shareholders and other agency partners, in the meetings help in estimating the cost structure for the allocated projects. Systematization of all these components makes business model a central and integral part of the business (Benn,  Dunphy & Griffiths, 2014).

Business models also find their applicability in the determination of the cost revenue. As an example, in the phase of financial crisis, the companies and organizations can make effective use of business model, like demand supply curve can help the personnel to calculate the cost of the products and services. This calculation would lead to the estimations regarding the sales revenue. These calculations, estimations can be linked to the word “architecture”. In other words, these plans prepare the staffs for the financial crisis, which possesses flexibility to maintain the integrated structure of the organizations and company. This is possible only if the personnel emerge successful in making practical application of the learnt skills (Dentchev et al., 2016).

This segment provides another parameter for the business model, that is, solution for the workplace issues. Problems are an integral part of business. Problems destroy the order and harmony of the workplace. Seeking innovative solutions reflect the approach of the personnel towards preservation of the core values. Consideration of the business models in a wise step for the personnel in terms of restoring the decorum of the workplace. Here example can be taken of the problem solving model, which enhances the decision making skills and abilities of the personnel (Adams et al., 2016). The major drive behind this is the stage of evaluation, which helps the personnel to assess the exposed performance in terms of the identified and specified requirements. Effective consideration of this model reduces biasness among the personnel and enhances diversity within the workplace. Internal coordination and unity between the personnel enables the personnel to achieve loyalty, trust and dependence from the customers. Organizing open forums and discussions is a specific example for the solutions towards workplace problems.

Business Model as a Solution for the Workplace Problems

Following participative management style for the achievement of solutions maintains the stability in the relationship between the management and the employees. The penultimate stage of the problem solving model is the evaluation, which provides the employees with the opportunity to improve and upgrade the standard and quality of decisions (Bocken et al., 2013). Maintenance of continuity in this direction enhances the aspect of Public relations. The primary step here is to identify the problem and its intensity. Unless and until the problem is of higher intensity, the companies and organizations need to solve the matter internally. Rational thinking in this direction results in the customer retention. Rationality signifies the application of alternative solutions upon the failure of one solution. This rationality adds value to the roles and responsibility of the personnel. Negligence in this direction acts as a compromise with the modifications needed for redesigning the organizational structure (Cohen & Kietzmann, 2014). 

Change is an inevitable concept within the business in terms of luring more and more customers towards the brand image. However, merely changing the existing ways and means of marketing would not result in the achievement of positive outcomes. Application of effective management techniques would alter the predicament of the companies and organizations from the crisis phase or “being looked down” (Bocken, Rana & Short, 2015). For this also, business models prove to be an effective step. Example can be given of Capgemini, where the rise of Big Data has revolutionized the business. As a matter of specification, the growth in data and analytics has stabilized the relationship between the stakeholders, shareholders and agency partners. Through the Big Data, Capgemini has been able to mitigate the instances of cyber crimes largely. The managers are confident regarding giving a tough competition to the contemporary brands (Capgemini.com  2017). This confidence is enough to attain sustainable development within the competitive ambience of the market. Moreover, this confidence destroys the conception regarding Big Data posing as an obstacle in the efficient execution of the business activities. Inclusion of efficiency and cost focus; growth of existing business streams, disrupting the contemporary markets through new revenue channels and monetization of the data within the change management model has enabled Capgemini to achieve higher competitive edge (Capgemini.com  2017).  

Seeking innovative means for setting disparate data sets have upgraded the existing technological streams for the company, Capgemini. Adherence and compliance to the competitive policies reflects the transparency in the business, which has paved the way of foreign market penetration. Satisfaction of the customers is the major drive behind this radical transformation (Capgemini.com  2017).

Conclusion

This assignment emerges successful in providing an insight into the measures needed for innovating the existing performance for the achievement of sustainable development. Business models act as a medium, through which companies and organizations can alter their plights in the real market scenario. Considering business model as an activity adds flexibility towards strengthening the organizational structured.  One of the other parameters of business model is assistance in taking decisions. Acceptance of the propositions of the model contradicts the aspect of difference in opinions; however, this is not the story of all workplaces.  As a final touch, the essay highlights the issue of change, even for which business models are needed. Countering this, adoption of the appropriate business model possesses flexibility to alter the fate of the companies and organizations in terms of business activities and decision making.    

References and Bibliography

Adams, R., Jeanrenaud, S., Bessant, J., Denyer, D., & Overy, P. (2016). Sustainability?oriented innovation: a systematic review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(2), 180-205.

Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge.

Bocken, N. M. P., Rana, P., & Short, S. W. (2015). Value mapping for sustainable business thinking. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 32(1), 67-81.

Bocken, N., Short, S., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2013). A value mapping tool for sustainable business modelling. Corporate Governance, 13(5), 482-497.

Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9-19.

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Broman, G. I., & Robèrt, K. H. (2017). A framework for strategic sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 17-31.

Capgemini.com  (2017), Big fast data :The rise of insight driven business report, Retrieved 25^th August 2017 from https://www.capgemini.com/resource-file-access/resource/pdf/big_fast_data_the_rise_of_insight-driven_business-report.pdf

Carayannis, E. G., Sindakis, S., & Walter, C. (2015). Business model innovation as lever of organizational sustainability. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 40(1), 85-104.

Cohen, B., & Kietzmann, J. (2014). Ride on! Mobility business models for the sharing economy. Organization & Environment, 27(3), 279-296.

Dentchev, N., Baumgartner, R., Dieleman, H., Jóhannsdóttir, L., Jonker, J., Nyberg, T., … & van Hoof, B. (2016). Embracing the variety of sustainable business models: social entrepreneurship, corporate intrapreneurship, creativity, innovation, and other approaches to sustainability challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 113.

Epstein, M. J., & Buhovac, A. R. (2014). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Rohrbeck, R., Konnertz, L., & Knab, S. (2013). Collaborative business modelling for systemic and sustainability innovations. International Journal of Technology Management 22, 63(1-2), 4-23.