STOF Model : critical design issues and critical success factors

In this chapter we will make the transition towards the design of business models and the related critical issues. We develop a model that helps us understand the causalities that play a role in understanding the viability and feasibility of the business models, i.e. long-term profitability and market adoption. We argue that designing viable business models requires balancing the requirements and interests of the actors involved, within and between the various business model domains. Requirements in the service domain guide the design choices in the technology domain, which in turn affect network formation and the financial arrangements. It is important to understand the Critical Design Issues (CDIs) involved in business models and their interdependencies. In this chapter, we present the Critical Design Issues involved in designing mobile service business models, and demonstrate how they are linked to the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) with regard to business model viability. This results in a causal model for understanding business model viability, as well as providing grounding for the business model design approach outlined in Chapter 5.

Keynote address : aligning HR with a changing business landscape

"Firstly, I thank you sincerely for your kind invitation and warm welcome to Sri Lanka and to this national HR conference, I particularly acknowledge the initiative of Chairman of the Technical Committee, Dr Asoka Jinadasa in making it possible for me to be here, and to offer this contribution to your conference. I congratulate you on assembling such an impressive array of talent to aid your discussions. I hope I can add usefully to your conversations. In particular I congratulate you on developing such a good definition of HRM: “A strategic and integrated approach in acquisition, development and engagement of talent using relevant tools, with proper policies, products and processes in creating a conducive climate towards achieving organizational excellence and societal well-being” To me, that means that HR has to add value to the organisation, through an integrated set of tools, competencies, and policies, which are all consistent with the business model..."

Conceptualising business models : definitions, frameworks and classifications

The business model concept is gaining traction in different disciplines but is still criticized for being fuzzy and vague and lacking consensus on its definition and compositional elements. In this paper we set out to advance our understanding of the business model concept by addressing three areas of foundational research: business model definitions, business model elements, and business model archetypes. We define a business model as a representation of the value logic of an organization in terms of how it creates and captures customer value. This abstract and generic definition is made more specific and operational by the compositional elements that need to address the customer, value proposition, organizational architecture (firm and network level) and economics dimensions. Business model archetypes complement the definition and elements by providing a more concrete and empirical understanding of the business model concept. The main contributions of this paper are (1) explicitly including the customer value concept in the business model definition and focussing on value creation, (2) presenting four core dimensions that business model elements need to cover, (3) arguing for flexibility by adapting and extending business model elements to cater for different purposes and contexts (e.g. technology, innovation, strategy),(4) stressing a more systematic approach to business model archetypes by using business model elements for their description, and (5) suggesting to use business model archetype research for the empirical exploration and testing of business model elements and their relationships.

A business perspective of legacy systems

Abstract Legacy information systems evolved incrementally in response to changes in business strategy and information technology. Organizations are now being forced to change much more radically and quickly than previously and this change places new demands on information systems. Legacy information systems are usually considered from a technical perspective, addressing issues such as age, complexity, maintainability, design and technology. We wish to demonstrate that the business dimension to legacy information systems, represented by the organisation structure, business processes and procedures that are bound up in the design and operation of the existing IT systems, is also significant. This paper identifies the important role of legacy information systems in the formation of new strategies. We show that the move away from a stable to an unstable business environment accelerates the rate of change. Furthermore, the gap between what the legacy information systems can deliver and the strategic vision of the organization widens when the legacy information systems are unable to adapt to meet the new requirements. An analysis of fifteen case studies provides evidence that legacy information systems include business and technical dimensions and that the systems can present problems when there is a misalignment between the strategic vision of the business, the IT legacy and the old business model embodied in the legacy.

“Back to the future” – a retrospective analysis of university business models

Using established strategic management and business model frameworks we map the evolution of universities in the context of their value proposition to students as consumers of their products. We argue that in the main universities over time have transitioned from a value-based business model through to an efficiency-based business model that for numerous reasons, is becoming rapidly unsustainable. We further argue that the future university business models would benefit with a reconfiguration towards a network value based model. This approach requires a revised set of perceived benefits, better aligned to the current and future expectations and an alternate approach to the delivery of those benefits to learner / consumers.

The Fleet Store : devising a public retail exhibition to promote creative, innovative and sustainable business models for emerging fashion designers

1.Description of the Work The Fleet Store was devised as a creative output to establish an exhibition linked to a fashion business model where emerging designers were encouraged to research new and innovative strategies for creating design-driven and commercial collections for a public consumer. This was a project that was devised to break down the perceptions of emerging fashion designers that designing commercial collections linked to a sustainable business model is a boring and unnecessary process. The focus was to demystify the business of fashion and to link its importance to a design-driven and public outcome that is more familiar to fashion designers. The criterion for participation was that all designers had to be registered as a business with the Australian Taxation Office. Designers were chosen from the Creative Enterprise Australia Fashion Business Incubator, the QUT fashion graduate alumni and current QUT fashion design and double degree (fashion and business) students with existing businesses. The project evolved from a series of collaborative workshops where designers were introduced to new and innovative creative industries’ business models and the processes, costings and timings involved to create a niche, sustainable business for a public exhibition of design-driven commercial collections. All designers initiated their own business infra-structure but were then introduced to the concept of collaboration for successful and profitable exhibition and business outcomes. Collaborative strategies such as crowd funding, crowd sourcing, peer to peer mentoring and manufacturing were all researched, and strategies for the establishment of the retail exhibition were all devised in a collaborative environment. All participants also took on roles outside their ‘designer’ background to create a retail exhibition that was creative but also had critical mass and aesthetic for the consumer. The Fleet Store ‘popped up’ for 2 weeks (10 days), in a heritage-listed building in an inner city location. Passers-by were important, but the main consumer was enlisted by the use of interest and investment from crowd sourcing, crowd funding, ethical marketing, corporate social responsibility projects and collaborative public relations and social media strategies. The research has furthered discussion on innovative strategies for emerging fashion designers to initiate and maintain sustainable businesses and suggests that collaboration combined with a design-driven and business focus can create a sustainable and economically viable retail exhibition. 2. Research Statement Research Background The research field involved developing a new ethical, design-driven, collaborative and sustainable model for fashion design practice and management. The research asked can a public, design-driven, collaborative retail exhibition create a platform for promoting creative, innovative and sustainable business models for emerging fashion designers. The methodology was primarily practice-led as all participants were designers in their own right and the project manager acted as a mentor and curator to guide the process and analyse the potential of the research question. The Fleet Store offers new knowledge in design practice and management; with the creation of a model where design outcomes and business models are inextricably linked to the success of the creative output. Key innovations include extending the commercialisation of emerging fashion businesses by creating a curated retail gallery for collaborative and sustainable strategies to support niche fashion designer labels. This has contributed to a broader conversation on how to nurture and sustain competitive Australian fashion designers/labels. Research Contribution and Significance The Fleet Store has contributed to a growing body of research into innovative and sustainable business models for niche fashion and creative industries’ practitioners. All participants have maintained their business infra-structure and many are currently growing their businesses, using the strategies tested for the Fleet Store. The exhibition space was visited by over 1,000 people and sales of $27,000 were made in 10 days of opening. (Follow up sales of $3,000 has also been reported.) Three of the designers were ‘discovered’ from the exhibition and have received substantial orders from high profile national buyers and retailers for next season delivery. Several participants have since collaborated to create other pop up retail environments and are now mentoring other emerging designers on the significance of a collaborative retail exhibition to consolidate niche business models for emerging fashion designers.

The use of embodiments in distributed collaborative business process modelling

Remote networked collaboration with business model documentation has many communication problems. The aim of this project is to solve some of these communication problems by using digital 3D representations of human visual cues. Results from this project increased our understanding of the role and effects of visual cues in remote collaboration, specifically for validating business process models. Technology designs to support such cues across a distance have been proposed in this thesis with qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis being combined to analyse the impact of these cues on the communication, coordination and performance of a team collaborating remotely.

The role of the website in a magazine business: Revisiting old truths

This paper explores consumer behavioural patterns on a magazine website. By using a unique dataset of real-life click stream data from 295 magazine website visitors, interesting behavioural patterns are noted: most importantly, 86 % of all sessions only visit the blogs hosted by the magazine. This means that the visitors short-circuit the start page and are not exposed to any editorial content at all, and consequently not to any commercial content on those pages. Sessions visiting editorial content, commercial content or social media links actually represent only one (1) per cent or less of all sessions recorded. Consequently, the online platform gives very limited support for the business model. Our data questions the general assumption that online platforms are key components of a contemporary magazine’s business model.

The business implications of consumers’ behavioural patterns on a magazine website

This paper explores consumer behavioural patterns on a magazine website. By using a unique dataset of real-life click stream data from 295 magazine website visitors, individual sessions are grouped according to the different sections visited on the websites. Interesting behavioural patterns are noted: most importantly, 86 % of all sessions only visit the blogs. This means that the visitors are not exposed to any editorial content at all, and choose to avoid also commercial contents. Sessions visiting editorial content, commercial content or social media links are very few in numbers (each 1 per cent or less of the sessions), thus giving only very limited support to the magazine business model. We noted that consumer behaviour on the magazine website seems to be very goal-oriented and instrumental, rather than exploratory and ritualized. This paper contributes to the current knowledge of media management by shedding light on consumer behaviour on media websites, and opening up the challenges with current media business models. From a more practical perspective, our data questions the general assumption of online platforms as supporter of the print business.

Exploring aged care business models : A typological study

Australian providers of aged care are facing a rapidly ageing population and growth in demand for services. Beyond a sheer increase in consumers and major regulatory changes from Federal Government, many customers are becoming progressively discontented with a medically dominated model of care provision. This period of turbulence presents an opportunity for new entrants and forward-thinking organisations to disrupt the market by designing a more compelling value offering. Under this line of inquiry, the researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis study of over 37 Australian aged care organisations, clustering providers into six business model typologies. The study revealed that providers of aged care are becoming increasingly aware of emerging customer needs, and, in addressing these needs, are seeking to establish innovative models of care provision. This paper therefore presents a future model of care, along with implications for practice and policy.

Designing innovative business models with a framework that promotes experimentation

Purpose – Business models to date have remained the creation of management, however, it is the belief of the authors that designers should be critically approaching, challenging and creating new business models as part of their practice. This belief portrays a new era where business model constructs become the new design brief of the future and fuel design and innovation to work together at the strategic level of an organisation. Design/methodology/approach – The purpose of this paper is to explore and investigate business model design. The research followed a deductive structured qualitative content analysis approach utilizing a predetermined categorization matrix. The analysis of forty business cases uncovered commonalities of key strategic drivers behind these innovative business models. Findings – Five business model typologies were derived from this content analysis, from which quick prototypes of new business models can be created. Research limitations/implications – Implications from this research suggest there is no “one right” model, but rather through experimentation, the generation of many unique and diverse concepts can result in greater possibilities for future innovation and sustained competitive advantage. Originality/value – This paper builds upon the emerging research and exploration into the importance and relevance of dynamic, design-driven approaches to the creation of innovative business models. These models aim to synthesize knowledge gained from real world examples into a tangible, accessible and provoking framework that provide new prototyping templates to aid the process of business model experimentation.

Knowledge unlatched : A global library consortium model for funding Open Access scholarly books

Specialist scholarly books, including monographs, allow researchers to present their work, pose questions and to test and extend areas of theory through long-form writing. In spite of the fact that research communities all over the world value monographs and depend heavily on them as a requirement of tenure and promotion in many disciplines, sales of this kind of book are in free fall, with some estimates suggesting declines of as much as 90% over twenty years (Willinsky 2006). Cashstrapped monograph publishers have found themselves caught in a negative cycle of increasing prices and falling sales, with few resources left to support experimentation, business model innovation or engagement with digital technology and Open Access (OA). This chapter considers an important attempt to tackle failing markets for scholarly monographs, and to enable the wider adoption of OA licenses for book-length works: the 2012 – 2014 Knowledge Unlatched pilot. Knowledge Unlatched is a bold attempt to reconfigure the market for specialist scholarly books: moving it beyond the sale of ‘content’ towards a model that supports the services valued by scholarly and wider communities in the context of digital possibility. Its success has powerful implications for the way we understand copyright’s role in the creative industries, and the potential for established institutions and infrastructure to support the open and networked dynamics of a digital age.

Developing a supportive culture for teaching and learning : a university, faculty and school perspective

In the early 1990's the University of Salford was typical of most pre-1992 Universities in that whilst students provided much of it's income, little attention was paid to pedagogy. As Warren Piper (1994) observed, University teachers were professional in their subject areas but generally did not seek to acquire a pedagogy of HE. This was the case in Alsford. Courses were efficiently run but only a minority of staff were engaged in actively considering learning and teaching issues. Instead staff time was spent on research and commercial activity.----- In the mid-1990's the teaching environment began to change significantly. As well as Dearing, the advent of QAA and teaching quality reviews, Salford was already experiencing changes in the characteristics of its student body. Wideing access was on our agenda before it was so predominant nationally. With increasing numbers and heterogeneity of students as well as these external factors, new challenges were facing the University and teaching domain.----- This paper describes how a culture which values teaching, learning and pedagogic inquiry is being created in the university. It then focuses on parts of this process specific to the Faculty of Business and Informatics, namely the Faculty's Learning and Teaching Research Network and the establishment of the Centre for Construction Education in the School of Construction and Property Management.----- The Faculty of Business and Informatics' Learning and Teaching Research Network aims to raise the profile, quality and volume of pedagogic research across the five schools in the faculty. The initiative is targeted at all academics regardless of previous research experience. We hope to grow and nurture research potential where it exists and to acknowledge and use the existing expertise of subject-based researchers in collaborative ventures. We work on the principle that people are deliged to share what they know but need appreciation and feedback for doing so. A further ain is to surface and celebrate the significant amount of tacit knowledge in the area of pedagogy evidenced by the strength of student and employer feedback in many areas of the faculty's teaching.----- The Faculty embraces generic and core management expertise but also includes applied management disciplines in information systems and construction and property management where internationally leading research activities and networked centres of excellence have been established. Drawing from this experience, and within the context of the Faculty network, a Centre for Construction Education is being established with key international external partners to develop a sustainable business model of an enterprising pedagogic centre that can undertake useful research to underpin teaching in the Faculty whilst offering sustainable business services to allow it to benefit from pump-priming grant funding.----- Internal and external networking are important elements in our plans and ongoing work. Key to this are our links with the LTSN subject centres (BEST and CEBE) and the LTSN generic centre. The paper discusses networking as a concept and gives examples of practices which have proved useful in this context.----- The academic influences on our approach are also examined. Dixon’s (2000) work examining how a range of companies succeed through internal knowledge sharing has provided a range of transferable practices. We also examine the notion of dialogue in this context, defined by Ballantyne (1999) as ‘The interactive human process of reasoning together which comes into being through interactions based on spontaneity or need and is enabled by trust’ Social constructionist principles of Practical Authorship (Shotter, 1993, Pavlica, Holman and Thorpe, 1998)) have also proved useful in developing our perspective on learning and knowledge creation within our community of practice.

Final Report

This project aims to assess the extent of economic sustainability of working in international markets by Australian construction design-related firms. This investigation also identified barriers and success factors firms experience, which ultimately increases or reduces their exposure to financial risk. This study explored new research territory by developing a detailed understanding of the way three successful firms have maintained their longevity in various international markets. The firms are not considered to be large firms by international standards. The manner in which the firms achieve long term sustainability, deal with problems and barriers in international markets and develop successful strategies rely upon being adaptable to different markets and changes within markets. A model was developed based upon a critical analysis of the literature. An adaptive performance framework for sustainability was developed which had three key areas; internationalisation process, market knowledge and design management. The sustainable business model is underpinned by the management of non-economic factors, which include social, cultural and intellectual capital. The ultimate aim of any firm and the ultimate indicator of success is financial capital. Firms typically develop their own highly sophisticated financial measures themselves however have only an implicit understanding of other softer and less tangible factors that impact upon sustainability. Adaptive performance is the firm’s continual adaptivity of business practices to respond to and thereby achieve client satisfaction by a combination of self, market and project needs assessment.

Long term sustainability in exporting creativity

This project aims to assess the extent of economic sustainability of working in international markets by Australian construction design-related firms. This investigation also identified barriers and success factors firms experience, which ultimately increases or reduces their exposure to financial risk. This study explored new research territory by developing a detailed understanding of the way three successful firms have maintained their longevity in various international markets. The firms are not considered to be large firms by international standards. The manner in which the firms achieve long term sustainability, deal with problems and barriers in international markets and develop successful strategies rely upon being adaptable to different markets and changes within markets. A model was developed based upon a critical analysis of the literature. An adaptive performance framework for sustainability was developed which had three key areas; internationalisation process, market knowledge and design management. The sustainable business model is underpinned by the management of non-economic factors, which include social, cultural and intellectual capital. The ultimate aim of any firm and the ultimate indicator of success is financial capital. Firms typically develop their own highly sophisticated financial measures themselves however have only an implicit understanding of other softer and less tangible factors that impact upon sustainability. Adaptive performance is the firm’s continual adaptivity of business practices to respond to and thereby achieve client satisfaction by a combination of self, market and project needs assessment.