the business model concept and its utility in advancing nabci joint ventures december 12, 2006...

The Business Model Concept and its Utility in

Advancing NABCI Joint Ventures

December 12, 2006Austin, TX

Joint VentureConservation Business Model Roundtable

Central message or thesis…

The Business Model Concept, a relatively recent and not yet fully mature construct of the business world, has substantial utility to the “business” of conservation agencies, organizations, and partnerships.

• Provide an overview of the concept emphasizing its origins and perceived utility within the business world.

• Identify broadly the concepts and elements of a business model and translate them into those of a “conservation business model.”

• Provide observations on the utility and application of the concept in furthering the “business” of NABCI Joint Ventures.

Objectives…

• The Business Model Concept: An Overview

• Origin and Antecedents

• Adapting the Business Model Concept to the Conservation Enterprise

Topics…

• Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Concepts• Perceived Utility Within the Business World

• Observations on Applying the Concept to NABCI Joint Ventures

• Key Drivers Behind the Emergence of the Concept

“The term ‘business model’ is a recent addition to the management literature and largely a product of the dot com era.”

Through the mid- to late-1990’s the term is “entirely absent from all the most influential books on organizational design, business strategy, business economics, and business theory”.

At the height of the dot.com bubble, the term was “almost every where in books on e-commerce, both scholarly and business trade press…a marketing catchphrase for IT vendors.”

Keen, P. and S. Qureshi. 2006. “Organizational Transformation Through Business Models: A Framework for Business Model Design.” Proceedings of the 39th Hawaii International Conference on System Science

Origins…

“The literature shows that the topic of business models is often discussed superficially and frequently without any understanding of its roots, its role, and its potential.”

“…the number of times the term ‘business model’ appeared in a business journal (peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed) follows a pattern that resembles the shape of the NASDAQ market index.”

Osterwalder, A, Y. Pignuer, and C.Tucci. 2005. “Clarifying Business Models: Origins, Present, and Future of the Concept.” Communications of the Association of Information Systems, Vol 15, May 2005

Origins…

Hedman, J. and T. Kalling. 2001. “The Business Model: A Means to Understand the Business Context of Information and Communication Technology.” Institute of Economic Research Working Paper Series, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Sweden.

Chesbrough, H. and R.S. Rosenbloom. 2002. “The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation’s technology and spin-off companies.” Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol. 11, pp. 529-555

Origins…

The concept has its roots in and is an extension of “strategy theory.”

Strategy theory concerns itself with the analysis and explanation of how individual businesses perform in a competitive environment. It deals with the reasons and rationale for success or failure among businesses and focuses on the forces and factors that lead to competitive advantage.

Origins…

Three Dimensions of Strategy Theory:

• How a firm allocates, organizes, and manages its resources and assets internally.

• How and to what extent a firm integrates information technology into its functions and processes.

• How a firm perceives external threats and opportunities and positions itself within its external environment.

Hedman and Kalling (2001) see the potential of the business model concept as being able to unify these three areas and particularly the last with the first two.

Origins…

Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002)

• Traced the antecedents of the concept to “Strategy and Structure” a 1962 book by Alfred Chandler.

“seminal”

“…the first systematic and comparative account of growth and change in the modern industrial corporation.”



• Referenced writings in the 60’s and 70’s that developed and differentiated the concepts of “business strategy” and “corporate strategy.”

Business strategy: the “how, when, where” of bringing a product to market.

Corporate strategy: the “what and why” that determines a business’ reason for being.



• Referenced writings in the 60’s and 70’s that developed and differentiated the concepts of “business strategy” and “corporate strategy.”

Seemed to perceive a utility of the business model as being able to integrate the firm’s business strategies with its overarching corporate strategy.


Addressed the role and significance of the business model concept in determining whether and how a company captures value from its technological innovations.

And concluded that a company unable to adapt a technological innovation to its current business model or bring it to market with a different model will see value foregone and may ultimately reduce or withdraw from its commitment to technological innovation.

Neither Hedman and Kalling (2001) nor Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002) equated business model with strategy and both saw the former as being more encompassing than the latter.

Differentiating between “business model” and “strategy”…

Differentiating between “business model” and “strategy”…

“the two terms… are often used interchangeably. This both weakens the value of the sharp logic of an effective business model and makes it a redundant concept if it is just a variant on strategy.”

The “business model establishes the principles and axioms on which strategy is built.”

“To some extent the business model is the ‘what’ of business innovation and the strategy the ‘how’”.

Keen, P. and S. Qureshi. 2006. “Organizational Transformation Through Business Models: A Framework for Business Model Design.” Proceedings of the 39th Hawaii International Conference on System Science

Key Drivers behind the emergence of the concept…

• Globalization of economies

• Rapid advances in IT that have on one hand enabled and on the other required businesses to rethink, fundamentally, their business processes, business structure, and business networks.

• The transition from an industrial, manufacturing- based economy to a knowledge/service-based economy.

Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Concepts…

• Value Proposition

• Value Network (Business Ecosystem)

• Value Chain

• Core Competencies (of the organization)

• “The Theory of the Business”

Value Proposition…

The unique added value an organization offers its customers through its operations. An organization’s reason for being as expressed through the products, goods, and services it intends to provide to its customers.

Value Chain…

The stream of processes, activities, and functions operating within a business that are most responsible for the realization of its value proposition.

Porter, M. 1985. Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press, MacMillan, New York.

Value Chain…


Primary Activities:•Inbound logistics

•Operations

•Outbound logistics

•Marketing and Sales

•Service

Secondary Activities:•Procurement

•Technology Development•Human Resources Mgmt•Firm infrastructure

value chains are not as a matter of business well defined or mapped.

the more clearly a business can map its value chain, the more efficient it will be in maximizing the profits or competitive advantage associated with its value proposition.

Value Chain…


Presumption:

Assumption:

“a web of relationships that generates economic value and other benefits through complex dynamic exchanges between two or more individuals, groups or organizations. Any organization or group of organizations engaged in both tangible and intangible exchanges can be viewed as a value network, whether private industry, government or public sector.” www.vernaallee.com

Value Network…

Value Network…Moore, J.F. 1993. “Predator and Prey: a New

Ecology of Competition”, Harvard Business Review Vol. 71(3), pp.75-86

Business Ecosystem

Used the ecosystem analogy to explain the complex interrelationships between otherwise independent businesses functionally allied through supply chains, distribution chains, technology development, etc. Moore, J.F. 1996. The Death of Competition; Leadership and Strategy in the Age of Business Ecosystems. 303 pp. HarperBusiness

Value Network…

Business Ecosystem

Iansiti, M. and R. Levien. 2004. The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. 253 pp.

“biological ecosystems can serve as a source of vivid and useful terminology as well as provide specific and powerful insights into the different roles played by firms.”

Value Network…

Business Ecosystem

•Keystone “species” (value dominator)•Physical dominator

•Niche

•Commodity

Iansiti, M. and R. Levien. 2004. The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. 253 pp.

Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Concepts…



• Value Chain


• “The Theory of the Business”

Core Competencies…

The core competencies of an organization like that of an individual can take the form of knowledge, skills, abilities, or expertise in a particular subject matter, process, or function.

• Not confined to individuals – traits or characteristics of the organization

Honda: an ability to design and manufacture highly efficient internal combustion engines irrespective of size, scale, or intended use.

Prahalad, C.K. and G. Hamel. 1990. “The Core Competence of the Organization” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68(3) pp.79-93

Presumptions:

• If clearly articulated, core competencies will serve as unifying principles for the organization and permeate all its strategies.

• If well aligned with mission, value proposition, and value network, explicitly stated core competencies will place the organization at greater competitive advantage.

Core Competencies…Prahalad, C.K. and G. Hamel. 1990. “The Core Competence of the Organization” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68(3) pp.79-93

“The Theory of the Business”

Drucker, P.F. 1994. “The Theory of the Business” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70 no. 5

“These are the assumptions that shape any organization’s behavior, dictate its decisions about what to do and not to do, and define what the organization considers meaningful results.”

•Assumptions about the external environment within which the organization operates.

•Assumptions about the specific mission of the organization.

•Assumptions about the core competencies needed to accomplish the mission.



•Every organization has one, though rarely is it explicitly stated.

•Assumptions are seldom made explicit.

•Reassessing assumptions is essential to managing change.


Specifications of a valid “Theory of the Business”


•Assumptions about environment, mission, and core competencies must fit reality.

•Assumptions in all three areas have to fit one another.

•The Theory of the Business and thus its assumptions must be known and understood throughout the organization.

•The Theory and its underlying assumptions must be treated as an hypothesis and constantly tested.

Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Concepts



• Value Chain


• “The Theory of the Business” •Assumptions re: external environment

•Assumptions re: mission/reason for being•Assumptions re: core competencies

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of a Business Model

Purpose and Utility

of the Business Model Concept

Purpose: Clarify and unify the purpose, mission, function, and operation of an organizational entity within the framework of its external environment. Utility: Increasing understanding; clarifying relationships; enabling analysis and adaptation; and ultimately managing change.

“Therefore business – and every other organization today – has to be designed for change as the norm and to create change rather than react to it.”

Peter F. Drucker “Management Challenges for the 21st Century” p. 38

• The Business Model Concept: An Overview

• Origin and Antecedents


Topics…

• Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Concepts• Perceived Utility Within the Business World

• Observations on Applying the Concept to NABCI Joint Ventures

• Key Drivers Behind the Emergence of the Concept


Iansiti and Levien (2004) p.9





• Value Chain




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Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Conceptsof a Business Model



• Value Chain




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Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Conceptsof a Conservation Business Model

Value Proposition…

The unique added value an organization offers its customers through its operations. An organization’s reason for being as expressed through the products, goods, and services it intends to provide to its customers.

Conservation Value Proposition…

The value-added products, goods, and services the conservation organization intends to deliver to the conservation community – to include specifying the target audience (customer/market) within the larger community.

Functional Elements of the Conservation Enterprise

Planning

ImplementationMonitoring

Evaluation

Research

I & E

Planning

Implementation

Monitoring

Evaluation

Research

I & E

Site-scale delivery of habitat restoration practices/prescriptions

Population management/regulation

Project-specific impact assessment

Planning

Implementation

Monitoring

Evaluation

Research

I & E

Multi-scale objectives expressed as measurable biological outcomesDecision support tools specific to management practices/prescriptions

Site-scale objectives specific to agency program activities

Planning

Implementation

Monitoring

Evaluation

Research

I & E

“Stand-level forest inventories coordinated across the MAV system of state/federal management areas focused on parameters assumed most responsible for population response of priority wildlife species and linked to partner-specific decision-making processes regarding stand entry and management.”

Coordinated bird monitoring

Value Chain…


Conservation Value Chain…

The stream of processes, activities, and functions embedded within and flowing through the functional elements of the conservation enterprise that are responsible for the realization of the value proposition in question.


Planning


Evaluation

Research

I & E

Business Ecosystem…


Iansiti and Levien (2004) p.9• What ecological niche does our organization /

partnership intend to fill.

• What ecological relationships are most critical to our effectiveness.

• What ecological functions and services are we most associated with and responsible to.

Conservation organizations

Presumptions:




Core Competencies…

• Moist soil management

• Wetland impact assessment

• Restoration of longleaf pine stands

• Prescribed burning

• Biological planning at landscape scales

• Conservation design

• Technical assistance to landowners in the restoration and management of native grasslands

• Etc.

Presumptions:







•Assumptions about the external environment within which the organization operates.

•Assumptions about the specific mission of the organization.

•Assumptions about the core competencies needed to accomplish the mission.

North American Waterfowl Management Plan

• Management success would be linked to population response at a continental scale and landscape sustainability at ecoregional scales.

• Protection, restoration, and management would be formally coordinated through regional partnerships.

• Inventory and Monitoring would be undertaken at a scale that would support progressive refinement of population goals and habitat objectives.

1986 NAWMP – New Directions

LMVJV Assumptions

• Joint Venture partners are expected to establish a biological linkage between on-the-ground habitat objectives and Plan population goals.

• Characterizing and assessing landscape sustainability are critical JV endeavors.

• Monitoring and evaluation are integral components of NAWMP implementation and by extension JV implementation.

• Delivery programs will be focused on private as well as public lands and coordinated well enough that the whole exceeds the sum of its parts.

LMVJV “Theory of the Business”

• Joint Venture partners are expected to establish a biological linkage between on-the-ground habitat objectives and Plan population goals.

• Characterizing and assessing landscape sustainability are critical JV endeavors.

• Monitoring and evaluation are integral components of NAWMP implementation and by extension JV implementation.

• Delivery programs will be focused on private as well as public lands and coordinated well enough that the whole exceeds the sum of its parts.

Key Assumptions re: A JV’s Business Model

Re: External Environment

•The extent and nature of reciprocal responsibilities believed to exist between a JV and:•The committees/teams of the bird initiatives

e.g. The responsibilities of the PIF Steering Committee and Science Team to JV Management Boards and Science Teams include… e.g. The responsibilities of JV Management Boards and Science Teams to the PIF Steering Committee and Science Team include…



•The extent and nature of reciprocal responsibilities believed to exist between a JV and:•The committees/teams of the bird initiatives

•U.S. NABCI Committee

•AFWA Committees/Working Groups

•Committees/Working Groups of other JV’s

•Flyway Committees



•The extent and nature of reciprocal responsibilities believed to exist between a JV and the institutional infrastructure of the bird community at large.•Sovereignty/legal status of the JV partnership.

•Role of science in the JV’s “operating system.”

•Science as a “body of knowledge”

•Science as a “method of discovery” (i.e. adaptive management, structured decision-making)

•Whether the JV partnership or Office will function as a grant-making entity.


•Coordinated delivery of habitat projects

•Coordinated bird monitoring

•Coordinated research

•Assessing, predicting, monitoring landscape sustainability.

•“Strengthening the Biological Foundation”

•Policy/regulatory matters

•Public outreach

•The scope of functional responsibility assumed by the JV in implementing national/international plans.

Re: Mission, Functions, and Services


Re: Mission, Functions, and Services

•The scope of functional responsibility assumed by the JV in implementing national/international plans.

•Operational responsibilities of the JV Office vs. individual partners in providing JV functions and services.

•Relationship between JV implementation and State Wildlife Conservation Grant Plans.


Re: Core Competencies

•Competencies associated with the “functional elements of the conservation enterprise.”


Planning


Evaluation

Research

I & E


Re: Core Competencies

•Competencies associated with the “functional elements of the conservation enterprise.”

•Operational responsibilities of the JV Office vs. individual partners in providing JV functions and services.



• Value Chain




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Key Terms, Elements, and Associated Conceptsof a Conservation Business Model

Central message or thesis…


Purpose and Utility

of the Business Model Concept

Purpose: Clarify and unify the purpose, mission, function, and operation of an organizational entity within the framework of its external environment. Utility: Increasing understanding; clarifying relationships; enabling analysis and adaptation; and ultimately managing change.

“Therefore business – and every other organization today – has to be designed for change as the norm and to create change rather than react to it.”

Peter F. Drucker “Management Challenges for the 21st Century” p. 38

The Business Model Concept and its Utility in

Advancing NABCI Joint Ventures

December 12, 2006Austin, TX

Joint VentureConservation Business Model Roundtable

the business model concept and its utility in advancing nabci joint ventures december 12, 2006...

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