Dark data: the invisible resource that can drive performance nowGimpel, Gregory
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-02-2020-0046
This paper aims to provide guidance so firms can enter the Internet of Things (IoT) era today – and realize its data-driven benefits – by using IoT “dark data” already generated by their operations.Design/methodology/approachThis study draws upon data from original expert interviews and an extensive study of over 1,200 research articles and white papers to provide managerial guidance for exploiting IoT dark data.FindingsMany companies are held back from entering the IoT era today, not by technological issues, but by matters addressable by managerial and strategic leadership. Executives must build dark data awareness among their employees and use non-traditional measures to predict return on investment. The study shares expert advice for accomplishing both of these efforts.Research limitations/implicationsOnly 3 out of 1,202 research articles addressed IoT dark data. This paper helps fill this gap in understanding.Practical implicationsThis study provides normative guidelines for managers and executives to increase awareness of the dark IoT data that exist within their organizations and to motivate the investments needed to exploit this data to improve business performance.Originality/valueThis research provides guidance for companies to benefit from the IoT today. This study provides an alternate, pragmatic view of Industry 4.0 that focuses on current business reality rather than futurist visions.
How entrepreneurs think: financial decisions for the long or short termDebrulle, Jonas; Maes, Johan; Gardiner, Elliroma
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-04-2020-0068
The purpose of this paper is to suggest that different start-up motivations make entrepreneurs pursue different kinds of new business performance, which in this study are expressed in financial terms (i.e. return on assets). The authors posit that so-called extrinsic motivation urges entrepreneurs to be more short-term oriented, while their intrinsic motivation encourages a longer-term business vision. Additionally, this paper explores how intrinsic and extrinsic entrepreneurship motivations combine and produce financial dilemmas for entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approachThe analyses are based on 300 entrepreneurs across diverse industries in Belgium. Data was collected for this study through structured interviews with entrepreneurs combined with a company questionnaire. Financial data was obtained through a government database.FindingsResults confirm that extrinsic entrepreneurship motivation boosts new business short-term financial performance, whereas intrinsic motivation contributes to the firm’s longer-term financial returns. This paper also shows that a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations directs entrepreneurs toward different profitability levels during the organization’s survival and early-establishment phase.Originality/valueResearch on entrepreneurship has not yet corroborated that motivations can be personally conflicting, thereby saddling the entrepreneur with dilemmas that may manifest into different levels of business performance.
Climate change and business planning: solutions to keep disruptions at baySrikant, Chethan D.; Teckchandani, Atul
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-02-2020-0024
The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrative approach to help firms across multiple industries ensure operational continuity and manage ongoing climate-change related disruptions. It provides an implementation model that would first, help firms recognize this as an issue and second, start incorporating certain practices in their decision-making processes.Design/methodology/approachThe analytical framework in this paper is based on the strategic management’s resource-based view. According to this view, certain resources provide sustainable competitive advantages because they score high on the following four dimensions: valuable, rare, inimitable and organized to exploit. This paper introduces a fifth dimension – the climate change resilience of the resource. Resources that are not always obvious choices for providing competitive advantages – air, freshwater, workspaces and customers – are evaluated. Each resource is analyzed through the perspective of two disparate industries.FindingsThis paper highlights to two important findings. First, resources that are rarely considered as providing competitive advantage can become important when the authors add the fifth dimension – climate change resilience. Second, location choices are critical to ensuring climate change resilience. When firms are location constrained, a contingency plan needs to be in place. These contingency plans could range from redesigning physical assets to redesigning human resources practices.Originality/valueThis paper illustrates the need and the utility of climate change resilience when assessing the sustainable competitive advantage of a resource. Using the above findings, this paper develops a model for implementing a location-based strategy, which firms in any industry could adopt to ensure the climate change resilience of their resources.
The chief project officer: a new executive role for turbulent timesWu, Te; Zhu, Zhu
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-02-2020-0038
While it is common for most C-suite executives to have substantial project responsibilities, many do not have a strong understanding of project management leading to significant failures. As projects are the main mechanisms for implementing changes, project performance has disproportional impact on the competitiveness and viability of organizations. This paper aims to attempt to raise awareness of the Chief Project Officer (CPO) role and lay out important skills and capabilities that are needed for managers to ascend to this role as well as key topics of concern when preparing the mindset to be a successful CPO.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have based this research on reviewing publications from the project management journals and publications, interviews of project management professionals and drawing from our industry experience in the field of project management.FindingsMost organizations have project managers, either formal or informal, to lead projects. As project environment intensifies across industries, larger organizations rely on a project executives and project management office to oversee projects and performance of C-suite tasks. However, these projects and project management office (PMO) managers often lacks the authority and legitimacy to fully carry out the expected function. This is a clear gap in organizational management, and the gap is growing as more resources are dedicated to projects. Many organizations are equipped with the human resource to develop a CPO, the authors identify five main skills and 20 key topics that are crucial to the success of this vital role.Originality/valueWhile the awareness of the CPO is still in its infancy, most organizations have equivalent or emerging senior project executive roles that may evolve and become CPOs. Today, organizations are increasingly pushed to pursue project-oriented structures to a rapidly changing environment, global market and fast-paced technological advances. It is likely that the CPO role will grow and become a crucial component in top management teams in the coming years to help organizations in moving forward to achieve their strategic goals and objectives.
Non-profits and the environment in China: struggling to expand their franchiseXie, Yi; Meng, Yan; Xiong, Jie; Xu, Lu; Yan, Jie
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-04-2020-0072
Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), one of the major forces in environmental protection, have developed rapidly in the past few years, especially in developing countries such as China. This paper aims to reveal how the ENGOs select their focuses, specifically if they only concentrate on one focus or on contexts in which they obtain various focuses and the motivations behind their choosing strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe current research interviewed 103 leaders of ENGOs covering every province in mainland China and adopts existing theories of NGOs alongside diversification strategy from a management perspective.FindingsThe results showed that most Chinese ENGOs now tend to be diversified but face different challenges. This research highlights the importance of ENGOs’ resources and capacities in facing current challenges and suggests directions to improve their diversification strategy.Originality/valueThis research adds value to the research of environmental NGOs and gives suggestions to environmental NGO practitioners, in particular to those in emerging markets.
The new BMW: business model innovation transforms an automotive leaderKukkamalla, Prasanna Kumar; Bikfalvi, Andrea; Arbussa, Anna
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-02-2020-0021
The car no longer serves simply as a means of transport but is at the core of a new concept of mobility. Car manufacturers are seizing opportunities to change the traditional business model of the auto business. Innovation in this business model has become vital to survival in today’s dynamic market conditions. This paper aims to find out what factors motivate and drive business model change and what the resulting business model innovation is.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study is based on a single case, namely, BMW as an illustrative example of an advanced, highly innovative customer-centric service business model (BM). The study adopts a document analysis method to reveal the firm’s BMI process.FindingsFirst, the study presents a conceptual framework for business model change with the factors –motivators and drivers – that impact on the process of change. BMW’s BMI and its impacting factors are discussed based on this model. The McKinsey 7 s Model framework, the elements of which are strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills is used as an analytical tool to discuss new business model implementation. The study highlights the BM configuration of a traditional car manufacturer, the car as a product and the new car as a service concept.Originality/valueThis study reveals the BMI of BMW’s digital services and its key motivators and drivers. BMW mostly innovates in three key dimensions of the Business model. These are value creation, value delivery and value capture. Most of the elements in these dimensions are innovated.
Bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to health-care: a new tool for better outcomesGillin, Laurence Murray; Hazelton, Lois Marjorie
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-03-2020-0049
The purpose of this paper is to consider the value of an industry ecosystem in providing context for both identifying and evaluating organisation opportunities and related entrepreneurial behaviour for future strategic growth by reference to a case study in the health-care industry. Using a validated entrepreneurship mindset audit instrument, an assessment is made of the leadership, decision-making, behaviour and awareness dimensions of professional practice health-care staff to create the internal culture that fosters an entrepreneurial orientated organisation that can deliver effective innovation for satisfied users of health-care services.Design/methodology/approachThis case study examines the distinctive dimensions of entrepreneurial mindset – leadership, decision-making, behaviour and awareness – within a practice-based health-care (nursing) ecosystem and how these dimensions impact organisation performance throughout the health-care industry.FindingsThis study validates research findings that entrepreneurial leadership encourages entrepreneurial behaviour and an entrepreneurial culture supports the development of innovations. Opportunities for such cultural behaviour are best understood by measuring the staff’s and leaders’ “entrepreneurial mindset”.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralising results from this case study requires caution. The positive outcome from the professional practice examples, and their strong association with impactful entrepreneurial mindset values on service delivery, requires further evaluation.Practical implicationsUsing an entrepreneurial mindset audit to assess organisation’s cultural behaviour enables management to identify factors fostering or inhibiting entrepreneurial activity and to devise interventions to improve strategic direction.Originality/valueEntrepreneurial mindset is not a new concept, but adding the critical significance of spiritual awareness to creative entrepreneur behaviour, together with a visioning map, adds both value and understanding to enhance organisation performance.
There’s a change in the weather: corporate reputation and climate changeHirsch, Peter Buell
2021 Journal of Business Strategy
doi: 10.1108/jbs-04-2021-0061
This study aims to examine recent developments in climate change solutions to determine their impact on corporate reputation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a review of recent literature and commentary on corporate and governmental climate change initiatives.FindingsIt is likely that as climate change initiatives move further from voluntary to compliance status, the reputational value of environmental responsibility for corporate reputation will diminish.Research limitations/implicationsThere are no verifiable objective metrics to validate the opinions expressed.Practical implicationsCompanies may reconsider the reputational “real estate” they devote to environmental issues and invest more effort in other social areas.Social implicationsThe shift predicted may cause more companies to turn their reputational attention more emphatically to employees and communities.Originality/valueThe author is not aware of any work in evaluating the reputational impact of greater regulatory focus on climate change disclosure and compliance.