Chapter 6

Developing an
Effective Business
Model
Bruce R. Barringer
R. Duane Ireland
2010 Prentice Hall

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Chapter Objectives
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1. Describe a business model.

2. Explain business model innovation.
3. Discuss the importance of having a clearly
articulated business model.
4. Discuss the concept of the value chain.
5. Identify a business models two potential fatal
flaws.

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Chapter Objectives
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6. Identify a business models four major components.

7. Explain the meaning of the term business concept
blind spot.
8. Define the term core competency and describe its
importance.
9. Explain the concept of supply chain management.
10. Explain the concept of fulfillment and support.

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What is a Business Model?

Model
A model is a plan or diagram thats used to make or
describe something.

Business Model
A firms business model is its plan or diagram for how it
competes, uses its resources, structures its relationships,
interfaces with customers, and creates value to sustain itself
on the basis of the profits it generates.
The term business model is used to include all the
activities that define how a firm competes in the
marketplace.
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Dells Business Model

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Its important to understand that

a firms business model takes it
beyond its own boundaries.
Almost all firms partner with
others to make their business
models work.
In Dells case, it needs the
cooperation of its suppliers,
customers, and many others to
make its business model
possible.
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Dells Business Model

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Dells Approach to Selling PCs versus Traditional Manufacturers

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The Importance of Business Models

Having a clearly articulated business model is important
because it does the following:
Serves as an ongoing extension of feasibility analysis. A business
model continually asks the question, Does this business make
sense?
Focuses attention on how all the elements of a business fit
together and constitute a working whole.
Describes why the network of participants needed to make a
business idea viable are willing to work together.
Articulates a companys core logic to all stakeholders, including
all employees.
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Diversity of Business Models

Diversity or Variety in
Business Models

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There is no standard business

model for an industry or for
a target market within an
industry.
However, over time, the most
successful business models
in an industry predominate.
There are always opportunities
for business model innovation.

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Business Model Innovation

Netflix is an example of
a business model
innovator.

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How Business Models Emerge

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The Value Chain

The value chain is the string of activities that moves a
product from the raw material stage, through
manufacturing and distribution, and ultimately to the end
user.
By studying a products or services value chain, an
organization can identify ways to create additional value
and assess whether it has the means to do so.
Value chain analysis is also helpful in identifying
opportunities for new businesses and in understanding how
business models emerge.
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How Business Models Emerge

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The Value Chain

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How Business Models Emerge

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The Value Chain (continued)

Entrepreneurs look at the value chain of a product or a
service to pinpoint where the value chain can be made
more effective or to spot where additional value can be
added.
This type of analysis may focus on:
A single primary activity such as marketing and sales.
The interface between one stage of the value chain and another,
such as the interface between operations and outgoing logistics.
One of the support activities, such as human resource management.

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Potential Fatal Flaws in Business Models

Fatal Flaws
Two fatal flaws can render a business model untenable
from the beginning:
A complete misread of the customer.
Utterly unsound economics.

Pets.com sported an unsound

business model, and failed.
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Components of a Business Model

Four Components of a Business Model

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Core Strategy
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Core Strategy
The first component of a business model is the core
strategy, which describes how a firm competes relative to
its competitors.

Primary Elements of Core Strategy

Mission statement.
Product/market scope.
Basis for differentiation.

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Core Strategy
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Primary Elements of Core Strategy

Mission
Statement

Product/Market
Scope

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A firms mission, or mission statement,

describes why it exists and what its business
model is suppose to accomplish.

A companys product/market scope defines the

products and markets on which it will
concentrate.

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Core Strategy
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Primary Elements of Core Strategy

Basis of
Differentiation

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It is important that a new venture

differentiate itself from its competitors in
some way that is important to its customers.
If a new firms products or services arent
different from those of its competitors, why
should anyone try them?

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Strategic Resources
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Strategic Resources
A firm is not able to implement a strategy without
resources, so the resources a firm has affects its business
model substantially.
For a new venture, its strategic resources may initially be limited to
the competencies of its founders, the opportunity they have
identified, and the unique way they plan to serve their market.

The two most important strategic resources are:

A firms core competencies.
Strategic assets.

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Strategic Resources
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Primary Elements of Strategic Resources

Core
Competencies

Strategic
Assets

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A core competency is a resource or capability that

serves as a source of a firms competitive advantage.
Examples include Sonys competence in
miniaturization and Dells competence in supply
chain management.
Strategic assets are anything rare and valuable that a
firm owns. They include plant and equipment,
location, brands, patents, customer data, a highly
qualified staff, and distinctive partnerships.

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Strategic Resources
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Importance of Strategic Resources

New ventures ultimately try to combine their core
competencies and strategic assets to create a sustainable
competitive advantage.
This factor is one that investors pay close attention when
evaluating a business.
A sustainable competitive advantage is achieved by
implementing a value-creating strategy that is unique and
not easy to imitate.
This type of advantage is achievable when a firm has
strategic resources and the ability to use them.
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Partnership Network
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Partnership Network
A firms partnership network is the third component of a
business model. New ventures, in particular, typically do
not have the resources to perform key roles.
In most cases, a business does not want to do everything
itself because the majority of tasks needed to build a
product or deliver a service are not core to a companys
competitive advantage.
A firms partnership network includes:
Suppliers.
Other key relationships.
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Partnership Network
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Primary Elements of Partnership Network

Suppliers

Other Key
Relationships

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A supplier is a company that provides parts or

services to another company. Intel is Dells
primary suppler for computer chips, for example.

Firms partner with other companies to make their

business models work. An entrepreneurs ability
to launch a firm that achieves a competitive
advantage may hinge as much on the skills of the
partners as on the skills within the firm itself.
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Partnership Network
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The Most Common Types of Business Partnerships

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Customer Interface
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Customer Interface
The way a firm interacts with its customer hinges on how it
chooses to compete.
For example, Amazon.com sells books over the Internet while
Barnes & Noble sells through its traditional bookstores and online.

The three elements of a companys customer interface are:

Target customer.
Fulfillment and support.
Pricing model.

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Customer Interface
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Primary Elements of Customer Interface

Target
Market

A firms target market is the limited group of

individuals or businesses that it goes after or tries to
appeal to.

Fulfillment
and Support

Fulfillment and support describes the way a firms

product or service reaches it customers. It also refers
to the channels a company uses and what level of
customer support it provides.

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Customer Interface
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Primary Elements of Customer Interface

Pricing
Structure

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The third element of a companys customer

interface is its pricing structure. Pricing models
vary, depending on a firms target market and its
pricing philosophy.

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Recap: The Importance of Business Models

Business Models
It is very useful for a new venture to look at itself in a
holistic manner and understand that it must construct an
effective business model to be successful.
Everyone that does business with a firm, from its customers
to its partners, does so on a voluntary basis. As a result, a
firm must motivate its customers and its partners to play
along.
Close attention to each of the primary elements of a firms
business model is essential for a new ventures success.

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publishing as Prentice Hall
2010 Prentice Hall