Business models (BM) are the logic of a firm on how to create, deliver and capture value. Business model innovation (BMI) is essential to organisations for keeping competitive advantage. However, the existence of barriers to BMI can impact the success of a corporate strategic alignment. Previous research has examined the internal barriers to business model innovation, however there is a lack of research on the potential external barriers that could potentially inhibit business model innovation. Drawn from an in-depth case study in a German medium size engineering company in the equestrian sports industry, we explore both internal and external barriers to business model innovation. BMI is defined as any change in one or more of the nine building blocks of the Business Model Canvas; customer segment, value propositions, channels, customer relation, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners, cost structure [1]. Our results show that barriers to business model innovation can be overcome by the deployment of organisational learning mechanisms and the development of an open network capability.
This paper examines the corporate organisational aspects of the implementation of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 builds on new technologies and appears as a disruptive innovation to manufacturing firms. Although we do have a good understanding of the technical components, the implementation of the management and organisational aspects of Industry 4.0 is under-researched. It is challenging to find qualitative empirical evidence which provides comprehensive insights about real implementation cases. Based on a case study in a German high value manufacturing firm, we explore the corporate organisation and implementation of Industry 4.0. By using the framework of Complex Adaptive System (CAS), we have identified three key factors which facilitate the implementation of Industry 4.0 namely 1.) Organisational structure changes such as the foundation of a central department for digital transformation, 2.) The election of a Chief Digital Officer as a personnel change, and 3.) Corporate opening up towards cooperating with partners as a cultural change. We have furthermore found that Lean Management is an important enabler that ensures readiness for the adoption of Industry 4.0.