TEchNOLOGy TRaNSFER MODEL - Javna agencija

KNOWLEDGE FOR BUSINESS IN BORDER REGIONS
2
Module 2: BUSINESS MODELS
Mag. Pascale Koo
Developing and assessing business model alternatives is a core success factor when you want to commercially exploit a technological
or scientific invention. Therefore knowledge on business models, their components and their possibilities is of vital importance for
every technology transfer manager.
2.1 Learning objectives and learning content of the module
The information in the following chapter is aimed at technology transfer managers who want to deepen their understanding on
business models and want to generate competitive advantages by applying methods of business modeling in their daily work.
2.1.1 Learning objective:
At the end of this chapter, the reader knows what business models are, why they are needed and what components they are made
of. In addition he/she understands how successful competitive strategies can be derived from business models and is provided with
some tools on how to apply these steps in his/her daily work.
2.1.2 Learning content:
• What business models are and why we need them.
• The 7-C Model to describe business models.
- Strategic Core
- Customer Perception
- Customer Interface
- Value Chain
- Co-operations
- Concepts for the future
- Human Capital & Corporate Culture
• Deriving a successful competitive strategy based on a company’s business model.
• Monitoring and controlling the implementation success via the balanced scorecard model.
• Examples and useful tips
2.2 Keywords
Business Model, Competitive Strategy, The 7-C Model, Strategic Core, Customer Perception, Customer Interface, Value Chain, Co-operations,
Concepts for the future, Human Capital & Corporate Culture, Balanced Scorecard
2.3 What business models are and why we need them
The starting point for any good discussion, meeting, or workshop on business models should be a shared understanding of what a
business model actually is.
2.3.1 What business models are:
Business models really originated in the past century as publicly traded companies emerged, as the availability of public information
about these companies emerged and as the study of efficient use of capital moved to the forefront in both business and economics.
Especially in the start-up era, on Internet, financers required from entrepreneurs an extra effort to help them to understand the proposed
business. When the human mind does not understand an object, or a situation, or a phenomenon, it implements artifices to
make it understandable.
This intelligibility passes by visualization, i.e. a representation of the object/situation/phenomenon, as if human being necessarily
wanted to see what cannot be seen directly. It is what is called a model.
Business models reflect the architecture of a business, describe, as a system, how all of its pieces fit together and show how its structure
creates value. In the boxes below, you find two additional definitions of business models that will help you to further understand
the concept of business models.
„A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value. “
Business Model Generation, A. Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self published, 2009
18