Business Model Innovation - Education & Training

We offer a range of courses on business model innovation for Masters and PhD students, as well as open and in-company strategic development workshops for high-potentials and senior managers (e.g., executive board members together with country general managers). The current economic crisis both increases the urgency and provides a unique opportunity to review and renew business models and pull ahead of the competition.

In our open and in-company programs we use a 7-step methodology for developing new value platforms for clients at low cost; the capabilities, resources, and channels needed to deliver them; new revenue models; a platform with partners to position the firm at the heart of the revenue streams, brand building, and data about end-users; Open Innovation instruments to refresh the value platform over time to create a lasting competitive advantage and tremendous value for stakeholders.

We use interactive lectures where participants share their insights. We also develop new business models. These are meant to train the insights, concepts, frameworks and tools of the course. However, they have often also led to actual new business models for the companies of participants. Programs range from intensive 3-day workshops to 9 days (3x3 days) with 2x2 months in between with more attention to Open Innovation, implementation, leadership, and on how to strengthen the company’s capability to do successful business model innovation.

We run programs with high potentials (the pool of future leaders) and with senior managers (e.g., executive board members and country general managers) with whom we reflect on new trends in the environment and where the current business model is in the life cycle. We then develop and review new business models needed to position the firm for the future and to sail out of the current economic storm well ahead of competitors.

The following are examples of teaching cases that we have developed, or are in the process of developing, on business model innovation and sustainable development:

Hand In Hand (India)
Founded in 1998, Hand in Hand is a Swedish-Indian NGO that operates throughout the Indian state of Tamil Nadu towards the goal of eradicating extreme poverty, with a particular focus on women.
In May 2008, Harry Barkema and others spoke with the CEO of Hand In Hand, Kalpana Sankar. Amongst other endeavours, a teaching case aimed to address the expansion of the Hand In Hand model was developed. The case focused on unravelling the inherent managerial challenges and potential benefits of the global expansion of Hand In Hand. Issues of financial independence and the development of a sustainable growth plan that maintained the organization’s primary mission - poverty alleviation through enterprise creation and income generation – were also explored.

Reliance Financial Services (Africa)
We are currently working with Reliance Financial Services, a highly successful and rapidly growing micro-finance institute located in The Gambia, and are in the process of developing a teaching case on the organization. We plan to conduct the research for the case in the forthcoming year. As part of the teaching activities, Masters students at RSM with an interest in micro-finance will be given the opportunity to participate in the data collection process for use in their final theses.