The mobile data market in South Africa is predicted to be a significant revenue contributor for mobile telecommunication operators, such as MTN, over the next five years. In light of the declining revenue from the traditional voice services, most operators worldwide are turning to mobile data as the solution to this problem. However, there is widespread confusion on which is the correct business model to implement in order to maximise the gains from this new market. To add to the complexity, there is also no clear cut technology upgrade path. While it is well understood that the main driver for the mobile data market will be high data throughputs, the industry is still unsure on which is the best route for an operator to follow as it moves from a second generation (2G)to a third generation (3G) network. This dissertation discusses the business model that MTN should implement in order to become the market leader for mobile data in South Africa. A literature survey on the latest market characteristics and forecast for the mobile data industry is presented. The recent developments on mobile data business models is also discussed. The technology upgrades, i.e. GPRS, EDGE and UMTS, available to a mobile telecommunication operator is described in detail. GPRS is the first stage in the evolution from a 2G to a 3G network and offers data rates of 40 Kb/s. EDGE improves on the GPRS technology with data speeds of 59.2 Kb/s per timeslot and utilise the same frequency, radio and switching equipment. UMTS is the final stage and is capable of delivering 2 Mb/s data rates. It operates on a different frequency spectrum, thus, requiring a new licence from the telecommunications regulator. In order to develop a new business model, MTN's current GPRS model is analysed. The poor success rate of this model can be attributed to the high prices being charged for the services and the lack of any "killer applications" to entice the users. The business model focuses on the customer value of service, organisational, technical and pricing models. For the customer value of service, it is shown that MTN must offer cheaper prices for the services, higher data rates and more exciting applications. The pre-paid subscribers should also be allowed access to the mobile data network. The main changes to the organisational arrangement in MTN includes creating sub-departments in marketing, sales and network group to focus solely on mobile data. MTN must develop an integrated services approach and this can only be achieved by developing partnerships with all key players in the mobile data industry, such as content providers and application developers. Due to the high costs, the technology arrangement section proposes that MTN first upgrade the network to be EDGE capable and later implement a UMTS network. The financial arrangement discusses the revenue, pricing and cost model. The revenue model proposes the development of an exciting and attractive mobile portal. New services and applications such as mobile gaming and gambling must be created for the personal consumers. For the corporate consumers, applications and services must be developed for customer relation management, supply chain management and workforce application. A hybrid pricing model must be adopted. A fixed, metered and value based pricing structure should be implemented to make the services more affordable and to gain the maximum revenues. Finally, the various elements that constitute the cost model is examined. The major contributing costs for the operator will be the network upgrade and subscriber acquisition. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

Industries want to add value to their offerings but to do this, rather than just accepting customer requirements, they now need to know how their products and/or services have been embedded within their customer’s process to achieve a goal that the customer has; any gaps within the process then present an opportunity for the provider to fill these gaps. The System-In-Use (SIU) Methodology presented in this thesis facilitates customer issues in “pulling” the supply chain into creating new solutions as well as the supply chain “pushing” new value propositions into improving customer processes. It does this by drawing on a detailed theory of value and capability which was developed as part of this research. The method has been applied in five industries in processes encompassing high value-assets with very positive outcomes for each of the stakeholders involved: notably, three solutions have been adopted in industry for which a KT-Box award was granted by Cambridge University. Cont/d.

Technological innovations and development have caused rapid changes in the business environment. These changes have forced firms to change in the way they do business and operate. Two industries that are affected by these changes are the telecommunication industry and the information technology (IT) industry. Here, it is no longer possible for firms to operate completely individually, and many firms are pushed to engage in so called coopetition, which is cooperation with both vertical and horizontal competitors. As a consequence of the environmental changes, firms’ business models also need to change. They need to find new ways to create and deliver value that meet customer demand, and to capture a fair portion of that value from customers. We have found a connection between coopetition and business models, since value creation and value capture is central in both concepts. Previous research has however only touched the connection between coopetition and business model, and literature still lack research on this new subject. The research gap has led us to formulate the following problem definition: How can coopetition and business models be integrated, and what effect does it have on firms’ value creation, delivery, and capturing? With this problem definition the study has three purposes. Firstly, the study aims to find how coopetition and business models can be seen and understood through the lenses of each other. Secondly, how such integration can lead to that the complex nature of coopetition can be managed more appropriately. Thirdly, create an understanding for what effects coopetition and business models can have on value creation, delivery, and capturing when integrated. As the aim with this degree project is to develop a deeper understanding for this connection, we have chosen to do a qualitative study. We have conducted interviews with participants from seven different firms. In order to complement the theoretical framework we have held an expert interview with Professor Devi Gnyawali. The analysis has led us to the conclusion that coopetition and business models are connected in more ways than is admitted in the literature today. We have found that coopetition and business models are not only connected in value creation and value capture, but also in value delivery. We can also conclude that it is important to develop principles in the business model of when, why, and how to engage in different forms of coopetition to better manage it. This can have a positive influence on value creation, value delivery and value capture.

Wind energy industry has been growing fast during last years, and the demand for operation and maintenance (O&M) services has been increasing rapidly. As wind turbine manufacturing companies have been focusing more on selling rather than after sales services, this created problems in O&M, which started to influence the overall profitability of wind energy projects. In the current conditions, business model innovation in O&M services is needed. While initial step in business model innovation is identifying what is valuable for customer (customer value), it is not clear what is of customer value in B2B context, how to identify it and what is valuable for industrial customers in O&M overall and in wind energy industry in particular. Therefore, the purpose of our research was to explore customer value as an input in the process of business model innovation in B2B context. In order to reach the goal of our research, inductively based approach was used for multiple case study of O&M services customers in wind energy industry in Sweden. Semi structured interviews were conducted with a representative from each company. The parts of their business models connected to wind turbine O&M were mapped, as well as customer value was outlined. The connection between customer value and business model components was analyzed within each case and then the results were compared across the cases. The main findings of our study are as follows. Business model in B2B context serves as the frame of reference for customer value formation. Characteristics of business model components, in particular key activities and key resources, as well as the intentions for further business model development become more specific underlying criteria of value proposition assessment. In wind energy industry in Sweden there is a core customer value to get the highest possible energy production, shared by all studied cases. Differences in customer value among O&M customers were identified in their perceptions of customer value of O&M service (contracts, SCADA system, reports, and education) and relationship with service providers. Such business model related criteria as competence, characteristics of fleet, involvement in O&M activities, and intention for development of O&M involvement explain why customer value differs among the studied customers of O&M services in wind energy industry in Sweden. Customer business model should be used by managers in both wind energy industry and other contexts for understanding customer value in a holistic way. Further customer segmentation should be done based on customer business model related criteria, and in the context of wind energy industry the criteria identified in this study can be used. What is more, O&M service providers should allow more flexibility in contracts and give additional attention to customer relational mechanisms in their business models as the source of customer value. / Business model innovation: A case study of maintenance services for the wind power industry

With the adoption of European Commission directives in 2003 related to open data,member States of EU were encouraged to provide citizens access to previously inaccessiblepublic sector data. This published public data could be used, reused and distributed free ofcharge. Following these directives, many municipalities within Sweden and Europe ingeneral created open data portals for publishing public sector data. With such datapublished, expectations of third party innovations were highly envisaged. This thesis adoptsa qualitative research approach to investigate the challenges and proposed solution ofusing open data for third party innovation. The thesis identifies various aspects ofgovernance, architecture and business model that public organizations should take intoconsideration in order to attract third party innovations on open data. Specifically, theresults of this thesis suggest that in order for open data to act as a platform for innovation,there is need for integration of open data policies. This involves developing commonstandards relating to governance, data format, and architecture. Harmonizing thesestandards across municipalities within Sweden and Europe, would provide the muchneededuser based which is necessary to enhance the two-sided nature of innovations onopen data platforms.

EFunds Corporation is the third largest business process outsourcing (BPO) provider in India. Specializing in the financial services, retail and telecommunications industries, EFunds offers financial services, customer services and transaction intensive applications. In early 2005 EFunds was assessing how it could garner a larger share of the growing offshore BPO market. EFunds management was focusing on honing three distinctive competencies: robust IT support, business process expertise, and its unique customer qualification methodology. But to really grow its business EFunds also needed to help customers recognize how BPO could make them stronger.

It is these days very consistent for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in open innovation activities to battle the internal and external difficulties they are confronting, for example, less resources for R&D, constrained financial resources and specialized abilities, fewer production facilities and distribution channels and so on. Studies demonstrate that open innovation encountered a quick increase in recent years. As of late researchers have additionally indicated distinct interest in research on SMEs whereas in past research large companies were the focus. The focus of the thesis is to highlight how SMEs solve their shortage of scare resources by engaging into open innovation activities.  Two SMEs from various regions, to be specific Pakistan and the United Kingdom, were chosen as research cases for the thesis. Interviews have been utilized as a primary method for data collection. Despite of certain limitations, the research was successfully concluded with imperative findings with the suggestions and practices of open innovation utilized by SMEs. Finding from the thesis demonstrate that entrepreneurs in view of their individual attributes perceived the value of the opportunity and well-spoken the thought into a successful product. Their most vital entrepreneurial qualities are quick basic leadership, risk taking capacity and innovativeness in discovering answers for issues. Both entrepreneurs were effective in sorting out and managing the open innovation process and overwhelm the liabilities of being small. In both cases, entrepreneurs must have utilized external resources to satisfy the absence of their internal resources such as technology exploration innovation strategy and through building and dealing with their innovation network. The result of the research demonstrates that the achievement of the entrepreneurs of how an entrepreneur deals with the business is not simply based on his aptitudes and abilities, however it additionally relies upon the type of innovation procedure which entrepreneurs incorporates within the organization. While organizing and managing the open innovation process there were many difficulties that both entrepreneurs needed to face to make their SMEs successful. Although few differences emerge when the both CEO’s adopted open innovation activities.

Abstract The purpose of the present study is to theoretically and empirically examine how entrepreneurs create business models to capture opportunities. More specifically, this study focuses on the business model antecedents, in other words, entrepreneurial actions between the moment of opportunity identification and the inception of the functioning business model. By reviewing the extant literature on opportunity and business models, this study develops and argues for an action approach to understanding the business model creation process. Focusing on theory development, this research follows a cyclical process of research-oriented action research, utilizing the diary method. In total, one hundred fifty five diaries were collected and analyzed for the purposes of this research. Four groups of respondents were included: the participants of a start-up accelerator program in Oulu, Finland; the participants of a project carried out at the University of Oulu, Finland; the participants of a venture creation training organized by the Business Model Design Center, Ålborg, Denmark; and two novice entrepreneurial teams based in Helsinki, Finland. This study develops a conceptual model that illustrates how entrepreneurs create business models to capture opportunities. The model suggests that the process of business model creation is a continuous iteration of conceptualizing and contextualizing. Conceptualizing is associated with choices and decisions made under uncertainty, whereas contextualizing is about acting upon these choices and decisions, thereby testing their feasibility and acceptability against perceived reality. Conceptualizing triggers action as entrepreneurs try to actualize the choices and decisions they have made. Conceptualizing and contextualizing mutually support and reinforce each other by means of feedback loops: Changes in opportunity conceptualizations and/or business model conceptualizations necessitate modifications in their contextualization and vice versa. The major contribution of this study lies in addressing what has previously been a mostly neglected area of research and explaining how entrepreneurs create business models to capture opportunities from the action perspective. From the methodological perspective, this study employs a novel combination of action research and the diary method, which allows investigating entrepreneurial actions in their natural setting. / Tiivistelmä Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kuinka yrittäjät luovat liiketoimintamalleja liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia hyödyntääkseen. Erityisesti työssä keskitytään liiketoimintamallien aihioihin, joita yrittäjät työstävät liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien tunnistamisen ja toimivan liiketoimintamallin syntymisen välisenä aikana. Työssä rakennetaan aiempaan liiketoimintamahdollisuus- ja liiketoimintamallitutkimukseen perustuva, yrittäjien päiväkirjoja hyödyntävä toimintatutkimuslähestymistapa, jonka tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä liiketoimintamallien luomisen prosessista sekä teoreettisesta että empiirisestä näkökulmasta. Kaikkiaan tutkimuksessa kerättiin ja analysoitiin 155 päiväkirjaa neljästä eri vastaajaryhmästä: yrityskiihdyttämöstä Oulussa, Oulun yliopiston järjestämässä yrittäjyysprojektissa, Aalborgin yliopiston Business Model Design Centerin järjestämässä yrityksen perustamiskoulutuksessa, ja kahdessa aloittavien yrittäjien tiimissä Helsingissä. Tutkimuksessa kehitettiin käsitteellinen malli kuvaamaan kuinka yrittäjät luovat liiketoimintamalleja liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien hyödyntämiseksi. Malli esittää liiketoimintamallin luomisen jatkuvana ja iteratiivisena konseptointina sekä kontekstualisointina. Konseptoinnilla tarkoitetaan tässä yhteydessä yrittäjien epävarmuuden vallitessa tekemiä valintoja ja päätöksiä, kontekstualisoinnilla näiden valintojen ja päätösten mukaisesti toimimista. Konseptualisoinnissa ja kontekstualisoinnissa testataan liiketoimintamalliaihioiden toimivuutta, kannattavuutta ja hyväksyttävyyttä yrittäjien kokemassa todellisuudessa. Konseptointi käynnistää toiminnan, jolla yrittäjät pyrkivät toteuttamaan tekemiään valintoja ja päätöksiä. Konseptointi ja kontekstualisointi vahvistavat ja tukevat toisiaan kaksisuuntaisen palautemekanismin kautta: muutos liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien ja liiketoimintamallien konseptoinnissa aiheuttaa tarpeen muuttaa tapaa, joilla niitä testataan ja toteutetaan käytännössä – samalla käytännön toteutuksessa opittu heijastuu takaisin siihen, miten liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia ja liiketoimintamalleja konseptoidaan. Työn pääasiallinen kontribuutio on liiketoimintamallien toimintatutkimuksen alueella. Aiemmassa liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia ja liiketoimintamalleja yhdistävässä tutkimuksessa ei ole juurikaan sovellettu toimintatutkimuksellista lähestymistapaa. Työssä onkin kehitetty uusi päiväkirjoihin perustuva toimintatutkimusmenetelmä, joka mahdollistaa yrittäjien toiminnan tutkimisen tilannesidonnaiset tekijät huomioon ottaen. Käytännössä työn tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää uuden yritystoiminnan luomisessa sekä yrittäjien ja yritysten tukemisessa.

This thesis deals with the creation of a canvas business model which is understood as a company strategy plan. Its structure consists of nine basic elements (customer segments, value preposition, chanels, customer relationship, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners and cost structure), which must be interconnected in the way that they could bring significant values to the company and its strategy. The aim of this thesis is to apply this method canvas business model to a business subject operating in the wood processing industry and to suggest possibilities of innovation in the same company using the canvas model. The innovation should have the significant positive influence on the future development of the explored subject.

The aim of my thesis is to define an issue of the business model Canvas now together with its implementation at the certain timber company tools with the help of tools like public relations, analyses of communication mix. In the theoretical part is described business model Canvas in detail and also defined the importance of communication in the market background including the marketing communication tools. In the practical part is with the help of business model analyzed and evaluated the current condition of communication mix at the certain timber company. Finally there are recommended the ways of improvement of the current marketing and communication system.