Business Model Development in IT Startups - The Role of Scarcity and Personalization in Generating User Feedback

Despite the widely recognized importance of continuous business model development for achieving product market fit, very little remains understood about efficient methods that may support this process in the context of nascent IT ventures. Contributions for supporting value proposition development, especially in the popular field of open innovation, have largely focused on well established firms and more traditional approaches such as the lead user method. More recent findings suggest novel ways of virtual user integration, like the collection of user feedback via promotional campaigns, which is particularly prevalent among IT startups. However, these contributions have remained conspicuously theoretical. Therefore, by drawing on an experimental study in the context of the artificially created online fashion startup StyleCrowd, we investigate the role of scarcity and personalization, two classical promotional cues that have become ubiquitous on the web yet have been overlooked by research, in enhancing the virality of nascent ventures’ online promotional campaigns to enhance user feedback. Our analysis reveals that while scarcity cues affect social sharing regardless of whether a campaign is personalized or not, personalization cues are particularly effective when scarcity is absent, yet are cancelled out when scarcity is prevalent. We discuss implications for research and practice

Developing a macro-dynamic framework of start-up growth drivers supported by digital marketing

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsThe contemporary market positions digital marketing as a powerful mediator between efficient digital interaction, data interpretation opportunities, and business growth, while extending its impact potential to tackle different growth challenges. As start-ups usually have limited resources and struggle with customer engagement, retention, and other growth challenges, the low investment and dynamic elements of digital marketing tools can be used to support constructive digital interactions impacting start-up growth. Consequently, these links have outlined an extended digital marketing impact in the areas which build on marketing and sales and influence growth components such as product & market testing, customer engagement, and partnership development. Through a systematic literature review, we present a holistic overview encompassing start-up growth areas that use digital marketing. We also discuss how digital marketing efforts complement the start-up maturity. Furthermore, we analyze the differences in B2B and B2C digital marketing usage and discuss how emerging technologies impact digital marketing. The link between the extended digital marketing impact, start-up challenges, and growth areas result in the identification of start-up growth drivers supported by digital marketing. We propose a Macro-Dynamic framework identifying the start-up growth drivers from product, market, team, and finance areas and digital marketing tactics connected to the identified growth drivers.publishersversionpublishe

Open Government Data and sustainable value : multi-case comparative analyses of software startups in Brazil

Trabalho de conclusão de curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade, Departamento de Administração, 2017.This work consists of a comparative analysis of three software startups that consider Open Government Data (OGD) as a key resource of their value propositions. The main objective involves describing and comparing the current and potential for multistakeholder value generation in startups that use Open Government Data. To do this, the author referred to OGD theories and compared them with the primary qualitative data collected. The value generation and the barriers to value delivery identified and analyzed. The external factors thought to influence the startups were contrasted, which contributed to the evaluation of the relationship that this group of OGD users with the overall OGD ecosystem. All of the primary source qualitative data information used was based on the perceptions of the startup’s founders collected through semi-structured interviews. The research is characterized as a descriptive and interpretative multi-case study. From the results obtained strong relationships were noticed between OGD and sustainable value, signaling the potential for these organizations to be multipliers of a scalable solution that generates sustainable value through OGD. The author hopes that the research enriches and creates trails of investigation regarding the potential for private sector startups to contribute to the evolution of the OGD Ecosystem

DISCOVERING NEW DIGITAL BUSINESS MODEL TYPES – A STUDY OF TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS FROM THE MOBILITY SECTOR

In the 1990s, the broad diffusion of the internet allowed firms such as Amazon, eBay, and Google to invent new digital business models. Since then, research has formalized recurring configurations as digital business model types, still frequently being used to analyze existing business models and develop new ones. Now, the next wave of digital transformation – enabled by ongoing improvements in processing power, the miniaturization of hardware, and ubiquitous wireless connectivity – is again driving innovation. For instance, in the mobility sector, startups such as Uber, Turo, and Streetline have formed business logics that cannot be understood with existing types. Therefore, we identified and formalized new business model configurations by systematically analyzing a comprehensive data set of technology startups from the US mobility sector. We found that, in order to adequately account for the new digital logics, 14 digital business model types must be added to existing collections: app developer, autonomous products/robots manufacturer, data analytics provider, integrator of third-party services, IT-enabled self-service provider, IT-guided service provider, manufacturer of connected physical products, manufacturer of connectivity devices for physical products, mobilized service provider, P2P goods sharing platform, P2P information sharing community, P2P service provision platform, seller of sensor information, and sensor-enabled service innovator

Consulting report - Tannder

El estudio académico, en forma de informe de consultoría, analiza y explora nuevas oportunidades de desarrollo para Tannder, una plataforma centrada en la educación que ofrece una gama de servicios destinados a respaldar a educadores y estudiantes. El trabajo gira en torno a la mejora estratégica de la visibilidad de Tannder School, impulsada principalmente por la necesidad de internacionalización en el sector de la tecnología educativa. Para abordar este desafío, se adoptó un enfoque integral que incluyó una revisión de la literatura secundaria y análisis primarios. El marco de investigación abarcó un examen de diferentes tipos de análisis, tanto cuantitativos como cualitativos, incluyendo entrevistas que se llevaron a cabo con expertos seleccionados de profesionales en los ámbitos de la educación y el marketing digital. Todos los hallazgos de este esfuerzo de investigación multifacético fueron rigurosamente evaluados en un análisis de causa raíz. Posteriormente, se propuso un conjunto de seis soluciones estratégicas que fueron evaluadas minuciosamente en colaboración con el CEO de Tannder School, lo que llevó a la definición de una solución final junto con un plan de implementación preciso, un marco presupuestario y KPI seleccionados que supervisarán y demostrarán la efectividad de la estrategia. La solución final consta de una estrategia de marketing integral que integra iniciativas que incluyen la optimización del rendimiento del sitio web, el impulso de la visibilidad en línea, el aumento del compromiso en línea y la actualización y optimización del contenido.The academic study, in the form of a consulting report, analyses and explores new opportunities of development for Tannder, an education-focused platform, which offers a range of services aimed at supporting educators and learners. The work revolves around the strategic enhancement of Tannder School's visibility, primarily driven by the imperative of internationalization in the educational technology sector. To address this challenge, a comprehensive approach was undertaken, involving secondary literature review and primary analyses. The research framework encompassed an examination of different type of analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, including interviews which were conducted with selected experts from professionals within the educational and digital marketing domains. All the findings from this multifaceted research endeavour were rigorously weighed against a root cause analysis. Subsequently, a set of six strategic solutions was proposed and meticulously assessed in collaboration with Tannder School's CEO, leading to the definition of a final solution along with an accurate implementation plan, budgetary framework and selected KPIs that will monitor and prove effectiveness of the strategy. The final solution consists of a comprehensive marketing strategy, integrating initiatives encompassing website performance optimization, online visibility boost, online engagement enhancement, and content update and optimization

Optimizing Product-Market Fit: A Digital Marketing Approach for Performance Measurement

In today's digital economy, digital marketing has grown in scope and now acts as a liaison connecting digital interactions and key start-up activities. The low investment and dynamic elements of digital marketing favor the start-up environment and enable a flexible match between digital interactions and start-up growth. However, start-ups are usually unfamiliar with all the possibilities digital marketing offers and connect its influence solely with marketing and sales. Digital marketing, powered by data analytics, can support start-ups in different key activities such as testing and experimentation, customer education, and others. This thesis first explores how digital marketing impacts start-up development within a set of growth drivers supporting different key activities and associated areas. Through a systematic literature review, the Macro- dynamic Framework was developed to identify and connect fifteen growth drivers and digital marketing impact for achieving start-up growth in four different areas. Secondly, as Product-Market fit is identified as one of the key drivers of start-up growth, this research focused on investigating how can product-market fit be influenced through digital marketing. One of the major challenges start-ups have in this perspective is measuring digital marketing performance and interpreting the collected data. As Product-Market fit and performance measurement both largely rely on the provided digital marketing analytics and received feedback, the DM_Optima framework is developed to connect the touchpoints of both areas. Through multiple case study research with nine start-ups, the thesis demonstrates this Framework application. The DM_Optima Framework is developed with a Balanced Scorecard and enables start-ups to test their ability to optimize product-market fit through digital marketing and performance measurement. The results of DM_Optima help start-up founders and managers to achieve or maintain their product-market fit and establish efficient practices of digital marketing performance measurement from an internal organizational perspective.Na economia digital de hoje, o marketing digital cresceu no seu âmbito e actua agora como um elo de ligação entre as interacções digitais e as principais actividades de arranque. O baixo investimento e os elementos dinâmicos do marketing digital favorecem o ambiente de arranque e permitem uma combinação flexível entre as interacções digitais e o crescimento de arranque. Contudo, as start-ups não estão normalmente familiarizadas com todas as possibilidades que o marketing digital oferece e ligam a sua influência apenas ao marketing e às vendas. O marketing digital, impulsionado pela análise de dados, pode apoiar start-ups em diferentes actividades chave como testes e experimentação, educação de clientes, e outras. Esta tese explora primeiro como o marketing digital tem impacto no desenvolvimento inicial dentro de um conjunto de factores de crescimento que apoiam diferentes actividades e áreas associadas. Através de uma revisão sistemática da literatura, a Estrutura Macrodinâmica foi desenvolvida para identificar e ligar quinze motores de crescimento e marketing digital para alcançar o crescimento inicial em quatro áreas diferentes. Em segundo lugar, uma vez que o ajuste Produto-Mercado é identificado como um dos principais motores do crescimento inicial, esta investigação centrou-se na investigação de como pode o ajuste produto-mercado ser influenciado através do marketing digital. Um dos maiores desafios que as novas empresas têm nesta perspectiva é medir o desempenho do marketing digital e interpretar os dados recolhidos. Uma vez que a adequação e a medição do desempenho do produto ao mercado dependem largamente da análise de marketing digital fornecida e do feedback recebido, a estrutura DM_Optima é desenvolvida para ligar os pontos de contacto de ambas as áreas. Através de múltiplos estudos de caso com nove start-ups, a tese demonstra esta aplicação da estrutura. A estrutura DM_Optima é desenvolvida com um Balanced Scorecard e permite às start-ups testar a sua capacidade de optimizar a adequação do produto ao mercado através do marketing digital e da medição do desempenho. Os resultados da DM_Optima ajudam os fundadores e gestores em fase de arranque a alcançar ou manter a sua adequação ao mercado de produtos e a estabelecer práticas eficientes de medição do desempenho do marketing digital de uma perspectiva organizacional interna

Strategic plan for a born global firm and the contribution of network relationships in the process of internationalization: Attentive

The present Master thesis is introduced upon the form of a Strategic Plan, which is intended to express the commercial viability of the internationalization of a born global firm in the United States. Therefore, Attentive is a startup that has the ambition to make a relevant impact in the Software-as-a-Service applications for business to business market. In order to achieve the main objective of this dissertation, it is carried out the internal analysis of the company, external and competitive market. As well as a secondary source for the accomplishment of this same dissertation was used the literature review, based on different approaches regarding networking relationships, the advantages and challenges of born globals to compete with mature companies in foreign markets in a deductive and inductive perspective have been developed by different authors. In terms of the functional presentation of the Strategic plan, during this thesis it will be explored the characterization of the sector, the choice of the new physical location and the establishment of the marketing mix components. Furthermore and to conclude this dissertation, the final chapter is going to be an evaluation of the impact of strategic control and Scoreboard card to make this plan the most complete possible

Strategic business models field lab: analysis of digital therapeutical business models based on cognitive behavioral therapy in the digital mental health industry - methodology and evolution of the industry

Macroenvironmental drivers significantly increased the number of mental health issues in previous years, prompting a particular focus on digital therapeutic business models to close the gap in mental care. This thesis provides insights into the development and variation of business models in the digital mental health industry, along with a focus on digital therapeutical business models based on cognitive behavioral therapy. The work examinesthe business models' essential elements, advantages, and vulnerabilities. Three recommendations are derived from analyzing internal and external weaknesses, allowing business model providers to strategically optimize their services, customer relationships, and competitive positioning

Role of prosumer driven 3D food printing in innovating food value chains

Digital platforms have created an impact in almost all facets of our life in a short period. Today, they are an integral and critical part of consumer experience. When combined with revolutionary 3d printing technology, these platforms are great enablers of prosumption, i.e., production undertaken by consumers. The associated paradigm change is already visible in the specialized goods sector. With the emergence of 3d food printing technology, similar changes are very much anticipated in the food sector. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to create an understanding on how digitally-driven 3d food printing could be best utilized for food prosumption. Three research questions were raised with an aim of identifying key challenges, and uncertainties in prosumer driven 3d food printing; defining the characteristics and customization parameters of a prosumer platform for 3d food printing; and identifying most potential archetypes and use cases for prosumer-driven 3d food printing. To answer the research questions, 3 research themes were identified, namely food value chain, prosumption, and 3d food printing. After an extensive literature review process based upon the research themes, relevant data were gathered using Mixed Methods Research (MMR) approach. 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from industry and academia. This was followed by a quantitative survey with a pool of respondents from within the identified research themes. Finally, a stakeholder workshop was carried out to finalize and further refine the concepts generated through MMR. Personalized nutrition is found to be an area where 3d food printing has a lot of scope, especially for applications in fitness centres, senior homes, and hospitals. Also, utilization of prosumer driven 3d food printing in fine dining restaurants has one of the highest business potential and feasibility at this point of time. Overall, the research implies that leveraging digital platforms in 3d food printing has the potential to generate futuristic food value chains that are connected, collaborative, data-driven, and transparent