A comprehensive e-business framework for luxury watch companies

After years of prosperity and growth, the luxury watch industry is standing on a burning platform. On top of declining exports, increased competition and changing customer habits, a much more fundamental challenge lies ahead. The digitalization disruptively reshapes the way how goods are bought, delivered and marketed worldwide. This means, that the way of purchasing a luxury watch by consumers is increasingly influenced by an organization’s digital channels. So far, the traditional watch industry has been very reluctant in adopting to this change. Now, companies are in a situation where they must hurry up. One of the main problems is that there are neither role models nor guidelines that managers could use as an orientation point. In other words: Luxury watch companies are in uncharted waters. This thesis identified, which parts of the business of a luxury watch company are affected by digitalization. Furthermore, it prioritized and described the constituent parts of an e-business strategy. The results were then combined to provide guidance for managers in form of a comprehensive e-business framework. In the first part, secondary research was conducted for the elaboration of a theoretical fundament; this resulted in a first version of the e-business framework. It is followed by the empirical part, which comprises four interviews with experts from different industries. This allowed for a more holistic view on digital implications on luxury watch companies. All interviews were conducted on the basis of the theoretical e-business framework, which ensured the final version to be better applicable and relevant for practical use. Digitalization allows companies to reach billions of potential customers, which makes the segmentation of customers extremely important. This is a radical change for the luxury watch industry, as companies did not have to segment their customers very precisely so far. Such developments also demand a better understanding of the journeys of targeted customers. A clear e-business strategy typically consists of two interconnected areas: the digital channels of an organization and the organizational foundation which supports these channels. The overall goal of improving a customer’s experience with the brand is achieved by analyzing data about and from channels (e.g. gender distribution in combination with transaction data). It is suggested to start market pilots with an easy to grasp amount of data. Much more than the selection of channels or whether they are online or offline, the question is how they are designed and integrated. New technologies and the generation of digital native customers challenge the traditional mindset and business model of Swiss watch companies. E-business therefore must start at the top and should be organized inter-divisional. Based on a clear picture about a company’s target segments, it gives answers to the selection, design and integration of online and offline channels. Luxury watch companies do good in implementing a continuous cycle of learning about consumer’s journeys on a never ending mission towards a superior customer experience

Will IMP Save The World? : Reflections on the role of networks in sustainable marketing

Purpose of the paper and literature addressed – This paper is a conceptual paper that builds on Ryan et al (2008) proposition that the IMP perspective supports the creation of a Sustainable Marketing framework. The author raises concerns over the suitability of a firm-centric perspective for Sustainable Marketing and the reliability of networks to deliver environmentally beneficial innovation. The paper suggests that government intervention, in the form of regulation, taxation and incentives, and contribution from “think tanks” that own the necessary knowledge are essential to guide the learning of networks towards sustainable business practices. We suggest that a special form of network, called innovation network, needs to be involved in this process of knowledge creation. Main contribution – This paper aims to extend the theoretical discourse initiated by Ryan et al (2008). It is the author’s intention to further investigate how the IMP current of thought can be applied to Sustainable Marketing, and with what adaptation. This is thought to be an important contribution as it aims at informing changes in marketing theory and suggests directions for the design of a new theoretical framework for Sustainable Marketing.Non peer reviewe

Designing transition paths for the diffusion of sustainable system innovations. A new potential role for design in transition management?

Copyright @ 2008 Umberto AllemandiIt is a shared opinion that the transition towards sustainability will be a continuous and articulated learning process, which will require radical changes on multiple levels (social, cultural, institutional and technological). It is also shared that, given the nature and the dimension of those changes, a system discontinuity is needed, and that therefore it is necessary to act on a system innovation level. The challenge now is to understand how it is possible to facilitate and support the introduction and diffusion of such innovations. Bringing together insights from both Design for sustainability and Transition management literatures, the paper puts forward a model, called Transition model of evolutionary co-design for sustainable (product-service) system innovations, aimed at facilitating and speed-up the process of designing, experimentation, niche introduction and branching of sustainable such innovations

Critical factors for implementing and diffusing sustainable Product-Service Systems: Insights from innovation studies and companies' experiences

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Journal for Cleaner Production. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the adoption of such business strategies is still very limited because it often involves significant corporate, cultural and regulatory barriers. An important challenge is not only to conceive eco-efficient PSS concepts, but also to understand the contextual conditions that facilitate their societal embedding, and which strategies and development pathways are the most appropriate. The combination of theoretical insights from innovation studies (in particular Strategic Niche Management and Transition Management) and a case studies research (exploring the innovation journeys made by six companies in introducing their eco-efficient PSS innovations in the market) is used to investigate the factors that influence the implementation and diffusion of this kind of innovations. The article provides a structured overview of these factors, grouping them in four clusters: implementation of socio-technical experiments; establishment of a broad network of actors; building up of a shared project vision; creation of room for broad and reflexive learning processes. Based on these results it is argued that a broader and more strategic system approach should be adopted by companies. Companies should focus not only on the PSS solution and its value chain, but also on the contextual conditions that may favour or hinder the societal embedding of the PSS itself. The article concludes by outlining a key area for future research

Eco‐Holonic 4.0 Circular Business Model to Conceptualize Sustainable Value Chain Towards Digital Transition

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a circular business model based on an Eco-Holonic Architecture, through the integration of circular economy and holonic principles. A conceptual model is developed to manage the complexity of integrating circular economy principles, digital transformation, and tools and frameworks for sustainability into business models. The proposed architecture is multilevel and multiscale in order to achieve the instantiation of the sustainable value chain in any territory. The architecture promotes the incorporation of circular economy and holonic principles into new circular business models. This integrated perspective of business model can support the design and upgrade of the manufacturing companies in their respective industrial sectors. The conceptual model proposed is based on activity theory that considers the interactions between technical and social systems and allows the mitigation of the metabolic rift that exists between natural and social metabolism. This study contributes to the existing literature on circular economy, circular business models and activity theory by considering holonic paradigm concerns, which have not been explored yet. This research also offers a unique holonic architecture of circular business model by considering different levels, relationships, dynamism and contextualization (territory) aspects

Sleeping with the enemy? : strategic transformations in business - NGO relationships through stakeholder dialogue

Campaigning activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have increased public awareness and concern regarding the alleged unethical and environmentally damaging practices of many major multinational companies. Companies have responded by developing corporate social responsibility strategies to demonstrate their commitment to both the societies within which they function and to the protection of the natural environment. This has often involved a move towards greater transparency in company practice and a desire to engage with stakeholders, often including many of the campaign organisations that have been at the forefront of the criticisms of their activity. This article examines the ways in which stakeholder dialogue has impacted upon the relationships between NGOs and businesses. In doing so, it contributes to the call for more ‘stakeholder-focused’ research in this field (Frooman in Acad Manag Rev 24(2): 191–205, 1999; Steurer in Bus Strategy Environ 15: 15–69 2006). By adopting a stakeholder lens, and focusing more heavily upon the impact on one particular stakeholder community (NGOs) and looking in depth at one form of engagement (stakeholder dialogue), this article examines how experiences of dialogue are strategically transforming interactions between businesses and NGOs. It shows how experiences of stakeholder dialogue have led to transformations in the drivers for engagement, transformations in the processes of engagement and transformations in the terms of engagement. Examining these areas of transformation, the article argues, reveals the interactions at play in framing and shaping the evolving relationships between business and its stakeholders