1. INDIVIDUAL ESSAY AND VIDEO: Business Models

This is an assignment which must be completed by students individually. It has two components.

Students must write an essay and then explain their essay’s main arguments via a short video presentation. The essay should be a minimum of 1,200 words and no longer than 1,700 words, not including the reference list. The video presentation should be a minimum of 2 minutes in duration and no longer than 4 minutes. Your video submission should be accompanied by a (Word document) transcript of what was said in the video.

THE ESSAY (30% of the total mark for this subject)

The objective of this essay is to develop your understanding of the business model as a concept and how a theoretical understanding of business models can be used to explain value creation, value appropriation and/or the innovation process at firms in real-life. To successfully complete this assessment, you are required to explore the academic literature on business models and to write an essay addressing the following statement:

According to Kodama (2009), Zott and Amit (2010), and Itami and Nishino (2010), who published in Long Range Planning in 2009 and 2010, business models can be conceptualised as activity-based systems. However, these authors developed significantly different models and insights in their papers when they wrote about business models as systems. There is a good reason for this. The way in which firms create and capture value can vary significantly. Much depends on the firm’s unique context. In other words, when managers think about their firm’s business model it goes without saying they need to understand the firm at a particular point in time, how it may need to change but also the elements that compose it. Business models as activity-based systems provide managers with the flexibility to abstract in all of these ways.

(Links to the above articles can be found on Moodle.)

When you write your essay you should ensure you fully address the above statement and do the following:.

• Define the concept of a business model.
• Explain what is involved when one conceptualises business models as systems.
• Explain how business models as systems can be used to solve static and dynamic problems.
• Explain how business models as systems can be used to understand how firms partner.
• Explain how business models as systems can be used to understand the innovation process.
• Explain Kodama’s (2009), Zott and Amit’s (2010), OR Itami and Nishino’s (2010) arguments in more detail through the use of an example, that is, by explaining the business model of one firm in more detail. (You only need to focus on the articles of one of the articles referred to above, that is, only one business model framework or model.)
• Identify which article you thought helped you understand business models as systems the most and explain why. (You can identify one article, two or all three if you want.)
• Conclude by briefly discussing the significance of your findings for the future of business models.
• N.B. You should feel free to use diagrams to illustrate points in your essay, including develop hybrid frameworks and models of your own based on your research.

You should include at least 5 references and no more than 20 references. All sources must be highly credible and fully referenced. Please note that academic misconduct and late submission penalties will apply to this assessment as per the university policies.

THE VIDEO WITH TRANSCRIPT (20% of the total mark for this subject)

The video is based on your essay’s findings. The video submission should be accompanied by a (Word document) transcript of what was said in the video.

The objective of this video is to develop your (practical) video production skills and ability to explain difficult theoretical concepts to laypeople.

To successfully complete this part of the assessment, you are required to produce a short video that summarises the key arguments of your essay. However, your video should not just be a verbatim repeat of what was said in your essay. It should be uniquely descriptive and allows you to explain what you learned about business models as systems. You should make clear how you plan to use a business models as systems approach in your future career

To maximise your marks, you should highlight the insights you derived from learning about the firm you discussed in your essay. Make sure your explanations are concise and easy to understand by people with little business training. Students will be rewarded for using the video medium effectively and creatively. You should feel free to use humour or take a more formal approach if this suits you.

You should make sure your transcript makes sense without the accompanying video, that is, it makes sense to someone even if they do not have the opportunity to view and listen to your video submission first.

Hint: It is a good idea to put together a transcript for the video before starting work on the video. You will be able to work faster and more efficiently if you do so.

To reiterate, please note that academic misconduct and late submission penalties will apply to this assessment as per the university policies.