Managerial Opportunity Recognition in Business Model Innovation

Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, language: English, abstract: The goal of this Master's thesis is to examine the relationship between managerial OR and business model innovations (BMIs) in established organizations. In order to meet the complexity of the topic, this thesis is focused on factors that hinder or help managers in recognizing business opportunities. Focusing on incumbent firms, this paper conducts further research to identify the main influencing factors, including challenges, vulnerabilities, and obstacles.

The thesis is divided into six parts, starting with a brief description of the research topic, including the problem position and objective. Second, a literature review is conducted to summarize the state of research, including theoretical foundations. In today's scientific literature the two fields of research BMI & OR are by no means treated independently from each other. For the time being BMI and OR are considered independently of each other. It is then shown exactly how current literature treats managerial OR with respect to BMI. The results are then synthesized into a summary, highlighting what is known and not known. The areas of controversy in the literature are identified and questions are formulated that need further research.

The third part of the thesis consists of expert interviews. Derived from the literature review, a guideline for interviews is developed to treat the research gaps in an appropriate way and to meet the complexity of the task setting. The explorative survey aims to identify the challenges and drivers of managerial OR in BMI and to identify approaches that have not yet been addressed in scientific literature to a significant extent. The core of the analysis is the splitting of the BM into the elements value proposition, value creation, and value capture. This ensures that all the facets of a company s BM are accurately addressed and form the basis for high-quality results. In order to cover a broad range, the paper does not focus on a certain industry. The interviews are conducted with an array of decision-makers in organizations that have attempted or are currently attempting to innovate their BM at the business unit level or the corporate level. [...]