Course Description

This course teaches master students how to redesign an organization’s business model and make it future-proof. In an increasingly interconnected world, organizations are confronted with unprecedented levels of turbulence, uncertainty, and complexity. Global trends such as rapid urbanization, climate change, global economic power shifts, digitalization influence the effectiveness and efficiency of existing business models. To ensure future competitive success, organizations must rethink the way they create, deliver, and capture value. In this course, students will learn how to design a future-proof business model in three steps:

1. Analyze. First, students learn to describe the current business model of an existing organization and put it into context. They will draw a causal loop diagram (CLD) that shows how different business model elements are causally interrelated.
2. Anticipate. In the next phase of the course, students learn how managers can make decisions when they are confronted with various uncertainties about the future. They will develop different scenarios to understand how potential internal and external developments impact the organization.
3. Advise. Finally, students learn how to use their analyses and anticipation skills to give advice to organizations about business model innovation. They will identify robust business model adaptations that are most likely to create, deliver, or capture value in the future.

Learning Goals

After taking this course, students will…

• Understand the concept of business model innovation in public and private organizations.
• Represent a business model with a causal loop diagram describing the causal interrelationships between internal and external factors.
• Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant forces for scenarios.
• Create scenarios and describe possible futures.
• Propose business model changes and analyze their potential impact.
• Identify robust business model changes that are most likely to create, deliver, or capture value in the future and defend your choice with solid argumentation.
• Write a well-structured report to an organization’s management team with convincing argumentation for a new, future-proof business model.

Course Schedule

Part 1 - Analyze

• Introduction to Business Model Innovation
  Lecturer by Stefan Breet
• Problem Definition & The Business Model Canvas
  Workshop by Stefan Breet and Merel van der Wal
• The Business Model as a System of Interconnected Elements
  Lecture by Stefan Breet and Merel van der Wal
• Using Causal Loop Diagrams to Capture Dynamic Relationships between Business Models Elements
  Lecturer(s): Stefan Breet & Merel van der Wal

Part 2 - Anticipate

• The Future as Your Guide: Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
  Lecturer(s): Vincent Marchau
• Navigating the Unknown: Scenario Development for Business Model Innovation
  Lecturer(s): Vincent Marchau & Merel van der Wal
• Learning from the Future
  Lecturer(s): Vincent Marchau
• The Business Model Stress Test: Examining the Future Performance of Today’s Business Models
  Lecturer(s): Vincent Marchau & Merel van der Wal

Part 3 - Advise

• Architects of Change: Designing Future-Proof Business Model Innovations
  Lecturer(s): Stefan Breet
• Innovation in Action: Testing and Validating Business Model Innovations
  Lecturer(s): Stefan Breet, Merel van der Wal, and Vincent Marchau
• The Art of Insight: Delivering Impactful Advice
  Lecturer(s): Stefan Breet and Merel van der Wal
• The Big Reveal: Showcasing Your Future-Proof Business Model Innovations
  Lecturer(s): Stefan Breet, Merel van der Wal, and Vincent Marchau