How is strategy defined and what does strategic management deal with according to Terzidis (2017)?: A strategy is a plan or roadmap for the fundamental behavior of an organization in order to achieve its mission and long term goals.

→ A strategy is a plan of an organization to achieve its mission and long term goals

Strategic management deals with the initiatives taken by entrepreneurs involving the utilization of resources to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments.

Name the three key principles for strategic positioning (Porter, 2008):

• Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities.
• Strategy requires you to make trade offs in competing to choose what not to do.
• Strategy involves creating “fit” (coherence) among a company’s activities.

Which questions you need to ask yourself for finding the balance (IKIGAI)?:

• What you love
• What you are good at
• What the world needs
• What you can be paid for

What is the definition of a firm according Coase (1937)?:

A firm consists of the system of relationships which comes into existence when the direction of resources is dependent on an entrepreneur.

“The firm as a system” – in which markets is the firm embedded?:

• Customer market - potential customers
• Labor market - potential employees
• Capital market - potential financial sources
• Supplier market - providers of material and services
• Complementary partners - entire ecosystem that company use, like Google Analytics

What is an industry according to Byers & Dorf (2011)?:

An industry is a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other and serve the same customer.

Describe the Industry Lifecycle and explain what is meant by the different phases:

• Emergence: limited Sales, few competitors
• Growth: increased sales, good timing to enter the market
• Maturation: less growth, consolidation
• Decline

Describe Porter’s Five Forces Model – name all the forces and differentiate between: horizontal and vertical competition:

Horizontal competition:

• New entrants: can require new investment for you to stay competitive.
• Existing competition: You must stand up to existing competition.
• Substitutes: Substitute offerings can lure customers away.

Vertical competition:

• Customers: can force down prices by playing you and your rivals against one another.
• Suppliers: powerful suppliers may constrain your profits if they charge higher prices.

Give a definition of the term ‘business model’ according to Terzidis (2017):

A business model is an idealized and aggregated representation of how a firm creates value for the stakeholders.

What are the business model V4 dimensions according to Al Debei & Avison (2011)? Name and explain them briefly:

• Value Proposition: business logic of creating value for customers. What is created?
• Value Architecture: architecture and infrastructure of organization. How is it created?
• Value Network: way in which organization performs transactions. How are transactions performed?
• Value Finance: way in which organization manages costs and revenues. How is it financed and sold?

What is a model according to Stachoviak (1973)?:

• Mapping: A model is a representation of something.
• Idealization: A model is based on abstraction and simplification.
• Pragmatism: Models are used in concrete, pragmatic contexts.

What are the Business Models Functions according to Al Debei & Avison (2011)?:

• Alignment Instrument: instrument for improving harmonization and consistency among strategy and business process.
• Interceding Framework: connects technological potentials and innovations with the realization of economic value.
• Knowledge Capital: knowledge asset useful in supporting strategic decision making functions

Name the building blocks of the Business Model Canvas:

• Value Proposition in the middle - what do we sell
• Left side (supply) : what you need to do to deliver the value proposition
  • Key Partners: who are your key partners and suppliers
  • Key Activities: what should be done to create value
  • Key Resources: which resources we need to create value
• Right side (sells):
  • Customer Relations: which type of relationships will be established with each customer segment?
  • Channels: which channels should be used to reach our customer segments?
  • Customer Segments: for whom are we creating value
• Bottom line: Cost Structure and Revenue Streams

Name the limitations of the Business Model Canva:

• The purpose of the firm is not mentioned
• Market structure and competitors are not mentioned
• There is no explicit mentioning of the ‘value network’
• No information about funding

Name the ten rules for good Business Design according to Teece (2018):

• depends as much on art and intuition as it does on science and analysis
• requires deep knowledge of customer needs and the technological and organizational resources that might meet those needs
• require an understanding of current business models at work in the market
• alignment and coherence is desirable so that the business model elements will be mutually reinforcing
• strategic analysis must be tied to business model design
• should be coupled with strategies and assets that make imitation difficult
• identifying the customer segment(s) to learn and achieve proof-of-concept and viability of business model is a critical
• when n-sided markets are involved, getting started early and effectively seeding the n sides is critical
• good business model reengineering skills are an important
• the introduction of new business models into an existing organization is always difficult and may require a separate organizational unit

What is a Start-Up & what is a Lean Start-Up according to Ries (2011)?:

A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.

Lean Startup is a method to systematically reduce the risk of projects with high uncertainty.