Thinking outside the box - adapting the business strategy to changing conditions

The requirements that companies have to meet in order to be successful on the market are constantly changing. Keeping pace with these changes means regularly reviewing and adapting the business model. Business development refers to the active process of adapting business strategies and offerings to developments in the market and in society. Such changes can result from new competitors, technological advances or changes in the political environment.

Understanding your own business model precisely and recognizing future industry trends is a challenge. Prof. Brem recommends working with so-called "lead users" - people who already have needs today that the masses will only have in the future. Thanks to social networks, these lead users are much easier to find today than in the past. Employees also play a key role in a company's innovative strength. Large technology companies such as Google and Atlassian have recognized this and give their employees up to 20 percent of their working time to work on projects of their own choosing.

Another tip from Prof. Brem is to find ideas in workshops, which should take place outside the company premises. A change of scenery helps to look at the business model from a new perspective. This allows entrepreneurial opportunities to be recognized that were not previously part of the business model. This "opportunity recognition" offers the chance to adapt outdated business strategies to the changed conditions and develop them further.

In order to be successful as a company in the long term, it is essential to react flexibly to market changes and to continuously develop the business model. Working with lead users, encouraging employees to innovate and holding workshops in a new environment are effective methods for staying up to date and identifying new opportunities.