Corporate Strategy & Sustainability (The Future of Competition)
The Situation: Why
The first part of the discussion refers to The Situation: Why. In this part, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Hamsal, MBA, examines the evolving landscape of competition in the digital age, emphasizing the shift from traditional sources of competitive advantages—such as cost, quality, and delivery—towards agility and adaptability. This transformation, spurred by the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and accelerated by the pandemic, highlights that companies excelling in flexibility, quickness, and the ability to learn will dominate the competition.
Key trends now include learning speed, ecosystems, integration of digital and physical worlds, imagination, and resilience. Examples of digital disruption given are Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify, illustrating how traditional companies have become less competitive or obsolete. The discussion underscores the importance of anticipating and adapting to the digital shift, with innovative companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google leading the way in this new competitive environment.
The Situation: What
This session is then followed by the second part which focuses on The Situation: What. This section delves into strategic shifts necessitated by external changes, emphasizing the transition from single-product and consumer-focused companies to multiproduct and multi-consumer entities. Traditional companies must evolve to remain competitive in the digital age by expanding their offerings and addressing the needs of a broader consumer base. This transformation involves developing digital business models that meet consumer demands for affordability, quality, faster delivery, resilience, and sustainability. Key steps in this digital transformation include infrastructure development, system building, technology creation, and human resource development.
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Hamsal, MBA, identifies four key drivers of successful digital business models: agility and adaptability, business model innovation, consumer-centricity, and data analytics. Companies must quickly adapt to external changes, innovate to meet evolving customer expectations, prioritize consumer needs, and leverage data analytics to create valuable consumer propositions. Digital businesses like Amazon, Airbnb, Google, Netflix, and Spotify exemplify this shift, successfully transitioning to digital models driven by these principles.
Ultimately, it is important to embrace digital transformation and strategic agility to thrive in the rapidly evolving competitive landscape. Companies are encouraged to develop the necessary infrastructure, systems, technology, and human resources to build successful digital business models that can effectively respond to market changes and consumer demands.
The Solution: How
To conclude the session, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Hamsal, MBA, proceeds to the third part, which is The Solution: How. This part explores how competition in the digital age extends beyond traditional elements such as products, processes, and business models, emphasizing competition between ecosystems. For success in this era, it is necessary for organizations to be agile to support digitalization, have a digitalized environment, and cultivate an innovative, agile workforce. Businesses should adapt to collaborate and build ecosystems, as self-sufficiency will no longer suffice for maintaining a competitive edge.
Companies that will excel in the future are those with agile organizations capable of adapting to the digital age. Success hinges on three essential factors: the business model, the digitalized setting, and an agile workforce. The business model should align with the goal of becoming a digitalized company, the organizational environment should be fully digitalized, and the key players should be agile managers and innovative teams capable of implementing various business model strategies.
The video also discusses the evolution from independent, self-sufficient companies to collaborative and interconnected entities. Companies can no longer rely solely on their competitive advantages; they must form partnerships and collaborate to build and develop ecosystems. This shift signifies the essence of future competition, which relies on the strength and interconnectedness of ecosystems. The readiness, willingness, and capability of individuals within these organizations will be crucial in navigating this new competitive landscape. Professor Caran concludes by indicating that future discussions will cover other trending topics in management strategy.