EXTERNAL CONTACTS

Foster and Kaplan (2001) state that there is a “blurred zone” in the economic activity, which can be found on the periphery of the different sectors. New companies are generated within this area to explore unkonwn needs and to capitalize on new capacities, new technologies and new business concepts.

According to both authors, strategic planning, advanced research and venture capital acivities should mainly aim to analyze how the periphery of a given sector evolves and whether it is a potential source of wealth. They regard the periphery evolution as a precondition because:

It allows to see the future opportunities of a given section from a strategic perspective;

It allows to identify unsatisfied customers, understand what they need and investigate their competitors’ approaches to address their needs;

It allows to identify new born companies to exploit new opportunities or new abilities through a very innovative method;

It allows to gear the innovation activity within the company to a radical and effective change, i.e. the kind of change occurring on the periphery;

It allows to choose the right time for business dvelopment.

Furthermore, the need to understand the periphery evolution – which is a precondition for change – has increased together with the change rate of the economic environment. Since the change rate is going to further increase in the future, the capacity to identify peripheries will become crucial. So focusing on periphery will lead to reorganize the company strategic planning, research and investments in new initiatives.

In this context, any contact with the company external environment is fundamental to help the management to outline and understand the periphery of their own section. Trips abroad and meetings with customers allow the management team to to adopt a more outward-looking mental model.

CLASS	C
PHASE	External Mapping
DESCRIPTION	Foster and Kaplan (2001) state that there is a “blurred zone” in the economic activity, which can be found on the periphery of the different sectors. New companies are generated within this area to explore unkonwn needs and to capitalize on new capacities, new technologies and new business concepts. According to both authors, strategic planning, advanced research and venture capital acivities should mainly aim to analyze how the periphery of a given sector evolves and whether it is a potential source of wealth. They regard the periphery evolution as a precondition because: It allows to see the future opportunities of a given section from a strategic perspective; It allows to identify unsatisfied customers, understand what they need and investigate their competitors’ approaches to address their needs; It allows to identify new born companies to exploit new opportunities or new abilities through a very innovative method; It allows to gear the innovation activity within the company to a radical and effective change, i.e. the kind of change occurring on the periphery; It allows to choose the right time for business dvelopment. Furthermore, the need to understand the periphery evolution – which is a precondition for change – has increased together with the change rate of the economic environment. Since the change rate is going to further increase in the future, the capacity to identify peripheries will become crucial. So focusing on periphery will lead to reorganize the company strategic planning, research and investments in new initiatives. In this context, any contact with the company external environment is fundamental to help the management to outline and understand the periphery of their own section. Trips abroad and meetings with customers allow the management team to to adopt a more outward-looking mental model.
CORRELATE TECHNIQUES	EXTERNAL SENSORS
REFERENCES	Foster R.N., Kaplan S., Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market - and How to Sucessfully Transform Them, Currency Doubleday, 2001