Page 14 - The European Business Review

Transformation Economy

The Transformation Economy offers tremendous scope: an investment in time and resources. Nonetheless
such partnerships offer a platform for loyalty
turning social and environmental issues and strong customer engagement which is very
into business opportunities that can make different from today’s business environment
where propositions are easily copied and under
brands more meaningful and respected,
constant price pressure.
and it can generate long lasting revenue. :H EHOLHYH WKH ZD\ IRUZDUG LV ÀUVW WR FUHDWH
awareness and stimulate interest in issues that may
resonate within your organisation. It’s a matter of
contrary, such solutions should offer better quality, ÀQGLQJ WKH ULJKW RSSRUWXQLWLHV WKDW \RX FDQ OHYHUDJH
a higher level of performance and a better experi- to build capacity and relationships to succeed in
ence than current ones. It is a matter of doing well this new paradigm. Internal organisational transfor-
(building a loyal customer base by delivering a great mation is as important as external. Breaking down
experience) as well as doing good (delivering results silos and creating multi-disciplinary platforms able
RQ FRPPLWPHQWV WR VROYH VLJQLÀFDQW VRFLHWDO LVVXHV to participate in value sharing network initiatives is
This requires all key stakeholders and partners essential. Companies can only inspire external stake-
to participate in setting clear performance and holders and partnerships if they themselves radiate
quality targets using a top-down and bottom-up passion, commitment, and a spirit of collaboration
approach that creates a sense of ownership in the to solve challenges and to transform how value is
solution. In addition, the use of people-focussed created and shared.
research tools and design-thinking methodologies
can help in gathering deep, qualitative insights and About the Authors
FR FUHDWLRQ RI FRQWH[W VSHFLÀF YDOXH SURSRVL- Dr. Simona Rocchi is Senior Design
tions able to deliver the desired user experiences. Research Director in Innovation and
Sustainability at Philips Design. She
Leverage Learning in Contexts with Similar manages the creative direction of stra-
Challenges and Conditions tegic design initiatives, and she oversees
7For most companies, experimenting with multi-stakeholder collaborative activities in emerging
opportunities in the Transformation Economy markets. Simona holds a PhD in Sustainability, an
starts gradually. Capturing and leveraging lessons MSc. in Environmental Management and Policy and
from successes and failures (together with the an MSc. in Architecture.
partners involved) helps to ease the way to new Dr. Bahaa Eddine Sarroukh is
opportunities in other contexts with similar chal- Head of the Philips Africa Innovation
lenges and conditions. This allows the network to Hub in Kenya. He focuses on devel-
continue to extend its market for value delivery and oping innovations within the African
to build on its experience. It may also increase the ecosystem. He has built leadership in
attractiveness of new partners for similar ventures innovation in low resource settings, and recently
in different settings. developed the Philips Community Life Center
approach. He holds a PhD in Signal Processing
Final Word and Applied Mathematics.
The Transformation Economy offers tremen- Karthik Subbaraman is a healthcare
dous scope: turning social and environmental professional with clinical and manage-
issues into business opportunities that can make rial experience in emerging and
brands more meaningful and respected, and it developed markets. A thought-leader in
can generate long lasting revenue. Furthermore, healthcare requirements and solutions
working towards outcomes with a sense of in Sub-Saharan Africa and India, Karthik is engaged
purpose can motivate and engage employees. in consultancy projects with governments and
But there are no business models to “cut and global organisations to design and deploy clinical
paste”, and value creation partnerships require DQG RSHUDWLRQDO ZRUNÁRZV LQ SULPDU\ FDUH

14 The European Business Review January - February 2018