Reference no: EM132386472

INDUSTRY- Agriculture (precision farming)

Hypothesis to be developed- Precision Farming and its enabling technologies affecting the fundamental agronomics and market structure that are central to the world's food systems.

INCUMBENT(RULEMAKER)- JOHN DEERE

DISRUPTER (RULE BREAKER)- CROPX

(drones, terrestrial sensors and cultivation bots)

OVERVIEW

We are living in an era of disruption. Massive changes are affecting the scope and the boundaries ofconventional commercial activity. Some of these changes may indeed require new rules ofengagement or ways of competing. Some may necessitate entirely new business models. WholeIndustries are evolving at their core - dealing with shifting customer preferences, the globalizationof supply chains and shrinking barriers to entry.

Research Objectives and Key Deliverables

You will research the industry and the governing beliefs reflected in the market's competitive structure and dominant business model. These may be shared notions of customer preferences, ofcost drivers, or of the role of proprietary elements of differentiation such as branding or technology.

When these beliefs are broadly held they form a predetermined basis of competition among industry players and underpin the dominant rules of the game. However, Entrepreneurial Leaders are not necessarily bound by rules. Start-up activity often signals that the market is challenging the conventions and shared beliefs of industry leaders.

Within their research on the assigned sector you must identify and examine both 1) an incumbent (rule maker) and 2) a disruptive challenger (rule breaker). In addition, you must demonstrate a deep understanding of the assigned industry and the scope (& meaning) of the entrepreneurial activity challenging it.

Project Guidance

Written Report on Research Findings

To develop a defensible hypothesis will need to address most of the followingin the written report. The report must include the Business Model Canvas reflecting thecritical attributes of the incumbent company examined in the research and most vulnerable todisruption.

1. MARKETS. Who is the primary target audience for the incumbent and for the disruptor? Who is going to respond most favorably to the value proposition and why? What are the immutable external factors shaping customer behaviors that all industry players mustcontend with? What are the 2 or 3 primary dimensions of competition (what firms compete on)? How does this affect market structure (scope & competitive positioning of relevant players)? In what ways is the conventional business model(s) that has evolved vulnerable to disruption? What does the fundamental value proposition for incumbents imply about customer preferences? In what ways does the emergent venture hope to change these long-held preferences? Who is the primary target audience for the emergent venture and for the disruptor? Who is going to respond most favorably to the value proposition and why? What aspects of the incumbent marketing plan would likely require modification; what brand equities should the new venture prove successful?

2. RESOURCES. What is the business model of the incumbent? That is, what is their value proposition, how are they organized to fulfill it, and how does that drive their profitability? What is the business model of the emergent challenger? Compare and contrast the specific key resources (see Business Model Canvas) required and utilized by the incumbent and by the emergent challenger in pursuit of success. What critical changes need to occur in the market, the internal operations, or the supply chain relationships in order for the emergent firm to successfully make money (and take profit from the incumbent)? What evidence supports the proposition that these changes are occurring or will occur? Is the incumbent capable of reallocating its strategic resources to meet the challenge of those changes?

3. VALUE DELIVERY SYSTEMS. Describe the projected operating model for the emergent venture. What trade-offs are implied in this model? Do these trade-offs support or undermine your firm's competitive position given the industry's market structure? Consider the social, environmental and economic value drivers. In what specific ways - if any - does the company's operational model help create shared value? At scale, what new rules for value creation & distribution might the emergent venture predict and what players in the value chain are most threatened by these new rules? Under your hypothesis of the new rules and threats, which of the incumbent's primary management systems or beliefs impede the firm's ability to act in response to the emerging threat?