An approach to explore new business concepts

Abstract

To stay relevant and beat the competition, corporate organisations must innovate disrtupively. Within the financial services industry, it proves hard to remain competitive and stay relevant in a rapidly changing environment. In response to this, Group Innovation was established as the innovation department of ABN AMRO to focus on realizing disruptive innovation. Within Group Innovation the process to generate new business concepts that can eventually be turned into ventures is called the ‘Explore’. However, it was indicated that the quality and quantity of business concept generated by the Explore allow for improvement. Therefore, the following research assignment was formulated: Design a suitable approach to achieve greater quality and quantity in the generation of new business concepts, to help financial services firms innovate disruptively. A case study of Group Innovation of ABN AMRO. Research has been conducted to understand the current Explore state and identify the main challenges. As a response and final design, an approach that consists of anew perspective of the purpose outcome, process and conditions for the Explore is delivered. or the outcome of the Explore, the ‘business concept canvas’ is designed. This canvas can be perceived as a summary of the most important information that a business concept exists of and is based on. It is a blueprint for a venture. The canvas also represents the process that precedes it of which the double diamond approach of Design Thinking forms the foundation.  In response to the research assignment, the approach is expected to be suitable since it exists of a semi-structured format that allows for both guidance and clarity as well as that it provides sufficient room, and in fact stimulates, freedom and creativity. This is represented by the business concept canvas, that is confirmed to be implemented at Group Innovation. The canvas steers the Explore team to retrieve the right insights which includes providing a strong foundation for why a certain problem should be solved, as well as that it directs the team to deliver a well-considered business concept that embodies how this problem should be solved. This deliberate way of summarizing a business concept and the process that precedes it, add to why it is expected that the quality of business concepts will moreover increase.  In addition, this Explore approach should be implemented systematically and continuously and therefore an implementation strategy to realize the above mentioned is delivered. This strategy exists of four phases that all add up to the objective of ‘continuously generating business concepts that have the ability to disrupt’.  This project has been executed as a case study for Group Innovation of ABN AMRO. Nevertheless, the approach presented in this thesis can also be applied by other financial services firms since the approach does not involve any information that is specific and only usable for ABN AMRO.