State of peace, of emergency, of crisis or of war… Who wrote that war is only the continuation of diplomacy: Machiavelli or Talleyrand? I was wondering how many wars were just only mere processes of Economic Models after unsuccessful commercial negotiations. On the TV, an old blockbuster movie, "The 55 days of Peking" reminded me that many wars had only economic issues: the Boxers’ war compelling China to open its market, the Boers’ war imposing the British model of colonization to the Afrikaners’ agrarian one and more recently, the Cold War opposing the liberal model to communism.
Since 2008, the world has entered in one of its worst economic and financial crisis doubled by the A-flu threat of pandemic. Enterprises need to define new Business Models. Both represent ruptures of peacetime models.
Figure: Business Models from peace time to war time.
Crisis and war Business Models belong to different types. The basic model type (Type 0) refers to the defense industry, which does not exclusively address nations in war. This model belongs to the market segment of selling to national Public Sectors.
Type 1
The permanent combat model
Its main objective is to organize the enterprise as a warriors’ entity. Its application could be limited to areas where military approaches are currently adopted, for example in Business Intelligence, IT Security, … or to men’s behavior!
This agressive model applies only in peacetime because in crisis or war time the social and competition environment have changed and the market requires other kinds of responses from the enterprise.
Type 2
Bespoke Business Model reflecting the War Model
It applies locally and in a limited time to organizations when a part of their activities are conducted in conflicted zones. Various situations could be found: NGO operating in countries in war, enterprises trading with clients in contaminated areas, oil or mining companies tapping resources in insecure zones. This kind of model has to compel with martial or urgency laws that apply in the concerned territories.
Type 3
The Comprehensive Adaptive Business Model
Its purpose is to offer a robust framework for Business activities, which applies in normal conditions and allow starting adaptive mechanisms in hard times. Read my previous post.
