Business Model Innovation (BMI) is critical to a firm's ability to achieve growth and long-term viability. It helps improve the value of products or services and/or delivery of these offerings to customers. Much of the academic literature to date however lacks customer-driven business model innovation frameworks. As such, the aim of this investigation is to propose a customer experience driven (CX) business model innovation framework that aligns customer values and the firm's strategic needs. This paper contributes to the literature by (a) conceptualizing the way in which business model innovation and customer experience are related (b) providing managers with a concrete framework to guide business model innovation that supports customer experience-driven new services and (c) highlighting opportunities for future research to advance business model innovation research and practice.

The construct of "value" has been central to explaining economic exchange since the time of Adam Smith. Despite its central importance, debate still exists as to what value entails. Absent a comprehensive understanding of value, researchers and managers have grappled with how to measure and manage value. Not surprisingly, absent a definition, no comprehensive, robust approach has emerged. We argue that value first must be viewed as a dual construct, i.e. value to the customer and value to the firm, that must be balanced to be sustainable. Given that value to the customer is clearly assessed as relative to competitive alternatives, we also argue that any robust measurement of value must account for competitive alternatives. We propose applying recent research on the use of relative metrics in linking to share of category spending as the foundation of assessing value to the customer (particularly since customers in most categories divide their spending across competing firms). This allows firms to assess the monetary value customers' assign to their offerings, and to estimate changes in this value from different market actions. As value to the firm is ultimately about the net present value of customers' economic contributions to the firm, this allows firms to balance value to the customer with value to the firm.

The success of Silicon Valley has served as a driving force for entrepreneurs and investors worldwide. Many have attempted to create their own version in developing markets by setting up Silicon Valley-style tech incubators. In recent years, Africa has seen an influx of these start-up incubators, which has resulted in an emergence of major tech hubs in different parts of the continent. These areas have taken on names synonymous with the booming tech industry: Cape Town in South Africa is known as the Silicon Cape, Nairobi in Kenya as the Silicon Savannah, and Lagos, Nigeria as the Silicon Lagoon. Despite the influx and success of some of these incubators, there is also a multitude of examples where success and longevity are rare. The lifespan of these start-ups are short and they seldom realize any profit. Limited access to capital markets, poor infrastructure, and weak regulatory environment are just a few reasons cited for this. Although there is a multitude of articles and publications that feature success cases and reasons behind propelling success, there are far fewer that focus on failures. As such, with this article we aim to shed light on the various reasons why these businesses fail by analyzing the literature and demonstrating them with realworld examples of both successes and failures in the market. Using the information analyzed, we then propose a solution for successfully investing in tech startups in the developing world, the business builder model.

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is considered the first cryptocurrency. This chapter takes a strategic approach to investigating Bitcoin usage and how it has brought new meaning to purchase power around the world. The chapter begins with background information on Bitcoin, followed by a description of the current Bitcoin user, followed by an explanation of how Bitcoin has brought new meaning to purchase power around the world as well during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the chapter provides supporting evidence for Bitcoin's ability to bridge the wealth gap.

Purpose As one of the five major dimensions of service quality, empathy has been and continues to be regarded as a requirement for a successful service encounter. This paper focuses on the highly customer-centric service industry of health care. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the potential negative effects of empathy on both the physician and the patient. Design/methodology/approach Building on an in-depth review of literature and well-established service quality models, the authors propose a new model for understanding the complex role of physician empathy in the physician–patient encounter. The trait, emotional intelligence (EI), is presented as a moderator for physician empathy levels. Findings The Health Care Optimal Physician Empathy (HOPE) model enables further characterization and analysis of the tradeoffs between patient satisfaction and physician burnout and determining when empathy optimally works to the benefit of both the physician and the patient to maximize service quality. The HOPE model provides a systematic way to understand and determine the appropriate level of physician empathy that results in optimal outcomes for both physicians and their patients by demonstrating the tradeoffs between physician burnout and patient satisfaction. Originality/value The authors highlight the potential detrimental effects on physicians themselves, and, in turn, on service quality. The theoretical and practical implications in this paper provide insights into the development and implementation of empathy-focused interventions and best practices to optimize service quality in the physician–patient interaction. The HOPE model is the first of its kind in shedding light on the manifestation of physician empathy.