The Dutch government and leading academics in the field of circular economy propose that “repurposing”, i.e., finding new usages for discarded material, is important to reduce resource usage. Waste collectors, municipalities and start-ups increasingly find ways to develop circular business models, aiming for minimum loss of material integrity. Repurpose is a circular business model strategy which entails using a discarded product or its parts in a new product with a different function.The aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of this promising but academically underexposed circular strategy by empirically exploring its key characteristics and developing a taxonomy that reflects the scope and potential of the concept. The taxonomy development was based on clustering and comparing 96 case examples using key characteristics and critical factors empirically collected by means of 11 semi-structured expert interviews. The taxonomy was iteratively refined and validated by means of workshops with experts.This paper proposes a taxonomy and a comprehensive definition for repurposing. The Repurpose taxonomy distinguishes three main categories with increasing levels of material integrity: “Reprocess”, “Reshape” and “Recontextualize”. The taxonomy provides a refinement of existing circular business model patterns and frameworks for closing material loops strategies. It shows how repurposing may exploit the creative potential of design to fill the gap between reuse and recycling by retaining previously added value with three levels of physical adjustment.
For organizations that use IT systems in their primary business or as support of their business processes, optimal alignment between the business strategy and their business information technology (BIT) is critical. However, achieving business information technology alignment remains challenging due to the vast number of choices one has to make. Firstly, one has to choose from a large number of potential BIT practices. Secondly, one has to choose BIT practices that align with the business strategy. Thirdly, one has to understand the dynamics of combining multiple BIT practices. And, finally, as business strategy and BIT practices evolve, one needs to consider the long-term alignment as this has significant consequences for both the business strategy and the overall enterprise architecture. These intricacies of alignment mirror the challenges apparent in other business strategy-practice alignment domains. An example is human resource management and strategy alignment for which a simulation model and serious game has been developed in prior research. Here, we build upon this prior research. In BITInLine players have to select a set of BIT practices with the best strategy fit from a list of 48 different BIT practices. The challenge is to select a combination of practices over multiple consecutive simulated years (rounds within the game) that align to the organisations’ strategic profile, and adapt to the outcomes of the choices made in previous years. Practices in the game are clustered around six key BIT topics emerging from the strategic alignment and enterprise architecture disciplines: (1) service strategy, (2) information & data strategy, (3) platform & application strategy, (4) Infrastructure strategy, (5) security strategy, and (6) operations and performance. In BITInLine feedback on the BITA and the deviation from the desired strategic profile is presented after each round (representing a year of using the selected practices). Using BITInLine, players can experiment with, and in doing so learn from, selecting multiple combinations of BIT practices and experience the outcome of their choices in terms of BITA over multiple simulated years, while adapting their choice of practices to the situation at hand. In the current paper the serious game (re)design to create BITInLine and an initial trial run will be presented.
MULTIFILE
World globalisation drives companies to undertake international expansion with the aim of retaining or growing their businesses. When companies globalize, managers encounter new challenges in making international marketing strategy (IMS) decisions, which are influenced by perceived cultural and business distance between their home- and foreign country. Telkom Indonesia International (Telin) was formed by Telkom Indonesia (i.e. the state-owned company in the telecommunication industry in Indonesia) to engage in international business within a global market. The central question in this study is to what extent do managers’ perceived cultural and business distance between home- and foreign country influence their IMS decisions? A mixed research strategy will be employed by applying qualitative and quantitative methods concurrently. The data collection will involve interviews with CEOs and managers, alongside a web survey to 55 managers of Telkom's. Results suggest important consequences for IMS decisions and emphasizes the need for dialogue on perceptions of cultural and business characteristics of countries.
