You decided to take a break and head down to the Florida Keys. There you find yourself looking for a great
place to see a sunset while having a fish sandwich in paradise. However, there's a practitioner-scholar
conference in town and sitting right next to you are three leaders of business theory who are discussing which
theories are most relevant to technology in today's business world.
Michael Porter (Porter Five Forces Model P5FM) maintains that competitive advantage is still relevant while
Clayton M. Christensen argues that the “Jobs to be Done” Theory of Innovation and disruptive innovation is
much more relevant. Clayton is so engaged that he slams his fist on the table stating that transformational
rather than incremental change is a better way to approach strategy. Chris Laszlo is beside himself and tells
both Porter and Christensen that embedded sustainability is the next big competitive advantage and that both
of their theories are dated. Porter then explains that the bargaining power of customers leads to an
organization towards sustainability - you know that this cannot be the case.
The restaurant staff interrupts and asks the three if anyone else is planning to join them before they have
dinner. After a short conversation, it seems like the CEO of Amazon, Facebook and Tesla are also in town and
will be having a fish sandwich too.
This is turning out to be one of those life-changing moments, and you can't help yourself but to jump into the
conversation. In fifteen minutes the three CEOs will join and discuss their strategy and look for new ideas, and
you want to be part of this.
When the CEOs join the conversation, they ask you how can embedded sustainability helps their organizations
more than the sustainability web page they already created. But, to everyone's surprise, Chris Lazlo is sitting
right next to your group and states that unlike the omnipresent bolt-on approaches, embedded sustainability
requires a fundamental shift. Chris challenges Amazon's CEO as a prime example of bolt-on sustainability. The
Amazon CEO strongly disagrees and then everyone looks to you for your thoughts on bolt-on versus
embedded and what direction Amazon should go and still maintain a profit.
After hearing this dialog Facebook's CEO stated that neither form of sustainability directly applied to his digital
empire. You argue that it matters just as much in his firm as Amazon's. At this point, Tesla's CEO explains what
it means to have true embedded sustainability and how profitable it can be.
You are asked to develop an intellectual argument following a dialog format. Each voice must be represented,
but there's a caveat. At the conclusion of the back and forth argument with ample evidence, Elon asks how do
you implement these perspectives. At that point, you look towards the punctuated socio-technical change
model to support your discussion. You even go as far as to draw a picture of how these theories can be
operationalized.
Sample dialog conversation:
Charlie - VP of Strategy
P5FM has been around for 30 years, and it has been the foundation for how we have achieved superior returns
over the years. We need to be more competitive and create increased margins by sourcing offer less
expensive products while differentiating ourselves so that we charge more to customers. No one cares about
the well-being or social good.
Smart Drew – Business Strategy Consultant
Charlie, the way we used to business has changed, and you need to think differently to succeed in the digital
world. Having ES does not imply organizations do not profit from being socially responsible. To remain
competitive in the digital and socially responsible age, your company must change.
Notes:
This is a dialog style essay question and you need to make your dialog compelling and ensure that it is wellwritten and supported with facts. You need to argue the position of each scholar as if you were that person and
insert yourself and thoughts into the discussion with the hope of meeting two of the most influential CEOs in
the world. Once the CEOs arrive you offer advice and what type of strategy they should use but note that they
are not easily impressed and have a tendency to argue.