Continuous changes of business trendsthat have been taking place in recent years make it necessary for companies to bet on a continuous reinvention. The crisis, the evolution of the markets and the changes in trends make a non-dynamic business model unfeasible. That is why, in order to survive in these times, it is essential for the business pattern to evolve towards an open, corporate, sustainable and model. strong>innovative, capable of continuously adapting to changing conditions and actively participating in the same processes of changing trends.
An open business project is synonymous with a living company, in continuous reinvention, which discovers new niches in its traditional markets, but which is also capable of participating in emerging markets and even discovering and building them. Undoubtedly, the open company arouses interest due to its global dimension, due to its ability to satisfy needs both in local markets and thousands of kilometers away. This global strategic dimension as well as the open business strategy must be framed within a business philosophy that is clearly competitive and differentiating.
As a fundamental pillar of the 21st century company, people and business culture will be framed. Both will be based on collective co-responsibility. The definition of flat, transversal and dynamic structures will be basic for the correct development of the 21st century company. In this sense, enabling participation mechanisms must be an objective of the new company. Likewise, the ability to share knowledgewill strengthen and promote people and a solid and co-responsible business culture.
As one more player in the construction of the future, the company must get involved in the sustainability of the planet, beginning with its resources and its environment. A Sustainable and Socially Responsible Companywill respond to and anticipate the expectations, not only of its customers, but also of the agents that surround it, including its collaborators and suppliers. In this sense, the company of the near future must reinvent itself and build a business 2.0 model that allows internal and external communication and interaction capable of socializing the business project and rooting the values of sustainability and responsibility.
Companies will have to be capable of managing a permanent reinvention and for this they will have to bet on continuous “technological” surveillance, capable of identifying surprise movements and changes in market trends, and on a strategy of continuous innovation. In this sense, the company will have to continually adapt to new technologies, as well as learn to take advantage of the benefits they bring. Flexibility and efficiency will mark the steps to be followed by companies of the 21st century, capable of reinventing themselves.
Undoubtedly there is another series of values and characteristics that, although they have not been mentioned, are understood to be, or should be, of a company such as: respect for freedom, social conscience, cult of truth and transparency, fight against corruption, defense of social equality, contributing to avoiding the alienation of man and in particular of his collaborators, accessible, creative,… It is true that some companies of the 20th century, or still of the 19th century, ignore many of these principles, many of them included in the Charter of Human Rights and that are worth remembering for those whose memory has remained anchored in the gloomy and not very prosperous feudal society.
On the road ahead, in order to achieve this business model for the 21st century, resistance will have to be overcome, such as the ignorance of the benefits and possibilities of computer technologies on the part of the non-native Internet generation, the pressure for productivity, the contempt by profane knowledge, pyramidal hierarchies, reluctance to diffusion… No one has said that the road is easy but, without a doubt, the companies that are capable of internalizing and managing the necessary mechanisms to free themselves from these resistances will be the ones that lead the change in the production model in search of a knowledge-based economy. These companies will define and shape the paradigm of the 21st century company that from these concise paragraphs we venture to glimpse.
References for those who want to learn more:
–Applying Open Innovation for a Sustainable Company. Alessandra Abbruzzese.
–We need to collaborate. Jon Landeta.
–Strangers on a train. Innovation Departments in the traditional organization. David Arias.
–Conclusions on 15 cases of open economy in Spain
–Report on the open economy sector: