HSG Navigators: business oriented guides for companies

HSG researchers have developed guidelines on these questions in close cooperation with partners. Five of these “navigator books” are presented here as examples. The focus is on business models and entrepreneurship. 

Business Model Navigator: Designing business model innovations

The Business Model Navigator provides insight into the most important success factors of effective business models. The book provides suggestions on how entrepreneurs can promote the innovation of business models. It uses concrete examples to show how decision-making can be improved as part of the business model innovation processes. And what facilitates the initiation, idea, integration and implementation phases. These four phases were also briefly explained in the “Knowledge Bank: Business Models” format.

Using 55 business model patterns, the authors explain how business models are developed and improved from the ground up. The patterns contain a brief description of the concept, the underlying mechanisms of the respective business model and examples of companies that have applied the pattern. Prof. Dr. Oliver Gassmann and Prof. Dr. Karolin Frankenberger have been leading the research program on business model innovation since 2010.

The book was the basis for thinking in “patterns”, as we know it from software development. It has been translated into over 20 languages and has become the gold standard for business models. You can also familiarize yourself with the topic interactively at www.businessmodelnavigator.com.

Platform Business Navigator: Business models for platform-based companies

Seven of the ten most valuable companies in the world are based on a platform business model. Amazon and Alibaba, for example, facilitate transactions between sellers and buyers, and Apple facilitates transactions between app developers and app users. However, platforms are also impacting many traditional businesses and the use of network effects is increasingly important for companies. Prof. Dr. Oliver Gassmann, Prof. Dr. Felix Wortmann, Dr. Sven Jung and Dr. Wolfgang Bronner have therefore developed the Platform Navigator. By reviewing the most important literature and examining more than 150 cases, the authors have identified 88 patterns for the development and implementation of platform business models in five phases. Not all patterns are applicable to every company. Nevertheless, they can help managing directors to gain a competitive advantage.

Startup Navigator: Systematic development of companies

The St.Gallen Startup Navigator shows founders how to build companies systematically. It is a practical handbook based on the latest findings from entrepreneurship research and the best practices of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in Europe. You can watch the history and the most important blocks of the Startup Navigator as a video.

Included in the manual are detailed exercises that teach you how to build and use a so-called Startup Cockpit. In this way, you can ensure that your business decisions are based on facts rather than opinions and beliefs. The authors Prof. Dr. Dietmar Grichnik and Prof. Dr. Manuel Hess emphasize that the Startup Navigator is a timeless handbook that can be used across all industries. Moreover, entrepreneurship is not magic. Essentially, anyone can learn the ability to think and act like an entrepreneur. The Startup Navigator serves as a helpful tool that provides orientation.

Scale-up Navigator: How companies can grow healthily

A scale-up is a company that increases the number of its employees and its turnover by 50 to 100 percent each year. This can become a problem for successful start-ups. Scale-up companies usually no longer deliver the usual quality because their infrastructure or staff cannot cope with the high demand. For this reason, Dietmar Grichnik, HSG Professor of Entrepreneurship, has developed the Scale-Up Navigator together with Manuel Hess, HSG expert for start-up financing, and doctoral student Michael Greger. Andreas Göldi and Florian Schweitzer from b2venture contributed the investor's perspective. The book is based on a clearly structured, iterative process that was developed on the basis of decades of industry knowledge from venture capital and the support of over 350 companies and start-ups. The authors combine this experience with insights from research and present them in a reader-friendly way. As a result, readers can develop a better understanding of the various challenges involved in scaling their company and master them more effectively. These include, for example, evaluating revenue growth options, scaling the employee team and implementing efficient organizational structures and communication processes.

Corporate Venturing Navigator: Planning corporate financing

Corporate venturing (CV) describes the participation of established companies in small pioneering companies. Corporate venturing has become an important business instrument for both companies and start-ups and has attracted a great deal of attention in research. Prof. Dr. Dietmar Grichnik, Prof. Dr. Manuel Hess, Dr. Jana Reuther, Prof. Dr. Michael Hilb and Alexander Stoeckel have developed the Corporate Venturing Navigator for this phase of a company's life cycle. The Corporate Venturing Navigator is built on a continuous and iterative process divided into four consecutive and closely linked phases, including: 

• how to develop a CV program from scratch by defining the profile as so-called CV mandates in the profiling phase;
• how to build a CV program in the conception phase;
• how to manage a CV program according to the defined goals and expectations in the operational phase;
• how to successfully complete a CV program in the harvesting phase.

Throughout the navigation process, the CV Cockpit provides transparency and a clear understanding of the relevant performance indicators to validate and drive the progress of the CV program.

Customer Experience Navigator: Designing customer experiences

The term customer experience encompasses how customers perceive a brand or a company and what experiences they have with it. HSG marketing experts Marcus Schögel and Dennis Herhausen have published ‘The Customer Experience Navigator’ to support companies in their step-by-step transformation towards customer orientation.

This guide provides an overview of the challenges, steps, concepts and tools for successful customer experience management. ‘Hands-on’ work with customer touchpoints, their successful connection and customer journey management are the focus of this book. The Navigator aims to support companies in asking the crucial questions about their own customer experience. The book therefore does not provide standard templates, but guides marketing experts towards customised solutions.

The two authors have tested their approach in practice several times and implemented projects on this topic with a wide range of companies.