Ambidexterity drivers of value-creation and appropriation in business models: An explorative study from DuPont

This paper aims to investigate how different trajectories can be detected and classified in business models (BMs) at the level of their underlying product development value-structure (value-creation and appropriation), and what are the drivers. Such BMs are run by multinational firms to accommodate various technologies and innovations; however, this is stressful because of inherent incompatibilities and conflicts.

An explorative study of six product cases from Du Pont’s Textiles Fiber Division (DTFD), namely, nylon yarns, knits and wovens, DTFD blockbusters, Coolmax^®, MicroMattique™, filling materials and Supriva™, is conducted.

In value-creation, technology push or market pull yields resultant technology-forward or market-back trajectories. For value appropriation, new growth opportunities or continuous market expectations lead to breakthrough or continuous innovations. Consistent and inconsistent combinations of these trajectories yield four differential drivers: technological breakthrough, market-back technology, continuous technology and continuous market-back. This is supported by relevant supply chain strategies, either focused through joint ventures and licensees for commodities or vertically integrated for specialty products.

The paper adds to the analysis of ambidexterity in the value structure of BMs along constituent value-creation and appropriation, thus providing a logical lens to understand various complementarities that exist in terms of opposing technology trajectories and product innovation repertoire.

This study contributes to the knowledge of product innovation management in the textile industry, where both large-scale innovation and operational excellence are challenged over the past few decades.

The lessons learnt address the fundamental issue of higher value generation through configuration of multiple contrasting value-structure elements.