The opportunity economy : enduring lessons from the ride and fall of the new economy

In this paper we argue that the business model underlying the new economy is based on the following interrelated and self-reinforcing forces: 1. The development of a new strategy of opportunity, which focuses on the use of creative innovation to open up new market spaces, rather than using exploitive innovation to prolong the life of existing products. 2. The democratization of competition thanks to the Internet and to process outsourcing. 3. Taken together, these forces result in a profound shift in the source of value creation in firms from processes and physical assets to people. With the drivers of business success so fundamentally transformed, almost all aspects of the firm and its management also need to change, from valuation, resource allocation and worker compensation, to what it takes to retain workers and promote innovation. But while the rules of business have changed, there has not been a corresponding shift in awareness among most managers. Assuming that there is nothing new in the New Economy is a profound and dangerous mistake. Managers that are so short sighted will find that they have not only lost out on the opportunities that the new economy continues to provide, but that the market downturn has only deferred, rather than eliminated, the threats that change poses to their firms.