Karan Girotra

Managing Business Model Risk: Resequencing, Re-allocation and Backups Karan Girotra

This book is based on three essays that illustrate distinct business model redesigns to manage operational risk. In essay 1, we examine the costs and benefits of different supply chain structures in managing multi-product demand uncertainty. In particular we analyze the strategic performance of delayed differentiation and early differentiation in supply chains. We demonstrate that the conventional wisdom arguing for delayed differentiation may be strategically unsound. In essay 2, we examine the role of strategies that mitigate the effects of product development uncertainty. We examine the effect of risk mitigating strategies, such as development of backup compounds on the financial performance of firms and find that these strategies lead to superior financial outcomes. In essay 3, we examine the role of demand uncertainty on a multi-tier supply chain. We examine the structure of advanced purchase discounts that lead to efficient information transmission in the supply chain. We characterize their benefits, costs and provide recommendations on administration of advance purchase discounts.