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A number of prominent European multinational mobile telephony companies (MNMTCs) have their origins in state-owned monopolies that successfully undertook radical transformation in the late 1980s to late 1990s. Not only did they face liberalization of their domestic markets but they also moved from fixed-line telephony to mobile telephony prior to rapid expanded overseas. This study focuses on Telenor whose operations currently span the Nordic region and Southeast Asia. Like other MNMTCs, Telenor currently faces another period of radical change as global digital services providers are set to ride on the connectivity MNMTCs supply thereby reducing them to “dumb-pipes.” This study indicates that Telenor has abandoned radical transformation for “modernization” of its extant operations. For an understanding of why this second radical change is proving arduous for MNMTCs, the authors argue that there is a need to take into consideration institutional change.

The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, to investigate how multi-domestic, multinational corporations (MNCs) can develop business models that are appropriate to “Bottom-of-the-Pyramid” (BOP) settings. Second, to address how they can apply elements of BOP business models across their operations. We use the case of the entry of the Norwegian mobile telecom MNC Telenor into India as the empirical context. Prior to India, Telenor had operated successfully in Asian emerging economies by adapting its business model to local conditions. However, it had only operated in the upper income tiers of these countries. In India, its late entry meant that for the first time in its history it had to move beyond these upper income tiers and develop a business model suited to BOP. We apply an economic model terminology as a means to gauging the degree of business model innovation Telenor undertook. Telenor succeeded in its development of a BOP business model by working in close partnership with local firms. Although Telenor in India was operating at BOP, a number of the resultant innovations were deemed by Telenor to be transferable to top-of-the-pyramid operations across Telenor. In order to succeed in developing BOP business models MNCs must go beyond local responsiveness and engage closely with local partners. However, transference of elements of BOP business models to other parts of the MNC is contingent on there being a centralized integrating capability.

In recent years, we can observe the emergence of firms, born both digital and global, that have disrupted existing industries. Deploying digital technologies, they have developed innovative value chains and business models that threaten established multinational companies (MNCs). In this chapter, we examine how MNCs can and do respond to the challenge digital technologies represent. We describe the main facets of digital technologies and discus the potential these have to undermine the value chains and business models of established MNCs. In order to illustrate this, we employ longitudinal data from Telenor, a leading multinational mobile telecom company. Telenor perceives digitalization as a critical threat that in turn is causing a radical rethink about the viability of its decentralized, locally responsive value chain and business model. Our data provides insights into business models in-the-making at the top management level. We argue that the case of Telenor is generalizable to multi-domestic MNCs across a range of industries.

Mobile marketing.

MBA, marketing level consultants.

This is the first documented study on the development of a mobile marketing eco-system in Pakistan. The focus of the case is Telenor Pakistan - the first local operator to implement a comprehensive mobile marketing strategy via opt-in based consumer profiling. By positioning itself as a “media company” in the mobile marketing value chain, Telenor Pakistan aims to both enable and drive the mobile marketing eco-system at a time when operators are suffering from a decline in average revenue per user and are endeavouring to put into place strategies that will open up revenue streams based on services other than voice.

To develop a comprehensive understanding of the drivers and restrainers that affect the mobile marketing eco-system in emerging markets; and to examine to what extent operator-driven mobile marketing can create synergies within the mobile marketing value chain.

Teaching notes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the Telenor customer complaints crisis triggered on the company Facebook site in August 2012. More specifically, the paper focusses on how friends and enemies of a company interact, and how faith-holders serve as crisis communicators in a rhetorical sub-arena that opens up on Facebook.

The study is based on a textual analysis of 4,368 posts from the Telenor Facebook site, and an interview with the senior digital manager of Telenor.

Not only current and previous customers but also those from rival telephone companies were active in the Facebook sub-arena. The customers complaining about the company services were met not only with the response of Telenor, but also with counter-attacks from faith-holders acting in defense of Telenor. However, these faith-holders were using defensive response strategies, while Telenor used accommodative strategies.

Organizational crises need to be seen as a complex set of communication processes, including the many voices that start communicating from different positions, and taking into account not only the response strategies of the organization but also the response strategies applied by supportive emotional stakeholders. In practice, faith-holders need to be monitored, as they may prove useful as “crisis communicators.”

The paper provides insights into an under-investigated area of crisis communication: the strategies of faith-holders acting as “crisis communicators” defending a company and themselves against attacks from negative voices on social media.

The paper provides a holistic overview of already available academic literature of mobile banking, business model innovation and ecosystem and activity system perspective of business model concepts. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to initiate a debate for future research in the agenda highlighted in this paper.

In this paper, mobile banking business ecosystem of Easypaisa is used as an illustrative case to understand mobile banking business model innovation in the context of business ecosystem and activity system perspective.

Based on Porter’s view of mobile financial service (MFS) industry, it is suggested that patterns of business model innovation can be explained through business ecosystem and activity system. The notion of business model innovation can also be explained through integrated value chain of mobile network operator and its partners in the supply chain of MFS.

This paper provides preliminary overview of the exiting academic literature on business model innovations, business ecosystem and activity system in the in the context of value network. Since this is only a literature review paper, therefore, no primary data have been collected for this case study through interviewing from the relevant people.

So far, no research has been conducted in Pakistan to address business model innovation in mobile banking sector in the context of business ecosystem and activity system perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to review a systemic organizational change initiative for improving collaboration, innovation and value creation at a global telecom.

Based on a comprehensive internal assessment Telenor identified core issues and challenges in supporting collaboration after several years of dramatic global expansion. From the assessment the change leaders built a business case for launching a systemic change initiative. They chose a collaboration and partnering approach with multiple management groups, with an emphasis on networks and innovation. A two‐year roadmap was developed to build three meta capabilities in collaborative technologies, social innovation and network behaviors and new business thinking.

The case study is a mid‐point assessment of how the implementation is working. A small and smart approach for introducing new ideas and learning innovations into receptive and influential groups within Telenor, new ways of working are taking hold quickly. The equal emphasis on bringing in social innovation such as communities of practice and introducing a next generation of management tools is effectively changing behaviors that are supported by new collaborative technologies.

Collaboration and knowledge sharing at Telenor is seen equally as a technology issue, a social innovation and behavior issue and a business issue. Many change efforts around knowledge sharing and collaboration emphasize technology or behaviors, but rarely address both effectively. This approach is more systemic than most because it not only addresses these two arenas, but also puts an unusually high emphasis on educating people into new business fundamentals such as the importance of intangible value and the power of networks.

The purpose of this paper is to examine what organisational and management practices used in connection with open space flexible offices create business value. It seeks to identify what consequences this may have for successful real estate practices.

This paper utilises an inductive case study approach. The international telecom company Telenor has implemented open space flexible offices from top to bottom amongst their 35,000 employees. The case description and analysis is based on secondary data, user evaluations and 20 interviews with middle- and top-level managers across levels and functional departments.

The case of Telenor reveals that leadership and organizing issues are important, together with work modes and communication technology, for a productive use of work place design. The paper highlights specifically how the open, transparent, flexible office solution creates business value when used with centralised and standardised organisational management systems and a participative, informal leadership culture.

The study is based on one case, so the findings need to be tested across a representative sample of companies.

Managers need to take both organisational and management issues into consideration when implementing new office space design. This challenges also the existing real estate strategies to include the organisational and management issues in their planning.

The originality and value of the paper lies in the analysis and findings of the Telenor case introducing organizational and management perspectives to real estate issues.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a qualitative study of employees' sensemaking as a social, communicative process during a major organizational transformation.

This case study describes a major transition in work mode, from traditional officing to nomadic work. Nomadic work is a radical new mode of work that emphasizes: worker mobility both at and away from the company facility; a paperless operation; and integrated technological platforms that enable knowledge work and flexible, project‐based organizing. Relying on participant observation and interviews, employee accounts were gathered of their experiences as told during the change implementation.

It was found that shocks noted in social interaction indicated that employee sensemaking was anchored by frames relying on identity, culture, or structure as the primary stabilizing discourse called into question. The findings suggest that employees used sensemaking to work out the tensions between social action and the systemic realities of organizational life.

The study contributes to the organizational literature by responding to the call for more research on social interaction during change implementation processes and on the implementation of new information technologies.