Value network

A value network is a business analysis perspective that describes social and technical resources within and between businesses. The in a value network represent people (or roles). The nodes are connected by interactions that represent tangible and intangible deliverables. These deliverables take the form of knowledge or other intangibles and/or financial value. Value networks exhibit interdependence. They account for the overall worth of products and services. Companies have both internal and external value networks.

External facing networks include customers or recipients, intermediaries, stakeholders, complementary, open innovation networks and suppliers.

Internal value networks focus on key activities, processes and relationships that cut across internal boundaries, such as order fulfillment, innovation, lead processing, or customer support. Value is created through exchange and the relationships between roles. Value networks operate in public agencies, civil society, in the enterprise, institutional settings, and all forms of organization. Value networks advance innovation, wealth, social good and environmental well-being.

Christensen defines value network as:

"The collection of upstream suppliers, downstream channels to market, and ancillary providers that support a common business model within an industry. When would-be disruptors enter into existing value networks, they must adapt their business models to conform to the value network and therefore fail that disruption because they become co-opted."

Fjeldstad and Stabell presents a framework for "value configurations" in which a "value Network" is one of three alternatives ways in which an organisation generates value the others being the value shop and value Chain).

F&S's value networks consists of these components:

An obvious example of a value network is the network formed by phone users. The phone company provides a service, users enter a contract with the phone company and immediately has access to all the value network of other customers of the phone company.

Another less obvious example is a car insurance company: The company provides car insurance. The customers gains access to the roads and can do their thing and interact in various ways while being exposed to limited risk. The insurance policies represent the contracts, the internal processes of the insurance company the service provisioning.

...
Wikipedia