Click to view Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview.

Doesn’t this model depart significantly from conventional wisdom in its hybrid character—with both for profit and non-profit components playing a significant role? What’s important about this model for larger companies, particularly multi-nationals interested in BOP markets? What’s important about it for traditional enterprise development efforts?

The model does depart from traditional strategy models predicated on ‘command and control’ thinking and economic rationalism from an individual firm perspective. So we would be hard pressed to conduct a Porter 5 Forces industry analysis on the networks we looked at, although I guess anything is possible. But we do like to think that the SLEN model is entirely consistent with the ‘resource based view’ of strategic management which is associated with Jay Barney, CK Prahalad and others. We just have to think about resources as being linked to relationships and novel partnerships as much as being controlled by the firm as an independent entity.