Creating value with Qwiki in the firm's business mode : a strategic perspective of implementing a wiki platform by taking advantage of smartphone technology and its mobility in the corporate business world

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the strategic use of the Qwiki platform in the firm’s business model. The objective of this dissertation is to access the strategic potential of the Qwiki platform, under certain assumptions, contribute with knowledge regarding the possibilities and opportunities with its usage and the ability to potentially create and sustain value to the company that holds Qwiki and its clients. This dissertation presents the available information and knowledge regarding the wiki and smartphone technologies in terms of its developments, its advantages and shortcomings and its incentive to be used by companies, as well as how they can be used together to create value to the holder company and clients. Additionally, it describes the possible opportunities and threats expected with the use of wikis and smartphones with Qwiki. Two analysis are conducted in this dissertation: the Resource-Based View framework and implementation of Qwiki in businesses and the value created for both the holding company and the implemented companies. These analysis serve the purpose of assessing if Qwiki has the conditions to generate sustained competitive advantage for the holding company and how to implement this platform in order to potentially profit from this technology with said competitive advantage. It is concluded from the Resource-Based View model that it can, under some conditions, have a strategic impact on the holder business by creating and sustaining competitive advantage. These conditions are namely Qwiki’s value increase within the business through user learning processes, experience and network effects, which are tacit knowledge. That is, these attributes cannot be transferable and easily copied to other companies, thus increasing both user switching costs to the competition and the barriers for other companies that attempt to implement similar strategies. It is also concluded with this reasoning that the Qwiki platform and the involving wiki and smartphone technologies can create value to the Qwiki holder company and to companies that adopt it and offer the possibility to potentially profit from the competitive advantage that the platform creates, based on its correct implementation and validation of this work’s assumptions and Qwiki future challenges.