Business Isomorphisms
We are increasingly witnessing that what works in one sector’s
business model can be transferred to another. For
example, what we have learned that works in cloud computing
or digital services is beginning to be applied to the
world of energy services.
Or the revolution in car sharing,
access to a car as an alternative to car ownership, is “infecting”
other businesses that have nothing to do with transport,
such as the publishing industry (the Zipcar model applied
to Chegg): it makes more sense to have temporary access to
university textbooks rather than purchasing them when you
are only going to use them for one semester. Or even what
we know about the mechanisms governing sick leave: could
this not also be applied to “professional leave”, which is how
we should be calling unemployment?
A test of the usefulness of this “transfer of ideas” between
seemingly distant !elds can be found in the design thinking
movement, which proposes applying the thinking/
working methods of design to the world of business.
Moreover, design can also learn much from the business
world. And this dual relationship must also occur between
conventional business and social business.
In short, it is about applying the mathematical idea of
isomorphism to the business world. In mathematics, “the
discovery of an isomorphism between two structures essentially
means that the study of each can be reduced to the one of the other”.
«e mathematical concept of “isomorphism” (from the
Greek iso-morfos: equal-shape) aims to make use of the
opportunity that arises from the fact that two objects have
a similar structure: what we know of one can be applied
to the other. Will the systematic application of isomorphisms
become the new way of generating wealth in our
economies? #e collaboration between companies sharing
a business model essence, even if they are in di»erent
sectors, will become a new habit.
From my book: The solution begns with co-
