Innovative value creation in low-income countries
Milou Derks received her PhD on research on value creation in low-income countries, focusing on business-ecosystem perspectives and policy impact on sustainable development.
On 17 December 17, Milou Derks of the Technology, Innovation & Society (TIS) group received her PhD on her research entitled “Value creation dynamics in low-income countries: a business ecosystem perspective. Her work offers new insights into how value creation and capture in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can be optimized to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Business-ecosystem perspectives
A business-ecosystem perspective looks at all stakeholders and their role in creating and capturing value within a broader value proposition. This perspective helps understand the interactions between different actors and how they collectively contribute to value creation. Examples include informal plastic waste collectors in Zambia and electronic waste recyclers in Kenya, who struggle with economic value acquisition despite their material value creation.
Realistic changes
Derks’ research shows that a business-ecosystem perspective is useful not only for problem analysis, but also for intervention design. It provides insight into growth constraints for SDG-focused systems and shows how policies affect actors' value creation and capture. This perspective helps prioritize policy interventions and design organizational strategies that lead to realistic, operational change for all stakeholders.
Policy Impact
The research highlights the importance of evaluating policy impact on the value creation and capture of actor groups. Policies can disproportionately favor certain groups and hinder the growth of other crucial actors. This was observed, for example, in Zambia, where informal waste collectors received inadequate support.
Future guidelines
Derks' research provides guidelines for organizations and policymakers to develop effective collaborative scaling strategies and evaluate the impact of policies on value dynamics. This contributes to the growth and sustainability of business ecosystems in LMICs.
Milou Derks defended her thesis on December 17 2024. Title of PhD thesis: '' Supervisors: Henny Romijn and (Leiden University).