Anyone who wants to start a new business is confronted with a variety of different questions. These range from very pragmatic questions such as “What do I have to do to formally set up a company and e.g. open a bank account for it?” to fundamental questions such as “Is my idea any good? Does it already exist?”, "How big is my market?" and ”Given my idea, which competitors am I actually up against?” And, and, and ... The list of questions goes on and on. But before I embark on the “adventure” of setting up a company with a new business, I should first develop as detailed an understanding as possible of what I'm getting myself into. The three-realms/four-perspective model presented below can be used to systematically assess the viability of a business.
A business concept explains in abstract terms how a business works, how it can compete, create value (and earn money) and survive over time.
An identical task or function can be performed in different ways. The business concept describes how this is done in each individual case.
No matter what kind of business one tries to build or maintain, each business is made up from different elements. Each element is contributing somthing to the overall solution the business provides to its customers and users. These elements can come from three very different realms and each realm brings specific characteristics to its elements. So, let's take a closer look at this claim.
The concept of three realms, which distinguish between elements jointly building a business, is supplemented by four perspectives. The perspectives are required to gain a complete understanding and for analyzing a business concept. It is this combination of realms and perspectives that creates the 3-4 model.
These four perspectives being used to analyze a business are derived from the objectives pursued with the idea of the business concept and by its definition. In the definition of a business concept, four core terms were identified as necessary to fully describe a business in a model. These four terms are:
- Functionality,
- Competitiveness,
- Intrinsic value and
- Viability.
Every business is a specific combination of elements from all three realms. This means that every business is anchored in all three realms at the same time. However, the relevance of individual aspects and elements varies considerably depending on the business idea and concept. A complete description of a business concept always uses all four perspectives and the three realms together. Moreover, each perspective can be differentiated into the three realms. which are presented below.
In addition to describing the structure of the realm-perspective-model (3-4-model), there is also the question of how it is used in practice. How does one go about analyzing a business concept? This analytical process is cyclical and in all likelihood you will run more than one cycle before you have achieved an detailed understanding of your business concept. However, there is a clear starting point for this process. So let us start at that beginning.
This brief overview of the realms, perspectives, and applications of the 3-4-model in the analysis of a business concept is, at this stage, only a very general introduction. It offers only a brief and highly abstract overview of the basic concept of the 3-4-model and provides only a limited number of examples. It is evident that there is a need for a more detailed and comprehensive introduction to the model, which will enable a fuller understanding of its content and applications.
