A value network describes the key actors within a target domain, their roles relative to the sponsoring organization or its offering, and the relationships between them — also called an ecosystem or value chain. It spans more than the parties who help deliver the offering. It includes the actors who supply, distribute, complement, integrate, regulate, influence, and pay; the partners, suppliers, and build / buy / partner relationships that make up the implementation approach; and the competing alternatives — direct competitors, substitutes, and potential entrants — the offering is positioned against. A strategy has to account for the full set of parties whose choices determine whether it succeeds, not just the end buyer. In BRI Associates' methodology each actor also has its own jobs to be done that the whole solution may need to satisfy.
The value network is a cross-cutting construct in the BRI Strategy Framework. It feeds the Whole Solution dimension (channels, complementors, and integrators deliver elements the organization does not provide itself), the Implementation Approach dimension (which actors the organization builds, buys, or partners with to deliver each solution element), and Competitive Differentiation (the competing alternatives the offering must beat). For the full treatment, see the Strategy Framework pillar at /supporting/strategy-framework. Related Terminology Index entries: Value Network Actors; Whole Solution; Implementation Approach; Competing Alternatives; Channels; Complementors; Jobs to Be Done (JTBD).
