Once you come to believe in a map, it is very difficult to change it, and, if your facts are wrong then you will be relying on a map that is wrong too. Too often 'mental maps' act like blinkers rather than guides - preventing us from acting effectively. Rafael Ramirez (from the Preface) The Value Net A Tool for Competitive Strategy Cinzia Parolini SDA Bocconi, School of Management, Milan, Italy Faced with a continuously changing, and an increasingly competitive, business environment, strategic analysts and senior managers are still reluctant to forsake the familiar and traditional tools and models which were conceived in the very different world of the 1970s and 1980s. However, these methods of analysis are less and less applicable to the blurred and shifting boundaries of today's business world. This book challenges the tools and models that we use when looking at how value is created, shaped and maintained and presents a new and completely viable methodology - the value net. This methodology provides the reader with a new way of dealing with value in the modern environment. Above all it can be used for the analysis of competitive systems that cannot adequately be analysed using established models. Supported by an impressive array of case studies from industries with which most people will be readily familiar - books, online trading, music, coffee etc. - the book argues that in order to remain competitive, strategists, planners and managers should not use yesterday's tools for today's decisions. This well-structured and highly readable book will help create a brand new perspective in strategic analysis and formulation and will interest managers, strategy consultants, MBA and Executive students in these areas. Business Strategy