Acknowledgements

Although I have been fortunate to be given the opportunity to hold the pen in writing this book, it has been a collaborative effort, with contributions from many people. Several individuals have helped to shape my thinking and the contents of this book. I would like to thank my students and researchers at the Cambridge Business Model Innovation Research Group. In particular, my current and former PhD students and Research Associates have performed a crucial role in teaching me patience and the ability to learn from their insights. It has been delightful to learn from all of you equally. Stuart Madnick at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology has been a mentor and a great role model and inspiration for my academic work ever since I visited his research group back in 2004. His enduring support provided me with the confidence to pursue an academic career. I would also like to thank Sir Mike Gregory, Tim Minshall, Duncan McFarlane and Andy Neely. Sir Mike was crucial in encouraging me to be bold in my ambition to build a research group on business model innovation when I joined the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) at the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. Tim, Duncan and Andy have been great mentors ever since I joined the IfM. They have helped me to embrace and complement the strengths of the Engineering Department and have been extremely supportive in my research and personal development by encouraging me to go beyond my comfort zone to explore new areas of research at the crossroads of engineering, economics and management.

I would also like to thank Geoff Meeks for providing the intellectual partnership to develop some challenging issues on conduct risk and business models. Thanks also go to my collaborators, colleagues and friends who have provided stimulating discussions and stretched my thinking on this topic – Sergei Savin, Jonathan Gair, Philip Stiles, Marshall Van Alstyne, Jan Heidi, John Deighton, Wayne Hoyer, Michael Pollitt, Gishan Dissanaike, John Metseelar, Rita Shor, Ataman Ozyildirim, Anne Greer, Roger McKinlay, Golnar Pooya, Philip Dalzell-Payne, Toni Vidal-Puig, Andi Smart, Svetan Ratchev, Roger Maull, Mike Jones, Sir Charlie Mayfield, Arun Jacob, Evert Geurtsen, Dominic O’Brien, Chris Noble, Keith Norman, Charles Popper, Jamie Cattell, Andy Page, Mahima Khanna, Jeff Alstott, Abdul Mumit, Rob Glew, Stefan Kurpjuweit, Stephan Wagner, Jeremy Edwards, Sheilagh Ogilvie, Maximilian Klöckner, Mark Phillips, Charles Baden-Fuller, Panos Desyllas, Steve Roper, John Nicholson, Steven Pattinson, Michael Ehret, Paul Ryan, Dan Friedman, Hyunkyu Park, Liz Salter, Janet Hao, Arnoud De Meyer, Adam Brandenburger, Richard Foster, Charles Teschner and Youngjin Yoo. I am also very grateful to various students and Research Associates, whose excellent research work contributed to various chapters of this book – Fathiro Putra, Myungun Kim, Philip Chen, Sudhir Rama Murthy, Jiashun Huang, Nikolai Kazantsev, Zurina Moktar, Fauzi Said, Feares Ben Hadj, Ghanim Al-Sulaiti, Philipp Koebnick, Chen Ye, Julius Bock, Luka Gebel, Pengbo Qi, Yuzhen Zhu and Wit Wannakrairoj. Selwyn College has provided me with a stimulating interdisciplinary intellectual environment, while also offering a sanctuary for my mind. Thank you to the Fellows of Selwyn College, and I am particularly grateful to the Master, Roger Mosey, for his friendship and encouragement. I would like to express my grateful thanks to Valerie Appleby, my Editor at Cambridge University Press (CUP), for her guidance and advice, which are much appreciated. Thank you to Carrie Parkinson and Chris Hudson from CUP and Alice Gregory for their help and editorial assistance. And thank you to Amanda George for painstakingly copy-editing the drafts of the chapters with such care and professionalism.

I would also like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for providing the funding for my research. In particular, the EPSRC Digital Economy Fellowship allowed me to pursue the broad area of productivity, digital technologies and business model innovation. The Fellowship has also given me the time to pursue new and exciting areas of research in quantum technologies and the implications for business model innovation. And it allowed me to take time out from normal teaching and administrative duties and to focus on writing the book. Thank you also to my colleagues at the IfM, in particular, Florian Urmetzer and Judith Plummer, for taking on a substantial part of my teaching and administrative responsibilities during the Fellowship. The ESRC also provided funding through The Productivity Institute – my very grateful thanks to Bart van Ark, Tony Venables and Mary O’Mahony for their leadership and encouragement.

I would like to thank my family for their continuous support and encouragement throughout. My father, the late Mr Kathir Velu, and Mrs Thanam Velu laid the foundations for being ambitious in whatever I do and for teaching me the merits of contributing to society. My father, with the enduring support of my mother, played a crucial role in encouraging me to apply to the University of Cambridge based on reading an advertisement in the local newspaper in Malaysia for a British Council Scholarship to study for a Master’s course. This was the start of my academic career – many thanks are due to my parents for their wholehearted love, prayers and the foresight to guide me. I would also like to thank my brother, Ramani, for his brotherly advice and support over the years. Thank you also to my parents-in-law, Srilata and S. R. Iyer, Soumya and Mukund, for their prayers, blessings and love.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Sriya Iyer, for her undivided love and support. You have provided me with the wind beneath my wings when I needed to fly and the breeze to relax and reflect when I needed to think. You have been a most gracious and elegant intellectual and life partner, making our lives truly enjoyable and meaningful. This book was made possible through your inspiration and encouragement – My Most Grateful Thanks.