e environment which enables creativity/empowerment is characterized by sharing information and building communication networks. Further, it is structured to encourage individual decision making, exercise of choice, and risk taking; its reward system is designed to reinforce activity and innovation versus stability and certainty, to reward success rather than to punish failure, and to value effort rather than discredit imperfection. Finally, the management style which develops creativity/empowerment is characterized by trust, delegation, challenge, and encouragement. (Velthouse)
Steve Hibbard is trying to fit Lonely Planet into one of the models he learned in school (Lewis, 766-768). Given its unusual make-up, he would do better to create a business model custom-made for the company (The Business Model). This would better reflect what is going on at Lonely Planet and not simply explain how the company is similar to other companies.
It is also questionable whether market-research in the formal sense would be of any benefit. The company's
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