Managing Innovation in Just Eat: Application of Blue Ocean Strategy

This report discusses the application of innovation theory, specifically the Blue Ocean Strategy, in the future development of Just Eat, an online food order and delivery service. It explores the company background, historical development, and the benefits and limitations of using the Blue Ocean Strategy. The report also highlights how Just Eat has embraced innovation to attract more consumers and improve its operations.

MANAGING INNOVATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
INNOVATION THEORY...............................................................................................................3
Application of innovation theory................................................................................................3
Company background.................................................................................................................6
Historical development...............................................................................................................7
APPLICATION OF INNOVATION THEORY IN FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.........................9
Future development.....................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In this current competitive business environment it is very essential for the businesses to
continuously manage and bring new innovations in their product and services. Innovation is
defined as the action or process through which a person or company brings in something new
within the existing product or services. The present report is based on company Just Eat which is
an online food order and delivery service. This company is a mediator between the food
takeaway outlets and the consumers and was founded in year 2001. The present study will
discuss about the innovation theory as for operating in highly competitive market it is very
essential to apply some innovation theory. Further the report will also highlight the background
of company and historical development. In the end the future development of company with help
of innovation theory will be done.
INNOVATION THEORY
Application of innovation theory
For working in the competitive market it is very important for Just Eat to continuously
conduct the market research (Zeng, Hu and Ouyang, 2017). This is pertaining to the fact that
market research will assist the company in analysing the current changes taking place within the
market and because of this research they can adapt to the latest trends of consumers. Hence, for
this Just Eat can make the use of Blue ocean strategy. This theory is a simultaneous pursuit of
low cost and differentiation strategy to open up a new market place and try to develop and create
new demand for the product and services of company.
Here this theory is assistive as this state to adopt or bring in some new idea or product
which has not been used before. This is a theory which continuously works in improving the
existing product or service and this theory also states that when a person identifies any change or
innovation earlier than their competitors then this provides a competitive advantage to that
company. This is particularly because of the reason that when they will provide the new product
at earliest then this will improve their market position and goodwill among the other competitors
(Mendi and Costamagna, 2017). Hence, the company will get a competitive advantage over the
other companies and this will improve the working of the company to a great extent.
This blue ocean strategy is relating to creating and capturing the uncontested market so
that the competition within the market becomes irrelevant. This theory is based on the fact that

market boundaries and industry structure cannot be restructured by any of the single company
and they have to follow what going on within the company. There are two different strategies
that is blue ocean strategy and the red ocean strategy. The blue ocean strategy is the one which
has a major focus on the creating the uncontested market space for the companies. This is
particularly because of the reason that when the new market is being created then this makes it
an opportunity for the company. Under this blue ocean strategy another major feature is that this
makes the competition irrelevant as the new uncontested market is being created and not the
existing one is used.
In addition to this the blue ocean strategy assists company in creating new demand and
capturing the new market place. This assists the company in increasing their sales and the
profitability of the company. Along with this, the blue ocean strategy aligns the whole system of
the activities of the company with respect to the major focus on the low cost and differentiation
strategy. This is particularly because of the reason that when the company makes entry in the
new uncontested market then the cost of entry is low and they can have the advantage of
differentiation over the competitors.
On the other the red ocean strategy is the one which has a major focus on competing
within the existing market place only. This is particularly because of the reason that when the
company operates or market the product and service in the existing market place then they have
to face the intense competition. This is particularly because of the reason that when the company
will operate in the existing market only then this will have a great impact over the profitability of
the company. Hence, in order to survive the existing market it is essential for the company to
beat the competition with good and effective marketing and selling strategies. In addition to this
the company also need to exploit the existing demand only. This is particularly because of the
reason that when the company will operate in the existing market only. Hence, they will have to
ensure that they exploit the demand in such a manner that it is profitable and good opportunity
for the company.
In case of Just Eat, the company need to be user of blue ocean strategy instead of red
ocean strategy. This is particularly because of the reason that when the company will be an
creator of uncontested market then this will create a distinct position of the company among the
consumers (Azis and et.al., 2017). Hence, this will attract majority of the people and company
will get a competitive advantage over other companies. In addition to this when Just Eat will

comply with the blue ocean strategy then also this will provide benefit to the company. This is
particularly because of the reason that when the company will be adapting the changes in trend
or innovate at early stage then also consumers will like their working. Hence, both these category
will be beneficial to Just Eat as they will be in condition to attract majority of the consumers.
Hence, this will improve the working efficiency and operations of the company.
When Just Eat will comply with the blue ocean strategy then they will get the benefit of
increase in number of consumers. This is pertaining to the fact that when company will be
bringing in innovation or adapting to the innovation early or making an uncontested market place
then consumer will like this. Hence, they will get attracted towards the working of the company.
Along with this, another benefit of using this theory by Just Eat is that this will assist company in
understanding the trends within the market more easily. The reason underlying this fact is that
when the innovation needs to be brought then this theory will assist the company in adapting and
analysing the changes taking place within the market easily. Furthermore, blue ocean strategy is
also of benefit to Just Eat as this will assist company in predicting the future of the innovation.
This is particularly because of the reason that when company will be in position to analyse the
current requirement of change in the market place then they are also able to manage and predict
that how much people will like the change if they bring it. Hence, this is another major benefit
which the company enjoys while using the blue ocean strategy of innovation.
On the other side, the major limitation of using blue ocean strategy of innovation is that
this does not consider the individual resources or the social support in order to bring in
innovation. This is particularly because of the reason that company need to bring the innovation
on their own. Rather they will not get any help or assistance on the grounds they are binging
innovation. Hence, for this company has to make use of their own resources and will not be
getting any support. In addition to this, another limitation which Just Eat will face because of the
blue ocean strategy is that this work in better with adoption of behaviour rather than cessation or
prevention of behaviour (Garza-Reyes and et.al., 2017). This is particularly because of the reason
that when Just Eat will bring the change in the behaviour of the consumer then they will like it.
In case the company does not focus over motivating consumer to bring in change then they will
not like it. Hence, the company will not be in position to create an uncontested market place and
will not be in position to create new market demand in form of new consumers.

Company background
Key Partners Key Activities Value PropositionsCustomer RelationshipsCustomer Segments
Restaurant
partners
Payment
providers
Subsidiaries
Manelog and
SkipTheDishes
Sales
Platform
development
and maintenance
Training
Payroll
Customer
service
Sales
management
Marketing
To develop
world’s largest
food community
To provide easy
access to deliver
food online and
of restaurant
Place order
online
Order takeaway
the smarter way
Choose from
pick- up or
delivery option
Money- back
guarantee
Customization
Two interdependent
customer segment
Individual who want
to be able to order
takeout from local
restaurant
Food service venue
offering takeout that
want to expand their
customer volume
beyond traditional
channels.Key Resources Channels
Technology
Local team
members
Funding
Several
prestigious
honours
Brand and status
Proprietary
software
platform
Mobile app
Website
Social media
pages and online
Sponsorship
Just Eat affiliate
program
Cost Structure Revenue Streams

Customer support
IT operations
IT maintenance
Sales management
Connection fees
Advertising fees
Transaction fees
Historical development
Just Eat is an online food order and delivery service which acts as an intermediary
between the independent takeaway and the consumers. The company is headquartered in London
and and it operates in more than 13 countries including countries like Asia, Europe, Oceania and
America. This company assist the consumer in searching for a local takeaway restaurant and to
place the order and pay online. They also provide consumer the option of choosing the pick- up
point or the delivery option. This company is also listed over the London Stock Exchange and it
is acquired by Takeaway.com in February 2020.
The company was founded by Danish entrepreneurs who include Jesper Buch, Christian
Frismodt, Henrik Ostergaard and Per Meldgaard. The company was founded in 2000 in Denmark
and the launched the service in August 2001. In the year 005, the technology entrepreneur Bo
Bendtsen bought all the founder apart from Jesper Buch and moved the company to UK. After
moving to UK Jesper Buch as a part of buyout in 2006 recruited executive of Welsh David
Buttress to join the company as the co- founder and CEO of Just Eat UK. This expansion
resulted in further expansion of company in Netherlands in July 2007 and in Ireland in April
2008. In addition to this in January 2011 the company entered in joint venture in India and in
February the company increased £30 million from Series B investment. This income resulted in
7 more acquisition in next year and increased their operations (Kavadias and Hutchison-Krupat,
2020).
In April 2012, Just Eat consolidated its position in UK by way of acquiring
fillmybelly.com. On April 3, 2014 the company floated on London Stock Exchange and
increased 80 % stake in Alloresto. Furthermore, in May 2015 the company announced to buy
Menulog which is an Australian food ordering company for $855 million and funded the deal by

issue of new shares. In 2017 February Buttress announced leaving as the CEO after four years
but continues to be on company board as a non- executive director. 29 July 2019 the company
announced that Just Eat and Teakeaway.com has agreed the terms to merger and the deal was
done in worth £9 bn.
Further with respect to innovation the company has improved its operations to a great
extent. This is pertaining to the fact that the company knows that if they will not be innovating in
proper manner and will not bring in any new product or service then consumer will not like (Just
Eat leading the way in technology and innovation, 2020). Hence, this will affect the number of
consumers and the operations of the company to a great extent. In order to innovate and increase
the market for Just Eat they has entered in partnership with Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV in
order to increase marketing and use of technology within UK market. This decision is taken
pertaining to the fact that in the current advance world, there is a large focus on technological
development. Hence, when the company will partner with two big companies then this will
increase the consumer base and market share for the company.
In addition to this, another example of innovation at Just Eat is that investment in
technology and product development. This has allowed the company to lead and bring new
product and services to attract more of the consumers. for this Just Eat has partnership with
Starship Technologies which assist company in innovating in food technology with aim to
enhance the experience and satisfaction level of the consumers. This is pertaining to the fact that
company knows that when the consumer will not be satisfied with the operations of the company
then this will affect the operations of company. With the help of this partnership the company
tested the autonomous robots as well in delivering the requirement of the consumers. This
innovation assisted in capturing a large market share and this improved the working of company.
With respect to the Blue ocean strategy of innovation, it was analysed that Just Eat comes
under the category blue ocean strategy. This is particularly because of the reason that when the
company will not be an innovator and focus on creating uncontested market place then this will
affect the working of the company to a great extent. The major reason underlying this fact is that
when the company will be a good adapter to all the changes then this will assist them in securing
a competitive advantage. In addition to this, as an early adopter Just Eat has also a service
relating to NLP that is Natural Language processing (Zharov, 2019). This is a development
which allows the application of Just Eat to take feedback from the consumers and use it in order

to create more effective search engine. This is a good strategy as this assist the company in
knowing about the views and suggestion of consumer relating to services of Just Eat. Hence, this
NLP assist the company in taking proper and effective decision for the betterment of the
company. This is particularly because of the reason that when the feedback of consumer will be
fast then this will assist the company in undertaking changes as per the requirement of
consumers (Biemans, 2018).
APPLICATION OF INNOVATION THEORY IN FUTURE
DEVELOPMENT
Future development
With the analysis it is clear that Just Eat is complying with bringing of new and advance
product and services for the consumers (Tidd and Bessant, 2020). For this Just Eat is adhering to
the blue ocean strategy in order to implement various types of changes and innovation within the
operations of company. With help of the blue ocean strategy in order to become the innovator or
early adopter and for this some of the future recommendation for improvement according to
latest trend in food industry for Just Eat to adapt are as follows-
New delivery channels- this is the major recommended future application of blue ocean
strategy is to become user of blue ocean strategy and not the red ocean strategy. This is
particularly because of the reason that currently the delivery channels have become more
advance. For instance, a person can place their order by many other different applications instead
of just the company website. For example a person can place the order with help of tweet, a
smart watch, with help of smart TV as well. This is the latest trend going on currently within the
food industry in UK. Hence, if the company wants to become the early adopter then they must
also provide for the services placing order with help of these smart gadgets as well. In addition to
this, if Just Eat wants to be in innovator then they must provide facility of placing the order with
the help of virtual assistant and even from the car as well. This will assist and attract the
consumer to a great extent. The reason underlying this fact is that when the order can be placed
at any time and with help of any gadget then it will be easier for the consumer to place the order
(Kodama, 2018).
Food wastage applications- this is another major trend going on within the UK food
industry. Here every year one third of the food produced is wasted. Thus, this is a major issue or

problem being faced by the companies dealing in food. This is pertaining to the reason that when
food is wasted then company faces loss and the environment is also harmed. Hence, there is a
trend of managing the food wastage within the UK economy. Thus, in order to bring in
innovation, Just Eat can innovate by making some application which will assist them in
managing the waste. This food management application will assist them in tracking the waste
that is where the most waste is being dumped. From there the company can recycle the waste and
bring some innovation and reuse that waste in some productive manner. This will assist company
in helping the society and environment and managing waste of food in some effective and
efficient manner (Szutowski, Szulczewska-Remi and Ratajczak, 2019).
Hence, these recommendations will assist Just Eat in managing and bringing in new
innovation which will attract majority of the consumers. When the consumer will be attracted
then this will increase the operations of company and profitability and productivity as well.
CONCLUSION
The above report summarised that innovation is defined as bring in some new change
within existing product or creating a new product. For working successfully in the highly
competitive world it is of much importance that company continuously work on bringing some
or the new and innovative features in product and services. The above analysis concluded that
Blue ocean strategy is a good theory which assists companies in bringing new innovations.
Further, it was also evaluated that Just Eat makes use of the blue ocean strategy instead of red
ocean strategy as it involves capturing and creating an uncontested market space. The company
continuously works on bringing some or the other technological advancement or changes in the
services being offered by the company. Hence, in the end it is concluded that innovation is the
only key which assist company to stay effective within the highly competitive working
environment.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Taylor & Francis.
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Pushing the Boundaries: Frontiers in Impactful OR/OM Research (pp. 202-228).
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Behavioral Science, 35(2), pp.155-177.
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informal producers. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, pp.192-202.
Szutowski, D., Szulczewska-Remi, A. and Ratajczak, P., 2019. Managing innovation processes
in industrial sector. Qualitative study. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja,
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Online
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