What Customer Workarounds Can Reveal About Your Business Model
Journal
Harvard Business Review (Digital)
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2026-05-21
Abstract
Customer workarounds (such as customers sharing accounts, or teams stitching together third-party tools) are not merely signs of product friction but early evidence that a company’s business model no longer matches how customers want to access, use, and pay for value. If firms fail to respond to customer workarounds, they leave themselves open to new competitors or to customers simply leaving. Companies should detect workaround patterns early, map them to distinct customer needs, build a portfolio of complementary business models, and monitor these signals continuously to capture demand before competitors do.
Language
English (United States)
Keywords
business model innovation
business model void
business model portfolio
customer workarounds
HSG Classification
contribution to practical use / society
Refereed
No
Publisher
Harvard Business Publishing
Subject(s)
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Bohrer_Frankenberger_Wincent_2026_HBR.pdf
Size
2.1 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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