In the limited scholarly work available on the subject, business development is conceptualized as or related to discrete projects, specific modes of growth, and organizational units, activities, and practices.
For this reason, it has been difficult to discern the unique features of the business development function and whether these activities are a source of profits.
Recent systematic research on the subject has outlined that the contours of an emerging business development function with a unique role in the innovation management process.
[5][6][7] The business developer is concerned with the analytical preparation of potential growth opportunities for the senior management or board of directors as well as the subsequent support and monitoring of its implementation.
Skill sets and experience for business-development specialists usually consist of a mixture of the following (depending on the business requirements): The "pipeline" refers to the flow of potential clients that a company has started developing.
Business development staff assign to each potential client in the pipeline a percent chance of success, with projected sales volumes attached.
Enterprises usually support pipelines with some kind of customer relationship management tool or database, either web-based solution or an in-house system.
In these instances, the companies may leverage each other's expertise, technologies, or other intellectual property to expand their capacities for identifying, researching, analyzing and bringing to market new businesses and new products.
In order to enforce the new policies in an ethical manner business ethicists have created a cost-benefit analysis, placing an emphasis on basic necessities.
These development policies now have to follow the criteria that Penz created, consisting of: security, empowerment, rights, equity, integrity, and cultural freedom.
In order for a company to build a strong reputation with their suppliers, it is crucial for them to focus on impartial business interactions and developing long relationships.
This is based on the concept of reciprocation, which states how in order for social change to take place between groups of people, trust must be built between them through mutually beneficial actions.