Conceptual Modeling to Support Pivoting - An Example from Twitter

Pivoting is used by many startups and large enterprises to reconfigure their structures and relationships in line with their changing environments and requirements. However, pivoting is a non-trivial undertaking that has far reaching consequences for the focal organization. Conceptual models of actor intentionality can be used to design and analyze organizational pivots in a systematic and structured manner. Conceptual modeling is preferable to ad hoc evaluation as it can provide more detailed and systematic analysis of pivoting decisions. It can be used to uncover mistakes and gaps in reasoning that are missed or obscured via ad hoc evaluation. Actor- and goal-modeling can be used to differentiate among beneficial and deleterious pivoting options. Correctly designed and implemented pivots can avoid substantial value destruction from direct damages as well as opportunity loss for the focal organization. In this paper we present conceptual models of pivoting based on a retrospective case example of Twitter.