IE University in Spain launches the IE Center for C-Centricity

The IE Center for C-Centricity generates knowledge, as well as promoting and circulating examples of sustainable business growth.

IE University and the IE Foundation have announced the creation of the IE Center for C-Centricity to expand academic research on business management that puts consumers, clients and the general public at the center of commerce.

The IE Center for C-Centricity generates knowledge, as well as promoting and circulating examples of sustainable business growth. It was created with the support of founding members such as AXA, Dufry, Electrolux, ING, Mahou SanMiguel, Palladium Hotels, Repsol, Ricola, Tetra Pak and the Bahlsen Group.

The heads of the IE Center for C-Centricity presented Decoding Customer Centricity, a report developed by Dr. María Eizaguirre—IE University expert and Academic Director of the Center—and Dr. María Alvarado, Executive Director of the Center, at a meeting with executives. The report aims to generate knowledge, as well as analyze the trends and best practices related to this management model.

The authors of the report have highlighted the strategic role of C-Centricity in organizations: “A company must understand that a client does not buy a product, but rather rents products to perform a certain task,” said Dr. Alvarado. She added: “This approach must be holistic within all departments and members of the company, and requires strategic thinking rather than concrete adjustments in processes, along with a determination to use the knowledge acquired to generate actions and a conviction that in the medium and long term this will generate benefits and growth. Dr Eizaguirre explained that the purpose of the center is to “encourage, push and promote the practice of centricity in consumers, customers and the general public to generate satisfactory experiences and sustainable business growth.”

“As the competitive environment in our hyper-connected world becomes more complex and the pace of change gathers unprecedented speed, there is a growing consensus among companies about the need to strengthen their customer focus. Consumers and citizens must certainly be at the center of organizations to ensure robust and sustainable growth,” said Carlos Mas, President of the IE Center for C-Centricity.