Facebook Inc. (Facebook) rebranded to Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta) in October 2021, intending to break into the virtual world of immersive technologies. However, Meta soon found itself in trouble after an eventful year in the virtual reality industry. The number of Meta users was declining, and first-time Meta users were not coming back. Users were complaining about underdeveloped graphics, programming troubles, instability, and overall poor user experience. Meta’s struggle with technological glitches, disengaged users, and an unclear vision resulted in a sharp decline in its financial performance. The company was also attracting negative comments on social media platforms. What should Meta do moving forward? Should it continue spending on innovative technology and hiring additional talent, return to its roots as a social media platform (Facebook), or consider its competitive advantage via collaboration?
This paper will provide an overview of the nature of anxiety and depression, the particular vulnerabilities and stresses of CEOs, and suggestions for managing mental health in the workplace.
Text-to-image generative AI tools let any consumer become a designer. In this new landscape, consumers and brands like Heinz and Coca-Cola are cocreating campaigns. Brand managers must shift from guarding brand identity to enabling customer participation â€" which entails seizing opportunities and navigating risks. The authors offer advice on creativity, control, and how to experiment safely.
Teams dealing with technological, structural, regulatory, or other fundamental changes perform better when they reskill individual team members before focusing on improved collaboration.
After pivoting from a focus on hardware to a focus on scientific data, TetraScience, led by veteran SaaS executive, Patrick Grady and Founder Spin Wang, has embarked on a journey from nearly cash-out to a player in the scientific data management space. This case focuses on challenges within the scientific data space today, including TetraScience's approach to building a two-sided network, and how the company plans to utilize the pivot as a way to address one or both sides of that network and build upon their desired new business model. Where should TetraScience look to expand their total addressable market (TAM) and capture market share in an industry where companies know they have a need to solve their data issues, but have a ton of inertia holding the industry within the status quo?
Facebook Inc. (Facebook) rebranded to Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta) in October 2021, intending to break into the virtual world of immersive technologies. However, Meta soon found itself in trouble after an eventful year in the virtual reality industry. The number of Meta users was declining, and first-time Meta users were not coming back. Users were complaining about underdeveloped graphics, programming troubles, instability, and overall poor user experience. Meta's struggle with technological glitches, disengaged users, and an unclear vision resulted in a sharp decline in its financial performance. The company was also attracting negative comments on social media platforms. What should Meta do moving forward? Should it continue spending on innovative technology and hiring additional talent, return to its roots as a social media platform (Facebook), or consider its competitive advantage via collaboration?
In November 2017, Puneet Chhatwal, took charge as MD and CEO of IHCL, popularly referred to as the Taj Hotels. Despite being India's largest hospitality company by market capitalization and respected for its values and service, IHCL had made losses for the last seven years and had high debt levels. Chhatwal prioritized improving the company's profitability while reducing debt. He opted for an asset-light portfolio and refreshed the brand architecture. With each brand addressing a different price point, IHCL expanded its portfolio across different customer segments. The new strategy of 'asset-light' and 'multi-brand' yielded impressive financial results and Chhatwal started planning the next phase of IHCL's growth. What more should IHCL do to sustain this momentum, especially amidst increasing competition from global players?
Founded in 2015, ReUp Education helps "stopped out students"-learners who have stopped making progress towards graduation-achieve their college completion goals. The company relies on a team of success coaches to engage with learners and help them reenroll. In 2019, ReUp developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to help coaches better tailor the support they provide. A disappointing 2021 experiment showing limited utility of the algorithm, however, causes ReUp's senior leaders to question the value of AI for such a personalized, nuanced task like success coaching.
Jerren Chang, CEO and co-founder of GenUnity, had to choose a strategy to scale his civic engagement-focused nonprofit. Based in Boston, Chang could grow the organization there or begin to expand to other cities. He also had to select candidates for a board of directors that would align with his chosen growth strategy. Chang also had to decide how to sequence these choices for an optimal outcome.
Social Finance is a Boston-based nonprofit that works at the intersection of finance and policy. It raises, allocates, and manages capital to fund projects in the areas of education, early childhood development, criminal justice, and health. The case explores how Social Finance designs and implements programs related to worker training. While Social Finance's recently launched New Jersey Pay It Forward program has garnered nationwide interest, the organization currently serves around 50,000 people and has ambitions to eventually help upskill millions of Americans. Social Finance's leadership is now examining how best to expand its reach, at a time when rampant shortages of "middle skill" labor threaten to slow economic growth and the energy transition in the United States.
This case covers the events leading up to the 2021 GameStop short squeeze. Using GameStop as an illustrative example, the case explores the rise in retail trading, increased financial information sharing on social media, and the gamification of investing enabled by trading applications (apps) such as Robinhood.
Fund manager Janet Curie asked for a recommendation about the pharmaceutical company Catalent. The company seemed like a solid investment. However, a pair of research reports issued over the previous two months complicated this narrative. GlassHouse Research, a short seller that profited when stocks declined in value, identified accounting red flags at Catalent. Fiat Lux Partners, on the other hand, released a report countering most of GlassHouse's claims, arguing that GlassHouse fed investors red herrings. Both GlassHouse and Fiat Lux had anonymous funders and employees-and long disclaimers explaining their financial interests. Curie was at a loss-who, if anyone, could she trust? Who had uncovered actual wrongdoing, and who was using accounting tricks to mask or exaggerate real-world factors?
Founded in 2006, Mi Xue Bing Cheng (Mixue) had become widely popular in the Chinese market by June 2021. Mixue achieved very high levels of growth by using a low-price high-volume strategy, a clever marketing campaign, and an unconventional geographic expansion strategy that emphasized secondary markets. However, the domestic market was becoming too saturated. Seeing Mixue gain recognition, new competitors started imitating its business model and developing a fiercely competitive market. Mixue’s chief executive officer, Hongfu Zhang, was wondering how to sustain the company’s high growth rate. Should Mixue continue following its original strategy or adopt a new and different approach that includes international expansion?
This case describes Ningbo Motor, a rapidly developing company specializing in the auto parts industry. It had evolved from being an original equipment manufacturer to becoming a branded manufacturer. The company had also shifted its business model from traditional foreign trade to a cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce approach. Unfortunately, the challenging circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict had significantly impacted Ningbo Motor's supply chain. Since 2018, the company had heavily relied on third-party platforms such as Amazon, primarily targeting the U.S. market. This dependency posed the risk of market over-reliance. Consequently, Ningbo Motor experienced a decline in its online and offline sales figures in the U.S. market from April 2022. To mitigate risks, Ningbo Motor needed to make strategic changes to enhance supply chain resilience and ensure supply chain stability. Accordingly, the questions posed are as follows: Should the company consider entering emerging markets such as Vietnam to gradually reduce its dependence on the U.S. market? Or should it create an independent site to sell products through new channels?
The case describes the growth spiral of the TCL Group during a long time span of 40 years. TCL's predecessor TTK started as an importer of magnetic tapes from Hong Kong to China's mainland. TCL was founded by TTK to tap into the growing China market with a series of electronic products and home appliances. In the early 2000's, it stumbled after two merger deals with international TV and cellphone giants Thompson and Alcatel. Later, the company decided to move upstream into the semi-conductor industry and tried to seize the opportunity of China's TV industry technology upgrade from CRT to flat screen. A few years after the semi-conductor business took off, TCL moved further upstream to producing silicon materials for the semi-conductor and solar power sectors. While TCL was chasing a vertical integration strategy, it faced severe financial difficulties as a result of many factors, such as continued post-merger losses in acquired businesses, integration challenges, sluggishness in growth and lack of innovation in the consumer electronics sector, prolonged lead time for the high-tech units to turn into profit...
Founded in 2006, Mi Xue Bing Cheng (Mixue) had become widely popular in the Chinese market by June 2021. Mixue achieved very high levels of growth by using a low-price high-volume strategy, a clever marketing campaign, and an unconventional geographic expansion strategy that emphasized secondary markets. However, the domestic market was becoming too saturated. Seeing Mixue gain recognition, new competitors started imitating its business model and developing a fiercely competitive market. Mixue's chief executive officer, Hongfu Zhang, was wondering how to sustain the company's high growth rate. Should Mixue continue following its original strategy or adopt a new and different approach that includes international expansion?
The conventional wisdom in e-commerce is that the purchase process should be seamless and fast, lest consumers stop to reconsider their decisions and abandon their carts. But friction that gives them time to think through buying decisions can result in more satisfied, more engaged customers, the authors argue. Different kinds of online sales might benefit from more or less friction; an assessment that accompanies the article can help managers determine what is appropriate in their own situation.
This case describes the challenges faced by the cosmetics division of a large corporation when determining the set of products to develop in 2004. The key players involved are the centralized R&D center and the decentralized brands. The case provides data to estimate the utilization rate of the R and D center. It also describes how the R and D center is organized to develop various types of product lines.