In 2009, a U.S.-based social enterprise, d.light design, launched its innovative brand of solar lamp in India. Although the company has gained market share, the category as a whole is not growing. In 2014, The solar lamp market in India is complex, as a result of being both fragmented and disorganized. The company’s new head of Indian operations faces three dilemmas: How can the company scale up? How can the company improve the productivity of its distribution channels? How can the company leverage its first-mover advantage to make its brand synonymous with the category?
In 2012, Golan Heights Wines wanted to take advantage of the Chinese market. In recent years, China had demonstrated incredible growth in the wine market. Consumers’ growing interest in wine products had made wineries and vineyards like Golan Heights hungry for entry. The CEO of Golan Heights Winery had gone to China with her products in 2009. She had chosen distributorships as the mode of entry because of their expertise and experience in the Chinese market, something she did not possess. Since she had entered the market, however, she had learned of the seemingly disappointing demand for Israeli wines. Sales were rather limited given the size of the market. Most Chinese consumers who sought imported wines wanted them from Europe, particularly France. Additionally, vendors and distributors did a poor job of pushing Israel products. The CEO needed to devise and execute a series of strategies to better take advantage of the impressive Chinese market, establish a brand for Golan Heights Wines and create a platform for future growth.
In 2012, Golan Heights Wines wanted to take advantage of the Chinese market. In recent years, China had demonstrated incredible growth in the wine market. Consumers' growing interest in wine products had made wineries and vineyards like Golan Heights hungry for entry. The CEO of Golan Heights Winery had gone to China with her products in 2009. She had chosen distributorships as the mode of entry because of their expertise and experience in the Chinese market, something she did not possess. Since she had entered the market, however, she had learned of the seemingly disappointing demand for Israeli wines. Sales were rather limited given the size of the market. Most Chinese consumers who sought imported wines wanted them from Europe, particularly France. Additionally, vendors and distributors did a poor job of pushing Israel products. The CEO needed to devise and execute a series of strategies to better take advantage of the impressive Chinese market, establish a brand for Golan Heights Wines and create a platform for future growth.
S. Vaseem, CEO of Shodh, a Bengaluru-based market research agency has learnt that his proposal for carrying out a market research study for a new client has just been approved. The proposal had described a study to assess the opportunities in the economy housing segment comprising apartments priced below INR 2.5 million. This segment was attracting attention from real estate developers and several big builders had announced economy housing projects. Vaseem's client wanted to enter the economy housing segment in a big way with a simultaneous launch of projects in 10 cities of South India. As the segment potential was as yet unknown, the client wanted to conduct a formal market research exercise on a pilot basis in Bengaluru to confirm the size of the opportunity and to understand consumer requirements and preferences. Shodh's proposal had included secondary research, expert interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, and conjoint analysis methodologies. Now that the proposal had been approved, Vaseem and his team had to design the data collection instruments for qualitative and quantitative research, develop the sampling plan, and begin the project.
Jeff Davis, director of Space Life Sciences Directorate at NASA, has been working for several years to raise awareness amongst scientists and researchers in his organizations of the benefits of open innovation as a successful and efficient way to collaborate on difficult research problems regarding health and space travel. Despite a number of initiatives, SLSD members have been skeptical about incorporating the approach into their day-to-day research and work, and have resisted Davis's and his strategy team's efforts. The (A) case outlines these efforts and the organization members' reactions. The (B) case details what Davis and the SLSD strategy team learned, and how they adapted their efforts to successfully incorporate open innovation as one of many tools used in collaborative research at NASA.
Jeff Davis, director of Space Life Sciences Directorate at NASA, has been working for several years to raise awareness amongst scientists and researchers in his organizations of the benefits of open innovation as a successful and efficient way to collaborate on difficult research problems regarding health and space travel. Despite a number of initiatives, SLSD members have been skeptical about incorporating the approach into their day-to-day research and work, and have resisted Davis's and his strategy team's efforts. The (A) case outlines these efforts and the organization members' reactions. The (B) case details what Davis and the SLSD strategy team learned, and how they adapted their efforts to successfully incorporate open innovation as one of many tools used in collaborative research at NASA.
Katie Kotkins, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's (MSKCC) Cycle for Survival fundraising event, had to determine the best avenue for continuing the event's success and momentum after its founder, Jennifer (Jen) Goodman Linn (HBS '99) passed away from MFH sarcoma. Jen and her husband, David Linn (HBS '00), had founded Cycle for Survival in 2007 as a way for Jen to give back to the community of doctors that had treated her since her diagnosis in 2003. The indoor cycling event had grown rapidly, and increased fundraising from $250,000 in 2007 to $4.7 million in 2011. After the event's second year, Jen and David made the decision to hand over control to MSKCC, partner with Equinox, and expand the event's fundraising efforts. At the time of Jen's passing Kotkins was focused on the 2013 event, but was faced with a series of strategic questions after losing the event's face and inspiration.
In February 2014, Michael Schrader, chief executive of Vaxess Technologies, Inc., was assessing the startup health care company's 2014 marketing plan. On December 31st, 2013, Vaxess had obtained an exclusive license to a series of patents for a silk protein technology that, when added to vaccines, reduced or removed the need for refrigeration between manufacturing and delivery to the end patient. Schrader and his colleagues had to decide on which vaccines to focus and whether and how to target the drug companies that manufactured the vaccines or the quasi-government organizations (such as UNICEF and PAHO) and nongovernment organizations (such as GAVI) that purchased large quantities of vaccines for the developing world.
In fall 2009, the new president and chief executive officer of PAR Springer-Miller Systems, based in Stowe, Vermont, is tasked with leading the most significant innovation effort the company has undertaken since its founding in 1984. The company is a leading provider of property management, point-of-sale and spa management systems for high-end hotels, resorts, spas and casinos worldwide, but its legacy products are based on outdated technology and subject to increasing customer complaints; at the same time, the global recession has negatively affected the high-end market. In his first year, the new president has made significant progress in restructuring the organization and shifting its culture to a more entrepreneurial one. He is ready to begin the development of an entirely new product but has to decide on strategy, in particular deciding on the best market on which to focus the new software product and then mapping out a plan to execute its development and launch. How can he elicit a radical innovation from a team of management and employees so culturally rooted in their past accomplishments and legacy products? Should he look for a technology partner and develop the new product in a different location? Can the legacy products be kept up and running long enough for the new product to generate sufficient sales that they can be retired? These are the issues that must be addressed or the company may well face a dire future. See A Case 9B14C022.
In fall 2009, the new president and chief executive officer of PAR Springer-Miller Systems, based in Stowe, Vermont, is tasked with leading the most significant innovation effort the company has undertaken since its founding in 1984. The company is a leading provider of property management, point-of-sale and spa management systems for high-end hotels, resorts, spas and casinos worldwide, but its legacy products are based on outdated technology and subject to increasing customer complaints; at the same time, the global recession has negatively affected the high-end market. In his first year, the new president has made significant progress in restructuring the organization and shifting its culture to a more entrepreneurial one. He is ready to begin the development of an entirely new product but has to decide on strategy, in particular deciding on the best market on which to focus the new software product and then mapping out a plan to execute its development and launch. How can he elicit a radical innovation from a team of management and employees so culturally rooted in their past accomplishments and legacy products? Should he look for a technology partner and develop the new product in a different location? Can the legacy products be kept up and running long enough for the new product to generate sufficient sales that they can be retired? These are the issues that must be addressed or the company may well face a dire future. See B Case 9B14C023.
SolarCity Corporation competed in the downstream segment of the U.S. solar energy industry. The company installed solar panels for residential and commercial customers, using a decentralized (off-the-grid) power generation and transmission model to compete with utility companies that used a centralized (grid-based) model. Solar energy was a renewable source (unlike fossil-based energy sources) and therefore scored highly on both environmental and sustainability factors. To overcome the high switching costs to customers, SolarCity marketed solar energy using a financing model in which the company owned the assets and the customer merely paid a monthly fee for the energy used. As a new player in a nascent industry, SolarCity had never been profitable. SolarCity's co-founder and chief executive officer had to develop a plan to make the company profitable despite the fact that utility companies were fighting back politically and the government was set to reduce tax subsidies for solar assets in the near future.
The general manager at the Seoul location of a European manufacturing company faces an ethical dilemma involving bribery and "facilitation" payments. A key decision maker in a local construction company's purchasing department has asked for a "facilitation" payment as a necessary condition for securing an order. If the expatriate manager decides to pay the money, he will secure an order that will lift his company to a new level of success for years to come. If he decides not to pay, the order and all the company has worked for over the last year will be lost. The expatriate manager must decide whether or not the payment would violate laws internationally, locally and in his home country. What are the real risks? Who can help him answer the many questions he has regarding this local practice?
This case traces Shenzhen-based AAC Technology's entrepreneurial journey, depicting their motivations, experiences, learning and foresight. It discusses the inter-generational transfer between the entrepreneur and his son, and their cooperation with VCs, thereby laying the foundations for a Chinese family business to transform into a first-source global supplier to several major mobile device manufacturers. Scoring wins in miniaturization and the mobile phone market, AAC continued to build its competitive advantages in high quality and fast response products. Case B examines the strategies undertaken by AAC for growth and expansion after its IPO in 2005.
Supplement to case NTU087. AAC Technologies Holdings Inc., headquartered in Shenzhen, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2005. The case describes AAC's transformation from a small Chinese family business into a leading global technology solutions provider in the mobile devices industry. The focus is on how the founders developed the company's strategic capabilities through R&D and acquisitions to win major customers and integrated its technological leadership strategy with industry trends and developments, and hence poised to seize market opportunities.
Gisele Rodriguez, MPH, moved back to her hometown, East Point, in the fictional U.S. state of Columbia, after graduate school and joined the Columbia Department of Public Health (CDPH). Working with a marketing firm, Gisele and colleagues set out to create an obesity prevention campaign; however, the resulting product is met with community and national backlash for its stigmatizing messages and images. At the end of the story, CDPH releases a request for proposals to invite applications from community agencies to develop a new campaign that is both evidence-based and solicitous of community ideas and input, thus more likely to be effective and engender community-wide acceptance and support.
Bill Hurt, the new CEO of Hillside Hospital, knew that the forecast was grim. The hospital's service volumes and market share were dropping precipitously. The direct causes of the problems were numerous, but an indirect cause-and major barrier to addressing the declines-lay in the poor relationship between Hillside's management and its physicians. To engage the physicians in problem-solving, he considered a consultant's suggestion: turning the clinical planning process over to the physicians, with management involved only at their request. This approach was risky but Bill thought sometimes you got power by giving it up.
Dr. John Niff, co-chair of the Medical Advisory Panel (MAP) to Hillside Hospital, waited for his colleagues to join him to review the recommendations for The New Hillside Hospital that the panel had developed over the past six months. When Bill Hurst, Hillside's CEO, had first suggested creating a committee of doctors (the MAP) to develop recommendations for clinical programs at the hospital, Niff was skeptical. But as the clinicians worked together to identify problems and set priorities, they developed their management skills as well as a greater appreciation for the challenges facing the hospital. Trust between management and physicians grew as the hospital implemented some of the panel's recommendations. Although the MAP's list of recommendations had not yet been formally accepted by the Board, all participants reflected on the benefits already gained through this process.
"This patient might have died from complications related to her TPN (total parenteral nutrition) infusion," said Dr. Isaac Johnson, Chief Medical Officer at Acme Medical Center (AMC). He was referring to problems that occurred during the treatment of a 16-year old colitis patient, Susan, who had recently been admitted to the hospital on a Friday afternoon with acute abdominal pain. At that time, Susan was taken to the Operating Room (OR) for placement of a Broviac catheter. The line was placed without incident and TPN was begun. Several hours later a nurse noticed a precipitate in the tubing and a tendency for the line to clog. Susan had to be returned to the operating room for removal of the clogged line and the insertion of a new one. She recovered uneventfully and tolerated her further TPN without incident. As required by the hospital, the incident was entered into the Adverse Incident Monitoring System and a root cause analysis performed. Dr. Johnson's review identified weaknesses in the hospital's medication management system, but also suggested that his team's efforts to get every employee engaged in quality improvement were inadequate. He wondered how to hardwire QI into the institution and make it part of the culture.
Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach was the newly appointed Director of the Hadassah University Hospital-Mt. Scopus, a 350-bed academic community hospital located in the crowded, ethnically mixed neighborhood of northeastern Jerusalem. Mt. Scopus was one of two hospitals in the Hadassah Medical Organization; the larger 850-bed hospital, Ein Kerem, was located about 30 minutes away across Jerusalem. In the past, the two Hadassah hospitals had been centrally managed with the two on-site directors acting primarily as COOs. A new Director General of the system now wanted to de-centralize responsibilities, and Osnat, the first female head of a Hadassah hospital, had been promised much greater control over the finances and management of the hospital than her predecessor had enjoyed. The staff at Mt. Scopus pinned a great deal of hope on their new director to bring resources and a renewed sense of vision to the hospital, but Osnat knew her ability to do this depended in large part on her ability to manage costs as well as change a culture that had always prided itself on providing the best care but had not been held accountable for monitoring expenses or budgets.