The Xiaomi case explores how this Chinese startup leveraged ubiquitous connectivity and open innovation to revolutionize the mobile phone industry in the global market. In less than five years it became the world's third largest mobile phone maker and second most valuable startup. This progress is even more dazzling considering the organization's business model, which differs considerably from traditional Chinese firms. Investors saw Xiaomi as social media giant capable of mobilizing an enormous fan base in its product development, like many Silicon Valley startups. Some even saw Xiaomi as marking a new wave of Chinese companies focused on developing new capabilities rather than manufacturing. Perhaps the strongest endorsement came from a former Android executive, Hugo Barra, who left Google to join Xiaomi in October 2013 to manage the company's international expansion. Xiaomi -which means "little rice or millet in Chinese, may not be that small after all. Learning objective: The case allows students to explore how ubiquitous connectivity and open innovation may take hold in the Chinese market, and how it might impact the global market place. The material in the case offers a multitude of options for deep dives into a variety of topics, eg: understanding how industries evolve and how profits can shift from one end of the value chain to another; demonstrating the importance of open innovation; illustrating the need to be adaptable to changing market conditions; etc.
By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable two-sided platforms in terms of their tremendous early growth were Airbnb, Etsy and Uber. They offered short-term property rentals, handcrafted goods, and car rides, respectively. As two-sided markets grew to scale, network effects kicked in as more consumers bred more suppliers and vice versa. But how did these platforms ride the second wave of growth? How did they grow from one thousand to one million customers?
In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a US-based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and governance policies (e.g., distribute more cash, fix its "illogical" capital structure, and provide more information to shareholders). FANUC's CEO, Yoshiharu Inaba, and his board must decide if and how to respond. One the one hand, the firm had been very successful having built leading global market shares in each of its core divisions and profitability that exceeded what Goldman Sachs earned on a per person basis. On the other hand, the Japanese government was calling for financial and governance reform as part of the prime minister's recently-announced economic growth strategy known as "Abenomics". Although Inaba and his team had previously considered many of the proposed changes, the question was whether it was now time to actually make some of the changes.
Google's founders wrote "10 Things We Know To be True," a document detailing founding principles and values, early in the company's life. As the company expanded, added business units, and changed its name to Alphabet, were these principles and values still valid and relevant? If not, how should they be changed? This product can be used with the free Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT), available at: hbsp.harvard.edu/jdot
In March 2016, an investor wanted to evaluate the strategy and stability of Cisco Systems, Inc. by using historical income statements to predict future cash flows. He knew that he might be able to use time series analysis to evaluate the company’s performance in the near future, but he was unsure how to proceed if the historical data would not be predictive of the future performance. In particular, the investor wondered, how would he determine the likelihood that the company’s next quarter would yield similar net income to the previous quarter?
In early 2016, stock markets around the world plummeted, raising the threat of another major depression enveloping the world. In their struggle to recover from the post-2008 global recession, many nations had expanded their money supply and lowered interest rates, with the aim of stimulating both consumer spending and corporate investment. While some of this monetary expansion increased production and employment, much of it created bubbles in asset prices, especially in the prices of equities. Investors faced such low returns from bonds and other fixed-income assets that they poured their funds into equities, which increased price-earnings ratios to exceptional levels. This bubble in stock prices amplified the risks of a severe crash. What could—and should—governments do to avoid a significant stock market crash and a global depression?
In 2014, the executive director (ED) of India's Petroleum Conservation Research Association needed to prepare the next phase of the association's marketing campaign and media plan, which aimed to promote long-lasting and responsive energy-saving behaviours among India's petroleum users. The ED was eager to incorporate new media into this marketing campaign but knew that the various segments of the diverse and broad target audience had different media preferences and habits. How could he and his team create the right message and the right media mix to achieve this goal? What would be the best way to distribute the campaign's resources across the various communication channels to successfully execute the marketing strategy?
In 2014, Kraft Foods Canada was working on an action plan for Kraft Singles, the company's brand of processed cheese slices. Although the product had been targeted at Canadian families for decades, Kraft Singles needed to be repositioned toward Canadian millennial moms (those born between 1980 and 2000). The company faced three dilemmas. How should Kraft Canada make the brand messaging of Kraft Singles compelling to Canadian millennial moms? What product innovations should coincide with the new messaging? How should Kraft Canada ensure that it would not alienate its traditional customer group?
Jamestown is contemplating how to best lease a portion of their new development along the Brooklyn waterfront, Industry City. The 6 million square foot, mixed-use development is meant to accommodate Brooklyn's growing innovation, creative, and "maker" communities. Jamestown is intrigued by the recently revived trend of "shared office space," championed by WeWork and originated by well-known players like Regus. The case is intended to introduce the reader to the shared office market, including the similarities and differences from traditional office space, and explore the underlying trends driving this change, as well as the risks to the business model. Jamestown must weigh the pros and cons of their different leasing strategies, including economic, operational, and reputational, and must decide whether or not to lease the space to a traditional tenant, lease the space to a third-party shared office operator (e.g., WeWork or Regus), or develop their own shared office offering.
Spreadsheet supplement to case 216042. In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a US-based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and governance policies (e.g., distribute more cash, fix its "illogical" capital structure, and provide more information to shareholders). FANUC's CEO, Yoshiharu Inaba, and his board must decide if and how to respond. One the one hand, the firm had been very successful having built leading global market shares in each of its core divisions and profitability that exceeded what Goldman Sachs earned on a per person basis. On the other hand, the Japanese government was calling for financial and governance reform as part of the prime minister's recently-announced economic growth strategy known as "Abenomics". Although Inaba and his team had previously considered many of the proposed changes, the question was whether it was now time to actually make some of the changes.
Entrepreneurs in Every Generation: How Successful Family Businesses Develop Their Next Leaders is a seven-chapter book published by Berrett-Koehler Publisher in 2016. Entrepreneurs in Every Generation shows readers how success in family business means assuring next generation entrepreneurial leadership in three dimensions: the business, the owning family, and the organization that nurtures both. Applying the entrepreneurial mind-set to all three dimensions, professors Allan Cohen and Pramodita Sharma define the challenges and the role for leadership; applying the entrepreneurial mind-set in all three dimensions is what sets family enterprises apart. The book not only reviews best practices, but it also urges special attention to the uniqueness of context. It also guides the reader through work sheets on how to understand and adapt to context. In the Introduction (15 pages), Cohen and Sharma review a few examples of the companies that inspired the authors to write about this topic and the sources they found useful in developing their argument.
Entrepreneurs in Every Generation: How Successful Family Businesses Develop Their Next Leaders is a seven-chapter book published by Berrett-Koehler Publisher in 2016. Entrepreneurs in Every Generation shows readers how success in family business means assuring next generation entrepreneurial leadership in three dimensions: the business, the owning family, and the organization that nurtures both. Applying the entrepreneurial mind-set to all three dimensions, professors Allan Cohen and Pramodita Sharma define the challenges and the role for leadership; applying the entrepreneurial mind-set in all three dimensions is what sets family enterprises apart. The book not only reviews best practices, but it also urges special attention to the uniqueness of context. It also guides the reader through work sheets on how to understand and adapt to context. In Chapter 1 (32 pages), Cohen and Sharma describe the essential characteristics of successful entrepreneurial leaders and the unique challenges and opportunities in building these attributes in family firms.
Entrepreneurs in Every Generation: How Successful Family Businesses Develop Their Next Leaders is a seven-chapter book published by Berrett-Koehler Publisher in 2016. Entrepreneurs in Every Generation shows readers how success in family business means assuring next generation entrepreneurial leadership in three dimensions: the business, the owning family, and the organization that nurtures both. Applying the entrepreneurial mind-set to all three dimensions, professors Allan Cohen and Pramodita Sharma define the challenges and the role for leadership; applying the entrepreneurial mind-set in all three dimensions is what sets family enterprises apart. The book not only reviews best practices, but it also urges special attention to the uniqueness of context. It also guides the reader through work sheets on how to understand and adapt to context. In Chapter 2 (28 pages), Cohen and Sharma discuss how next-generation members can take initiatives to grow their entrepreneurial leadership skills and how other members of their family can support such endeavors to nurture and grow entrepreneurs in every generation.