個案總覽

Twenty five years after it was initially proposed, Clay Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation continues to be a major reference for entrepreneurs, corporate innovators, and investors. However, the term "disruptive innovation" is often used in ways and contexts that are not consistent with Christensen's original theory, which argues for initially accessing the market from the low end. For example, there has been controversy as to whether a firm like Tesla, which clearly accessed the market by targeting high-end consumers, should be thought of as having "disruptive" potential. Should all disruptions start at the low-end of the market or from unserved segments who can't afford the incumbents' current solutions (a "new market" foothold in Christensen's terminology)? Is it possible for an innovation that will ultimately disrupt and displace incumbents to start off by serving high-end segments that are currently participating in the market and are willing to pay top dollar? In this note, using several examples, including the emerging market of cultivated meat, a distinction between High-End Access Disruptions (HEAD) and Christensen's original Low-End Access Disruptions (LEAD) is proposed. Both strategies support innovations that have the potential, at scale, to dominate incumbents, but that are not able to do so initially due to a "handicap," i.e., a product shortcoming that mainstream consumers aren't willing to accept. The exposition analyzes similarities and differences in the disruptive processes implied by these two strategies, and provides practical guidelines to help entrepreneurs, innovators and investors choose the approach that best fits their situation.

Conceptual frameworks like the BCG growth share matrix and SWOT analysis have had an enduring impact on business strategy and practice. The author provides seven evaluation criteria comprehensiveness, utility, validation, clarity, memorability, integration, and differentiation leaders can use to create more effective frameworks for their businesses.

Julia Madeline-Coho has decided to start a business-Uptown Hound-that will entertain pets while their owners are away from their homes in the medium-sized mid-Atlantic city of Greenwood. Madeline-Coho's dog Louis (or Lou, as she preferred to call him) was her motivation, along with a dinner guest, Tara Holmes, who she met in her family's house. Holmes was a Darden School of Business graduate concerned about her dog, Winnie, being home alone all day while she was working. Madeline-Coho has been doing research for her potential business and has some decisions to make, such as what services to offer these dogs and what to charge for them, and if and when she should hire any employees. Another decision was whether to expand her services to include cats as well as dogs.

In October 2020, Google LLC (Google) found itself involved in a controversy with both the Indian government and the country's developers of mobile applications (apps). Google announced that it would be enforcing its global policy that required app developers to pay a 30 per cent commission on all in-app purchases of digital goods bought on Google Play, the company's digital distribution platform for app purchases. Google's announcement drew particular opposition in India. With 500 million smartphone users in India, of which 95.85 per cent operated on Google's Android operating system, the app market was heavily skewed in favour of Google. In its goal to dominate the Indian app market, Google had to resolve several key issues. What advantages to users and developers could the company emphasize to justify imposing what India's start-ups and app developers were calling a Google tax? Could a new competitor, such as the proposed platform from India's government or from the technology start-ups, replicate those same advantages? How should Google respond to the complaints against the policy and the threats of antitrust action against the company?

In 2016, Reliance Jio Infocomm (R-Jio) was a late entrant in India's overcrowded but growing telecommunications (telecom) market. By 2019-20, the wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was India's number-one telecom company in terms of both profits and market capitalization. The industry's incumbents were expected to retaliate against the new entrant; however, they could not compete against R-Jio's heavily discounted offerings. Within six months, R-Jio had achieved its goal of attracting a subscriber base of 100 million. Although R-Jio intended to remain a leading player in India's digital future, could it sustain its run of success? Would R-Jio be able to leverage its present and future investments and manage risk sufficiently to achieve its optimistic objectives? India's telecom industry faced a dynamically changing and technology-driven future. How could R-Jio ensure it continued to play a leading role in India's telecom industry?

Industrial agriculture feeds the modern world but its practices, such as monocropping and use of chemicals, have caused significant damage to the environment and food supply. Regenerative agriculture, in contrast, is a set of holistic farming practices that is gaining in popularity as a method for not only increasing crop yields but also renewing the land. Business inputs vary greatly between the two: industrial production requires more complex machinery and external inputs, while regenerative agriculture relies on the Earth's natural processes, but is dependent on additional labor costs. This case explores a U.S. farm founded in 1866, White Oak Pastures, and the business acumen of current proprietor Will Harris III. Students will analyze the organization's financial costs and risks, environmental impacts, change management, and potential for growth with innovative revenue streams.

Kalahut: The House of Arts (Kalahut) was an Indian e-commerce site that connected instructors specialized in traditional Indian arts and cultural forms with customers interested in these services. Since its launch in July 2020, it had mainly served customers in India; however, it had also seen modest engagement on social media platforms and its website from individuals outside of the current customer pool. As the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in both increased web traffic to e-commerce sites and an increase in the number of people looking for new activities while in lockdown, Kalahut hoped to take this opportunity to expand into a new market. In late 2020, Kalahut's co-founder needed to decide which of three potential market countries to enter. Which would be the most suitable avenue for expansion?

The case revolves around a critical incident that took place at an Indian pharmaceutical company, in which various stakeholders had very different perspectives regarding the nature, causes and consequences of the incident. By illustrating the contrasting perceptions of the same event, the authors have shed light on the nature of perception and perceptual processes, including cognitive biases and errors in human judgement. The case provides insights into how these manifest in the organisational context and how managers could be made more aware of them to avoid errors in judgment and make choices that are more informed.

The SuperApps series of cases presents student-entrepreneurs with some of the difficult non-operating problems they are sure to confront in their startups. This fictional case features Clara Ladoucette, a recently graduated startup CEO who is struggling to raise her next round of capital. The case is built around a relatively simple storyline and case facts but includes quandaries around ownership, control, and the fraught transition from bootstrap to business. It makes students think about just how hard this process is, and anticipate questions they must answer to attract big money into their small startup. It is a "Mini Case" in three parts, with all of the essential facts and financial information to judge the characters and company but without gratuitous detail. Though short, it captures many of the most difficult questions confronting early-stage entrepreneurs. SuperApps was written for graduate and undergraduate business school students who are exploring their own entrepreneural ideas or simulating the startup experience. It is an appropriate addition to courses in entrepreneurship, business law, startup legal documents, and early-stage corporate finance. With student assignments beforehand, the three segments of the case can be taught in two ninety-minute classes.

The SuperApps series of cases presents student-entrepreneurs with some of the difficult non-operating problems they are sure to confront in their startups. This fictional case features Clara Ladoucette, a recently graduated startup CEO who is struggling to raise her next round of capital. The case is built around a relatively simple storyline and case facts but includes quandaries around ownership, control, and the fraught transition from bootstrap to business. It makes students think about just how hard this process is, and anticipate questions they must answer to attract big money into their small startup. It is a "Mini Case" in three parts, with all of the essential facts and financial information to judge the characters and company but without gratuitous detail. Though short, it captures many of the most difficult questions confronting early-stage entrepreneurs. SuperApps was written for graduate and undergraduate business school students who are exploring their own entrepreneural ideas or simulating the startup experience. It is an appropriate addition to courses in entrepreneurship, business law, startup legal documents, and early-stage corporate finance. With student assignments beforehand, the three segments of the case can be taught in two ninety-minute classes.

The SuperApps series of cases presents student-entrepreneurs with some of the difficult non-operating problems they are sure to confront in their startups. This fictional case features Clara Ladoucette, a recently graduated startup CEO who is struggling to raise her next round of capital. The case is built around a relatively simple storyline and case facts but includes quandaries around ownership, control, and the fraught transition from bootstrap to business. It makes students think about just how hard this process is, and anticipate questions they must answer to attract big money into their small startup. It is a "Mini Case" in three parts, with all of the essential facts and financial information to judge the characters and company but without gratuitous detail. Though short, it captures many of the most difficult questions confronting early-stage entrepreneurs. SuperApps was written for graduate and undergraduate business school students who are exploring their own entrepreneural ideas or simulating the startup experience. It is an appropriate addition to courses in entrepreneurship, business law, startup legal documents, and early-stage corporate finance. With student assignments beforehand, the three segments of the case can be taught in two ninety-minute classes.

Performing volunteer work for a charitable cause can help employees develop valuable skills for their jobs. But programs with that goal can backfire if volunteers believe that their employer's real motive is to profit through improved performance. People are more receptive when managers are transparent about the gains that can be achieved for all parties and when they're given time and space to reflect on their experiences.

Set in April 2020, the case talks about TAIGER, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company providing natural language processing (NLP) solutions in a rapidly growing market where demand and competition for such solutions are high. TAIGER solutions could process and digitise large amounts of physical data, perform search and extract functions on data, and make appropriate recommendations. The algorithms and tools were bundled under three packages, and were customised for every client. Client companies were mainly large organisations and government entities. Despite a growing customer base, Arroyo and his team found it increasingly difficult to service new clients, who demanded more customisation and services. TAIGER's solution packages were bundled together with customisation and post-implementation support services based on contract licenses. The downside of this model was that it used many resources and limited the delivery of the products to a per project basis. The monetisation of the model was also complicated and project costs were difficult to control. Administering customised solutions was time consuming and expensive for both TAIGER and its clients; it also lacked flexibility and quick scalability for large-scale implementation. Arroyo realised that he needed more than just efficient solutions, given the expanding opportunities for NLP in the market and the constraints of TAIGER's existing solution packaging. He wondered if designing a new business model was the right way forward. Would he also need to devise a new pricing strategy and rebundle solution offerings? How could he unbundle the business value of TAIGER's NLP solutions?

As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down businesses and schools in 2020, global health authorities and governments kick-started the quest for a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. This case study details Operation Warp Speed, the $18 billion public-private partnership initiated by the U.S. government to accelerate the research, development, manufacture and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine therapies. The case explores the history of public-private partnerships in the United States, and the ambitious U.S. government effort to deliver 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021.

In late June 2019, the president of Wellington Brewery, a medium-size craft brewery located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, wanted to determine the best growth strategy for his company. He also hoped to recover recent expenses incurred for a major expansion of the company's operations. Although the business's growth across the province was the main objective, he also needed to consider various potential options and other factors. Wellington Brewery faced the challenges of an unpredictable and oversaturated market. Ontario's craft brewery industry was characterized by unexpected growth, shifting consumer preferences, and intense competition for shelf space at limited retail outlets. The president urgently needed a plan for continuing Wellington Brewery's expansion, and to ensure it remained relevant and financially strong during challenging times.

Distinct Software (disguised name), a global enterprise software company, is at an important point in its growth trajectory where the luster of its mantra of "grow and win at any cost" has dimmed with increasing competition and margin pressures. To help navigate its sales organization through this difficult phase and improve sales productivity, the firm has hired Sam Chadwick, a digitally savvy industry veteran as its new Global Sales Head. Chadwick would like to use the power of AI to get the job done but is expecting stiff resistance from his sales organization. Chadwick thinks his best shot to demonstrate the power of AI is to use it to predict the chances of winning three specific deals as detailed in the case. Students can use the accompanying large-scale dataset of the firm's win/loss analysis to develop AI models for predicting probability of winning deals and provide guidance to the firm on whether or not to pursue each of the three specific deals.

In 2020, JPMorgan Chase announced a $30 billion Commitment to Advance Racial Equity. The Commitment included investments in housing, small businesses, and financial literacy across the U.S., and diversity, equity, and inclusion within the bank. It was part of a broader cultural shift within JPMorgan and U.S. society to better acknowledge and work to remedy the effects of systemic racism in the financial system. The bank was now focused on implementing their commitments-turning their $30 billion into homes, bank accounts, and businesses that would improve the situation in minority communities across the country.

As Switzerland's largest retailer, Migros is operating in an industry with negative growth, sales developing towards online and fierce competition. The Swiss healthcare industry on the other hand is growing with an average growth of 3.0% over the last 10 years, with a growing importance on household budgets, making up for 12% of GDP. Migros operates with an organically grown structure, regrouping 10 regional cooperatives, which are owned by 2.2.m members (Swiss residents) and gathered under the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (MGB) which acts as headquarters. According to the vision of its founder, Gottlieb Duttweiler, the group is pursuing a social mission and profitability targets are set defensively. Since 2015, with the acquisition of Medbase, the group started building a footprint in healthcare, gradually expanding with the acquisition of paramedical services and pharmacy chains. The company announced to further expand its footprint by organic expansion whilst it started a strategic partnership with a health insurer. The company disposes of key capabilities such as reach and brand awareness which can be leveraged to make an impact in the health industry. In its current form, the health arm is being developed as a separate vehicle (Medbase) and kept away from the Migros brand. There is a conscious direction to minimize damage to the Migros brand in case there is a strategy shift in the future. The healthcare industry is growing rapidly but the market has significant inefficiencies and needs an overhaul to remain sustainable. It is a high margin business as compared to the retail industry and also comes with the potential to position Migros as the provider of a single-owned, health insurance solution which could serve as a catalyst to a necessary transformation of Migros.

In March 2021, delivery app CEO Oscar Pierre and his team consider strategies to grow Glovo's quick commerce delivery service and to approach their expansion in Kenya.