Exide Industries Limited: The Metaverse Decision Dilemma

In July 2023, managers at Exide Industries Limited (EIL), a prominent player in India’s power-storage industry, faced a pivotal decision during a strategic workshop led by the company’s managing director and chief executive officer. The company had been presented with a groundbreaking yet uncertain opportunity: to develop a metaverse-powered platform for battery customization and testing. This initiative, championed by the chief information officer, aimed to address specific challenges faced by EIL’s original-equipment-manufacturer clients. However, the decision to invest in the metaverse was complex and laden with uncertainties regarding the technology’s future and its alignment with EIL’s strategic goals. The company would have to evaluate the potential risks and benefits of adopting this new technology in order to decide whether or not to proceed with this ambitious project.

This case study is suitable for graduate and postgraduate students in courses such as business administration, technology management, and innovation management. After engaging thoroughly with the case study and responding to the assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Explain the complexities and methodologies involved in making strategic business decisions when considering the adoption of emerging technologies, particularly in traditional industries.</li><li>Identify, evaluate, and manage the risks of implementing cutting-edge technologies like the metaverse in an established business setting, using the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) enterprise risk management (ERM) framework.</li><li>Analyze how integrating new technologies, such as the metaverse, can impact a company’s market position, competitiveness, and long-term strategic goals by applying Porter’s five-forces framework.</li><li>Assess an organization’s readiness for technological transformation , including workforce adaptation, training needs, and the overall impact on corporate culture, using Lewin’s change-management model.</li><li>Apply relevant theoretical frameworks, such as Everett M. Rogers’s diffusion of innovations theory and the technology acceptance model (TAM), to a real-world business scenario, thereby enhancing the understanding of how theoretical concepts influence practical decision-making in business.</li></ul>

• digital transformation
• strategic decision-making
• business model innovation
• organizational change
• technological disruption