The Newlight Technologies case is set at the end of 2013. Newlight has been awarded the Innovation Prize for Biomaterial of the Year by nova-Institut GmbH at the Cologne International Conference on Industrial Biotechnology and Bio-based Plastics & Composites. The company has a small-scale pilot plant using enzyme catalysts to produce a bioplastic resin, PHA, which has a wide range of applications for products in the plastics industry. The pilot plant can produce enough resin to perform product trials for a number of end-users at the same time. The innovative process is the fruit of ten years' research and the result promises to be one of the first biopolymers to be economically competitive with petro-chemical based products on price and performance. The case provides details of the global industry, giving scope and scale information for businesses along the value chain, including market segmentation and resin pricing.

Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) is beginning to disrupt plain old telephone service (POTS). Ron Close has been offered the job of heading Bell Canada's nascent VoIP business. Bell is Canada's largest telco and supplier of POTS. The case provides a platform for discussing a disruptive innovation (VoIP) and its implications for an incumbent player. Ron Close explains how Bell addressed the technology challenge, and its managerial and organizational consequences in an available video, product 7B06M009.

Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) is beginning to disrupt plain old telephone service (POTS). Ron Close has been offered the job of heading Bell Canada's nascent VoIP business. Bell is Canada's largest telco and supplier of POTS. The case provides a platform for discussing a disruptive innovation (VoIP) and its implications for an incumbent player. Ron Close explains how Bell addressed the technology challenge, and its managerial and organizational consequences in an available video, product 7B06M009.

The inventor and founder of DEKA research was deciding whether to commercialize his latest invention, the Segway Human Transporter, a self-balancing, battery-operated scooter. The transporter was envisioned as an alternative mode of personal transportation in traffic-clogged urban environments. It also had potential application in developing countries with a limited transportation infrastructure. With the versatility to carry riders on sidewalks, rough ground, icy surfaces and inside buildings, the market potential seemed unlimited. Yet, the Segway Human Transporter represented an unconventional transportation choice for potential users. Would there be a market for it, or would it be seen as nothing more than a cool invention? Should the inventor proceed with commercialization, and if so, how?

The inventor and founder of DEKA research was deciding whether to commercialize his latest invention, the Segway Human Transporter, a self-balancing, battery-operated scooter. The transporter was envisioned as an alternative mode of personal transportation in traffic-clogged urban environments. It also had potential application in developing countries with limited transportation infrastructure. With the versatility to carry riders on sidewalks, rough ground, icy surfaces and inside buildings, the market potential seemed unlimited. Yet, the Segway Human Transporter represented an unconventional transportation choice for potential users. Would there be a market for it, or would it be seen as nothing more than a cool invention? Should the inventor proceed with commercialization, and if so, how?