The e-payments industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, especially in Asia, driven in part by technology developments such as the high adoption of smart phones and the boom in e-commerce. The digital innovation of e-payments adoption and diffusion requires the creation and sustaining of an ecosystem. This case describes the e-payments ecosystems of China and Singapore which differ in their development trajectories as well as their resulting configuration, raising important issues for discussion regarding ecosystem design and evolution.

This case examines the opportunities and challenges faced by an entrepreneur behind a beauty startup, YOURFIT, as she attempts to break into the crowded Korean beauty (or "K-beauty") market. Leveraging on technology, YOURFIT uses a mobile application which allows customers to customise facial masks for their unique face size, skin type, and skincare goals. This case traces the entrepreneur's journey as she gets her startup off the ground in the cut-throat K-beauty market.

This case covers the ten-year development of Shenzhen's innovation landscape from 2008 when China hosted the Summer Olympics and launched its nationwide 3G mobile network to 2018, which marks the 40th anniversary of the nation's economic reform. Specifically, it identifies the confluence of global and China-specific factors that transformed Shenzhen from a shanzhai (copycat) hub to startup haven, such as the rise of mobile internet and the adoption of automation in Shenzhen factories, as well as the "Made in China 2025" and "Chinese Dream" visions promoted by the government. The case discusses how the decades-old practice of shanzhai may not be a flaw but a feature crucial to Shenzhen's innovative vitality. It returns to the idea of innovation as a web to be woven, "layer by layer, with every business deal brokered among its firms, and with every inventive idea sketched out by its army of makers". It poses several questions revolving around the idea of shanzhai. Is it something so undesirable that it has to be exorcised from Shenzhen? Or is it the basis of which innovation, Shenzhen style, flourishes and spreads?

This case examines the development of Shenzhen through three key phases of its economic journey that span almost 40 years, starting with its humble beginnings as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). We analyse the city's evolution and push towards innovation via Porter's Diamond Theory and its four interrelated factors of national comparative economic advantage: firm strategy, structure and rivalry; related supporting industries; demand conditions; and factor conditions. In understanding Shenzhen's economic transformation, we should, in particular, appreciate the important role and commitment of the Chinese government in driving economic development and innovation through setting and articulating economic direction; attracting talent; providing physical infrastructure; making policy adjustments; and building a presence on the global platform. We end by projecting the threats that Shenzhen may face in sustaining its future growth.

Beeplus, a designer and operator of co-working spaces, was founded in 2015 by a group of enterprising college students led by Robert Jia. It currently has five co-working space projects in Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. This case maps the journey taken by Beeplus and its management team in its foray into the highly competitive co-working space industry, and offers a greater understanding of the critical success factors for a company operating in an aggressive market in China.