Launched in East Africa, M-KOPA is an innovative pay-as-you-go solar system that provides reliable energy to low-income households. To serve these customers profitably, M-KOPA's solution relies on digital innovation and the integrated adaptation of every element business model, including a new profit model akin to the data-driven platform models of the likes of Amazon and Tencent. The founders' challenge was how best to continue growing their for-profit business in the face of new competition, while staying true to M-KOPA's social mission and values.

The case describes how Dollar Shave Club proved to be a disruptive force in the shaving industry, one dominated by Gillette for over a Century. It did so without a single patent to its name, and with a direct-to-consumer subscription and a content-based customer engagement model that was new to the shaving industry, but not to consumer products at large (e.g., Nespresso and Red Bull, respectively). The case demonstrates the disruptive power of a digital platform model, and highlights how new marketing capabilities can disrupt traditional channels. It challenges P&G owned Gillette to formulate a strategic response in light of Unilever's threat to acquire the upstart business. The case provides online links to a rich set of free videos that include a CEO interview, competitive advertising, and analyst commentary.

In recent years, "design thinking"has become popular in many industries as established companies have tried to apply designers'problem-solving techniques to corporate innovation processes. Key elements of the design thinking methodology include fast iterations; early and frequent interaction with customers; agile process design with less hierarchy; and a learning-by-doing approach that involves building prototypes and creating mock-ups of any kind as early as possible in the process. Over the past seven years, the authors have helped more than 20 companies pursue more than 50 design thinking initiatives and have found that such initiatives rarely proceed according to the textbook model. Innovation, they note, is an inherently messy process that conflicts in many ways with established companies'processes, structures, and corporate cultures. For example, they note, many established companies punish failure, which discourages the risk-taking design thinking requires. What's more, the design thinking methodology calls for egalitarian, self-organized teams, but this isn't how most large companies work. In fact, the design thinking teams the authors studied tended to have clear process and project owners, usually senior managers who often supervised 12 to 15 design thinking projects at a time. The authors argue that companies need to take five steps to take full advantage of the potential of design thinking. They recommend that companies (1) encourage top managers to champion design thinking initiatives, (2) balance intuitive and analytical thinking on design thinking teams, (3) set ground rules that give design thinking teams the autonomy they need to function well, (4) integrate design thinking into the company's product development processes, and (5) focus on learning rather than on profits as metrics for design thinking projects.

Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company represents a new business model in the retail financial services industry, and since Zopa is not technically a bank and does not lend money itself, the capital requirements to run the business are relatively small. Compared to a traditional full service bank Zopa concentrates on only a few steps of the value chain. This case study provides an overview of how Zopa, a value innovator, has developed a unique position in the market through an innovative business model. This case enables students to develop a good understanding of the elements of a value innovation and how technologies have the potential to shake up an established industry structure and its key players. Students also get to discuss the sustainability of competitive advantage in a business in which network effects play an important role. Finally, the case can be used to address the topic of how incumbent firms should respond to innovative new business models.

The Siemens Kalwa factory in Mumbai, also referred to as Kalwa Works (KW), started in 1973 with the production of motors and later diversified to produce switchgears and switchboards. By 2009, 40 per cent of all Siemens India employees were working in Kalwa and contributing 45 per cent of the total Siemens India production. Kalwa had become the most important business centre for Siemens India.<br><br>In October 2006, Siemens AG decided to implement lean manufacturing in the Kalwa factory as part of a worldwide rollout of the Siemens Production System in all its medium-voltage facilities. The implementations were expected to bring drastic improvements in labour productivity, lower inventory levels, and higher throughput to improve the factories’ financial performance. The lean program promised that the factory’s current realized capacity of 4,000 panels per year could be increased by approximately 50 per cent to 6,000 panels per year in the medium term within two years, and to about 12,000 panels within the next four to five years.<br><br>While the benefits of successful implementation were attractive, the company faced several challenges, including restructuring the organization, getting staff on board to accept and facilitate the change, and handling resistance from internal and external stakeholders. This case provides an opportunity to analyze and discuss lean implementation issues for a global multinational firm in the Indian context.

In 2011 Nespresso, the premium single-serve coffee brand of the multinational Swiss company Nestle, found itself at a crossroads. Between 2006 and 2010 Nespresso had managed to nearly triple sales - from CHF 1.16 billion to well over CHF 3 billion. But despite its meteoric growth in recent years, competitors were moving to try to challenge Nespresso's dominance of the premium single-serve coffee market by launching their own single-serve concepts. Some of these competitors had developed capsules compatible with the Nespresso system, and had aggressively pushed into the supermarket channel where Nespresso itself remained completely absent. Nespresso had to understand the degree to which it could sustain its competitive advantage in the premium single-serve coffee market in the face of growing competition, and develop strategies to address the growing threat of competitors who were offering Nespresso compatible capsules. The case helps students to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts of innovation, branding, business system fit, sustainable competitive advantage and responding to low-cost competitors. It is intended for MBA courses in Strategic Management, Innovation and Marketing. It can also be used in executive education programs, for example as part of a competitive strategy program to discuss issues related to strategy, competitive advantage and responding to low-cost rivals.

The Siemens Kalwa factory in Mumbai, also referred to as Kalwa Works (KW), started in 1973 with the production of motors and later diversified to produce switchgears and switchboards. By 2009, 40 per cent of all Siemens India employees were working in Kalwa and contributing 45 per cent of the total Siemens India production. Kalwa had become the most important business centre for Siemens India. In October 2006, Siemens AG decided to implement lean manufacturing in the Kalwa factory as part of a worldwide rollout of the Siemens Production System in all its medium-voltage facilities. The implementations were expected to bring drastic improvements in labour productivity, lower inventory levels, and higher throughput to improve the factories' financial performance. The lean program promised that the factory's current realized capacity of 4,000 panels per year could be increased by approximately 50 per cent to 6,000 panels per year in the medium term within two years, and to about 12,000 panels within the next four to five years. While the benefits of successful implementation were attractive, the company faced several challenges, including restructuring the organization, getting staff on board to accept and facilitate the change, and handling resistance from internal and external stakeholders. This case provides an opportunity to analyze and discuss lean implementation issues for a global multinational firm in the Indian context.

When he took over as chief executive, the former state-owned telecom monopoly was in bad shape. Having long been one of the dominant players in Europe, DT's share price had collapsed in just a few years, as had its grip on its home market. Shortly before Obermann was appointed, DT's share of new broadband customers in Germany - its traditional stronghold - fell to below 10 percent. And with its 260,000 strong workforce, DT's labor costs compared to sales were up to twice as high as those of its main European rivals. Still living on past glories, the company was heavily siloed and bloated. While its structure was not suited to the new market realities, few employees felt a strong need for anything more than incremental change. Yet many analysts foresaw either bankruptcy or break-up for DT within a matter of three or four years. Under Obermann's leadership, DT underwent a dramatic transformation, regaining its dominant position in the large domestic market within three years - but it remained too early to declare a full-fledged turnaround. Case A describes Deutsche Telekom's competitive challenges prior to René Obermann's appointment as CEO. It gives a few background details on the new CEO and describes some of the key moves he made during his first two years at the helm - and his success in stabilizing DT. Case B covers the second phase of DT's recovery and the continued drive to create a single integrated company, to overcome resistance and to encourage new behaviors. Learning objectives: The cases cover three key themes: 1) The advantages and disadvantages of a strong organizational culture. 2) The process of organizational transformation and the challenge of building on success. 3) Some of the psychological challenges of leadership.

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By operating in war zones, urban slums, and deep rural areas, companies could not only achieve growth and profits, but could also improve the economic and social conditions of these impoverished regions. Yet how can a company operate in areas with unstable security, poor infrastructure, and little or no formal legal frameworks in place? To do so successfully, companies need to go beyond transactional alliances or legalistic business partnerships with local partners. Instead, they need to develop community buy-in and long-term personal relationships based on trust with "unorthodox" local inhabitants-the ones offering them security and protection rather than technology and business assets. Such deep social embeddedness is not cost-free. To prevent it from derailing their success, companies need to nurture and grow their local partners beyond their specific needs.

On September 15 and 16, 2008, the British artist Damien Hirst broke all rules of the art market. He bypassed conventional distribution channels - dealers and gallery owners - by directly partnering with Sotheby's auction house - and with their help successfully sold more than 200 pieces of his works. Sotheby's auctioned art works which were less than two years old, which was another break from tradition. Hirst earned more than £110 million from the auction - in the midst of a global economic crisis and on the same day that the Lehman Brothers Investment house collapsed.

Slowly but surely, modern managers are realizing that the complex situations they face cannot be approached in a routine manner. Indeed, the quest for creative solutions has become pervasive. But for creativity to truly add value to an organization, managers must first understand its core principles. In this article the authors define those principles, which include personal creativity, process creativity and collective creativity. They also highlight the critical role that imagination, inspiration and intuition still have to play in modern business.

This case study provides a discussion of how Virgin Mobile, an innovative virtual mobile network operator, has developed a unique position in the UK market through unique positioning and strong business system fit. The first section of the case discussion focuses on the rather innovative Virgin Mobile's business model and strategy and the firm's underlying business activities that provided a uniquely differentiated positioning in the UK mobile telecommunications sector up until mid 2005. The second section explores how Virgin Mobile was able to achieve sustainable competitive advantage over the period from 1999 to 2005, but then turns to an analysis of how the firm's competitive advantage has been eroded by changes in regulation and a shift in the competitive environment.

This is a two part case study that explores Celtel Nigeria's innovative approach to serving the rural poor. Case A provides an overview of the mobile telecommunications market in Nigeria as of mid 2007, as well as detailed demographic and socioeconomic information. At the time of the case, Celtel Nigeria is the second largest mobile telecommunications company in the Nigerian market. The company has experienced considerable success in serving Nigeria's cities and larger towns, but has only recently shifted its attention to serving poorer consumers in rural areas - a massive but as of yet under tapped market. But this shift from urban to rural has not been easy, and although some 50% of Nigeria's population lives in rural regions the challenges of reaching them sometimes seem overwhelming. The absence of a reliable national electricity grid means that the company's rural telecommunications towers have to be run on diesel generators, resulting in high maintenance and diesel fuel costs. Theft and vandalism of expensive communications equipment and generators has emerged as a major concern, resulting in the need to employ full-time security guards on virtually every base station site outside of urban areas. At the end of case A, Celtel Nigeria's chief operating officer Lars Stork is pondering the challenges of bringing the benefits of mobile telecommunications to Nigeria's rural poor, setting the scene for analysis by students in suggesting potential route to market approaches for the company. Case B demonstrates how Celtel has been able to implement a highly innovative marketing strategy to serve low-income rural customers. At the heart of this marketing approach is what is called the Rural Acquisition Initiative (RAI), a micro-franchising model involving partnerships with local entrepreneurs.

This is a two part case study that explores Celtel Nigeria's innovative approach to serving the rural poor. Case A provides an overview of the mobile telecommunications market in Nigeria as of mid 2007, as well as detailed demographic and socioeconomic information. At the time of the case, Celtel Nigeria is the second largest mobile telecommunications company in the Nigerian market. The company has experienced considerable success in serving Nigeria's cities and larger towns, but has only recently shifted its attention to serving poorer consumers in rural areas - a massive but as of yet under tapped market. But this shift from urban to rural has not been easy, and although some 50% of Nigeria's population lives in rural regions the challenges of reaching them sometimes seem overwhelming. The absence of a reliable national electricity grid means that the company's rural telecommunications towers have to be run on diesel generators, resulting in high maintenance and diesel fuel costs. Theft and vandalism of expensive communications equipment and generators has emerged as a major concern, resulting in the need to employ full-time security guards on virtually every base station site outside of urban areas. At the end of case A, Celtel Nigeria's chief operating officer Lars Stork is pondering the challenges of bringing the benefits of mobile telecommunications to Nigeria's rural poor, setting the scene for analysis by students in suggesting potential route to market approaches for the company. Case B demonstrates how Celtel has been able to implement a highly innovative marketing strategy to serve low-income rural customers. At the heart of this marketing approach is what is called the Rural Acquisition Initiative (RAI), a micro-franchising model involving partnerships with local entrepreneurs.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Brazil's poorest households have an annual total income of around $73 billion per annum; China's have an annual income of about $691 billion; and India's have an income of about $378 billion. However, even though there has been a burst of interest in recent years in how economic growth is unfolding in the developing world, most of the research is still focused on how growth occurs in developed markets. Strategic innovation in developing markets is fundamentally different from what occurs in developed economies, the authors argue. It is not about locating "new whos" (assuming the products and services are affordable, there are plenty of under- and nonconsuming customers to tap), more often it involves adapting existing products to customers with fewer resources or different cultural backgrounds and creating basic market ingredients such as distribution channels and customer demand from the ground up. Using examples from mobile telephony in the Philippines; consumer goods, power equipment, and auto industries in India; the personal care market in Brazil; and the appliance industry in China, the authors discuss cases from companies including Smart Communications, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Eveready, and Haier. They present a framework for strategic innovation based on four factors (affordability, acceptability, availability, and awareness) and show how companies can create value.

Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company represents a new business model in the retail financial services industry, and since Zopa is not technically a bank and does not lend money itself, the capital requirements to run the business are relatively small. Compared to a traditional full service bank Zopa concentrates on only a few steps of the value chain. This case study provides an overview of the financial service industry, especially banks, in the UK in 2006 and how Zopa, a value innovator, has developed a unique position in the market through an innovative business model. Rich data especially on banking trends are given. Additional data on key players in the industry are supplied. This data will enable students to develop a good understanding of the elements of a value innovation and how technologies have the potential to shake up an established industry structure and its key players. A focus is on the concept of value innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. The case can also be used to address the topic of how incumbent firms should respond to innovative new business models.

The (B) case demonstrates how Smart was able to implement a highly innovative marketing strategy to serve low-income customers. At the heart of this marketing approach was Smart Load, a mobile proposition involving sachet-based pricing (similar to that seen in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) world), a revolutionary over-the-air (OTA) mobile reloading technology, and a decentralized distribution approach. Through the implementation of this strategy analysts revised their estimates of market penetration from a maximum 35% of the population, to upwards of 70% by 2008.

This is the first of a two-case series. The case series explores Smart Telecommunication Inc's innovative approach to serving low-income customers in the Philippines. The case introduces a framework for developing strategies to serve low-income customers in developing countries - the 4A's. This framework is an adaptation of the classic 4P's of marketing that are likely to have been covered early in any marketing course. Case (A) provides an overview of the mobile phone market in the Philippines as of early 2003, as well as demographic and socioeconomic information. According to analysts, the mobile phone market in the country is heading towards saturation due to the fact that the majority of the population is unable to afford mobile services. It is estimated that in a best-case scenario, 35% of the population will be using a mobile phone by 2008. The CEO of Smart, Napoleon L Nazareno asks if it might be profitable to serve the massive but still untapped pool of low-income consumers, or whether his company should focus on pursuing market development opportunities to increase revenues from existing customers.