Raymond Green, Chief Researcher at Amber Global, a global energy think tank, believes that climate change could be slowed by consumers switching to electric vehicles (EVs). He analyses the lithium-ion (li-ion) battery industry's origins and its ascendance to an ecosystem that encompasses diverse actors such as lead firms (key li-ion battery manufacturers), upstream suppliers of raw and processed minerals, and downstream complementors of battery management system (BMS) providers and charging stations. In particular, governments play integral roles as members of the li-ion battery ecosystem in which their unique ties with lead firms have led to the rise of diverse ecosystems across the countries of Japan, South Korea, and China. Consequently, the government and lead firms co-lead and also co-develop the specific li-ion battery ecosystem to align the set of multilateral actors to materialise the value proposition of high-energy and low-cost li-ion batteries for the end-user. How has the emphasis of the different governments influenced the rise of the diverse li-ion battery ecosystems and therefore, the alignment of the diverse actors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and how would it effect the emergence of the specific li-ion battery ecosystem as a winner in the future?
In 2020, when everyone had been quarantined at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea-based Eric Kim jumped onto YouTube, a video-sharing digital platform. Although his initial growth on the platform was relatively fast, it soon began to stagnate. Kim decided to consider four key strategies to overcome this situation, which included revealing his face in his videos, business expansion, strategic alliances through Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs), and internationalisation. Would Kim regain his rapid expansion of influence on YouTube? Could his subsequent growth efforts be sufficient to ensure his channel's continued success in an increasingly digital world?
The case describes the development of artificial intelligence (AI) enabled recruitment automation software Talkpush and how it leveraged the technology of open application programming interface (API) to address changes in consumer's communication preferences, and create a software as a service (SaaS) business. In 2021, Talkpush was handling 12 million hiring conversations per annum, forming one of the largest conversational databases in recruitment. It applied speech recognition to convert audio to text, and recognized over 45,000 "intents" through natural language processing (NLP). Recognizing the vast amount of data-voice, text, and images-that could be mined for business insights or used as training data for machine learning, Talkpush's founder Max Ambruster was eager to look for a strategy to extract value from the company's growing data assets.
Seattle-based Dropbox Inc. (Dropbox) was a leading provider of cloud storage and online collaboration tools. The company had successfully grown a global user base by combining digital channels (user-driven viral growth) with investments in physical assets (offices and infrastructure) overseas. However, in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced individuals and organizations worldwide to work remotely and created an unprecedented growth opportunity, the company found itself outflanked by more aggressive rivals. Dropbox needed to reassess its existing strategy and find a way forward.
Seattle-based Dropbox Inc. (Dropbox) was a leading provider of cloud storage and online collaboration tools. The company had successfully grown a global user base by combining digital channels (user-driven viral growth) with investments in physical assets (offices and infrastructure) overseas. However, in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced individuals and organizations worldwide to work remotely and created an unprecedented growth opportunity, the company found itself outflanked by more aggressive rivals. Dropbox needed to reassess its existing strategy and find a way forward.
TikTok was a short-video sharing app based in China. On November 9, 2017, TikTok’s parent company, the Chinese tech company Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. (ByteDance), announced a strategic acquisition of Musical.ly, a popular short-video sharing app based in the United States. With more than 100 million users and similar features to TikTok, Musical.ly was a powerful competitor for TikTok’s international expansion into the North American markets. For ByteDance and TikTok, the closing of the Musical.ly acquisition in August 2018 was not the end goal, as it would create another new challenge. Would it be better to keep Musical.ly as a separate platform, as Musical.ly had achieved a good reputation and millions of users in the United States? Or should Musical.ly be replaced to create a global app under the TikTok brand, which was relatively new to the US market?
TikTok was a short-video sharing app based in China. On November 9, 2017, TikTok's parent company, the Chinese tech company Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. (ByteDance), announced a strategic acquisition of Musical.ly, a popular short-video sharing app based in the United States. With more than 100 million users and similar features to TikTok, Musical.ly was a powerful competitor for TikTok's international expansion into the North American markets. For ByteDance and TikTok, the closing of the Musical.ly acquisition in August 2018 was not the end goal, as it would create another new challenge. Would it be better to keep Musical.ly as a separate platform, as Musical.ly had achieved a good reputation and millions of users in the United States? Or should Musical.ly be replaced to create a global app under the TikTok brand, which was relatively new to the US market?
This case is about the establishment, growth, and direction of the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park ("Zhangjiang Park"), which is located in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. Considered to be one of the most competitive hi-tech industry clusters in China, the combined business strategy of Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development Co., Ltd. ("Zhangjiang Hi-Tech"), a key operator of Zhangjiang Park, included real estate development, hi-tech investment, and integrated services. As of the time of the case, members of the Board of Directors of Zhangjiang Hi-Tech were faced with open questions such as how Zhangjiang Park would be able to maintain its sustainable competitiveness in comparison with other hi-tech and industrial parks in China. Board members were also concerned with how Zhangjiang Hi-Tech would be able to meet the needs of both capital market and regional development.