Following the success of its initial efforts toward digital transformation, Vanke Port Apartment (Vanke Group’s long-term rental brand) began investing in technology to enhance its core capabilities. By continuously updating its Rental Management Planning (RMP) system, constructing marketing channels, and developing a one-click project planning function, Vanke Port established itself as an industry leader in digital technology. Furthermore, Vanke Port started to market and sell its technology systems, shifting its technology focus from reducing costs to generating revenue. Meanwhile, the company also needs to continuously evolve its technology and business model in an ever-changing environment.
The Volkswagen Group (VW Group) unveiled its vision, “NEW AUTO – Mobility for generations to come,” in 2021, setting the goal of becoming a prominent provider of sustainable mobility by focusing on e-mobility, digitalization, and autonomous driving, while prioritizing environmental, social, and governance factors, regional markets, and effective financing for the transformation. As of 2024, the VW Group had recognized the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the automotive industry, particularly in areas such as manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, and data analytics. Despite the promise of AI, challenges surrounding governance, compliance, transparency, and talent management needed to be effectively addressed for successful adoption and implementation by the VW Group.
BYD Auto Co. Ltd. (BYD Auto) became the world’s biggest electric-vehicle (EV) maker in 2023. Before its inception in 2003, BYD Auto’s parent firm, BYD Co. Ltd. (BYD), was a Shenzhen, China–based battery manufacturer. Under the visionary leadership of the company’s chair and president, a trained chemist with an eye toward sustainable transportation, BYD diversified into the automotive industry and transformed into an EV leader. Based on site visits and interviews, this case examined the design and branding aspect of the transformation. Combining technology with deep-seated local culture, BYD Auto strategically designed a series of models that incrementally established its leadership domestically. What should be the company chair’s strategic move in 2024 to innovate on BYD Auto’s EVs?
Bosch Automotive Product (Changsha) Ltd Co, is a leading automotive parts manufacturer, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bosch, a multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. Since 2020, Bosch Changsha had accelerated its digital transformation through building an organizational culture that embraces digital innovation. By designing and implementing a portfolio of digital initiatives and programs, Bosch Changsha managed to establish a culture that embraces digital transformation and inspires employees to contribute to organizational change. Meanwhile, despite the significant success, the company also faced the question of how to continue leveraging culture to drive future digital transformation.
Afrigen Biologics (Pty) Ltd. (Afrigen) was a biotech firm with a track record of solid performance in the sector with its leadership in sharing mRNA technology and developing a vaccine for COVID-19. By August 2024, with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic under control, the firm was ready to capitalize on its track record and pivot. Petro Terblanche, CEO of Afrigen, needed to decide, therefore, what the firm’s next steps would be. What should the company's new business model be after the end of the current mRNA technology transfer program? How could Afrigen position itself in the African biopharmaceutical value chain? How could it leverage its existing alliances? Should Afrigen pursue international licensing or position itself to be acquired?
The case of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) versus Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) revolved around allegations of anti-competitive practices and monopolistic behaviour by the tech giant. Amazon, with its diverse portfolio of services and dominant market position in online retail, faced accusations related to its bundling of “Fulfillment by Amazon” with Prime Eligibility and its price parity rules for third-party sellers. The FTC claimed that Amazon’s bundling strategy stifled competition by compelling sellers to use its fulfillment services, thus limiting their choices and potentially driving up prices for consumers. Additionally, Amazon’s price parity rules allegedly restricted sellers from offering lower prices on other platforms, potentially leading to artificially inflated prices across all channels. However, Amazon argued that these practices were essential for maintaining service quality, preventing showrooming, and protecting its brand reputation. The company would have to evaluate the validity of the FTC’s claims and determine the best course of action in response to the lawsuit.
In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), data and algorithms have been increasingly incorporated into organizations’ talent management in general and recruitment processes in particular. The case discusses the experience of the China-based technology giant Baidu Inc. (Baidu) during its implementation and incorporation of AI in its recruitment process. It introduces the new trend of intelligent recruitment, addressing the transformation toward it, its technical functions, and the operational model and value creation it enables. It also explores the challenges and future opportunities in the use of AI for talent management.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour began on March 17, 2023, and quickly gained popularity, becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time and generating over US$1 billion. The Eras Tour was designed to immerse the audience through each of the eras of Swift’s life as she transitioned through 10 unique sets spanning over three hours. The Eras Tour was a big step up from Swift’s previous tours, incorporating extravagant costumes, elaborate audiovisuals, and a complex stage design. The show featured a giant catwalk, moving platforms, and several different sets for each scene, enabling the audience to feel connected to each era. Behind the scenes, Swift’s production crew worked to ensure the show ran smoothly, with one team backstage, two teams on the floor managing the show, and a third team under the stage, managing costume changes and performer placement. The Eras Tour had seen unprecedented demand, with millions of fans trying to secure show tickets. On November 17, 2022, Swift’s team faced scrutiny around its partnership with Ticketmaster, as the platform became overwhelmed by 14 million fans seeking tickets and an unprecedented number of bot attacks.<br><br>For Swift and her team, questions arose: How could the team continue to bring joy to fans, potentially attract new audiences, ensure smooth operations and sales for future performances, and further strengthen Swift’s brand, popularity, and reputation? Which other markets should Swift visit? How could the team sustain and even elevate the success of the show? How was success defined at a global and societal level? What came next?
The World Economic Forum and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company collaborated with academics to create the concept of lighthouse factories in 2018. The concept represents a vision for manufacturing in the digital age, in which cutting-edge digital technologies are designed and deployed to enable innovative manufacturing practices to be implemented at large scale. The concept has since become a global standard for digital manufacturing. For McKinsey & Company, and other consulting firms, this vision brings significant opportunities but also requires these organizations and their consultants to obtain an in-depth and nuanced understanding of lighthouse factories and the underlying business models, practices, technologies, and cases.
BOE Technology Group Ltd. (BOE) was a leading semiconductor display company worldwide. This case study examines BOE’s journey from facing near bankruptcy to becoming a major player in the display industry and subsequently transitioning into the Internet of Things (IoT) space. The company leveraged effective knowledge management to streamline resources; accelerate knowledge sharing, flow, and application; improve internal management and operational efficiency; mitigate the impact of industry cycles; enhance profitability and innovation capabilities; and support development at each stage. Meanwhile, the firm also faced many challenges. How could BOE further upgrade its capability and transform into a leader in the IoT age?
Shein, a rapidly growing international e-commerce giant based in China, strategically positioned itself as a dominant player in the fast fashion industry by catering to Gen Z customers with stylish and affordable offerings. The brand benefitted from a forward-thinking digital business model that harnessed big data analysis and social media marketing, ensuring deep consumer insights and accurate market demand predictions. Moreover, its seamless integration with supplier networks bolstered its supply chain agility and enabled it to enhance customer experiences through tailored product recommendations. Despite its success, Shein faced scrutiny for labour exploitation, design infringement, and broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges inherent to the fast-fashion industry. Under pressure from investors and targeting a potential public listing, Shein embarked on an ethical transformation, aligning with international labour conventions and local regulations to improve its ESG standing. This case underscored Shein’s complex challenge as it strived to harmonize sustainability with commercial profitability. It also introduced the ESG strategies Shein had adopted until then. The crucial question remained: How could Shein leverage its digital innovations to transform into a sustainable and ethical global operator? Particularly within the context of Sino-US tensions, what strategies should the company employ to secure a higher valuation and establish itself as a responsible industry player while pursuing a successful initial public offering?
The Royal Belgian Football Association was a non-profit organization based in Brussels, Belgium that had a goal to organize, develop, and promote all forms of football in the country. To achieve this goal, it regularly interacted with many stakeholders including fans, commercial partners, association members, referees, and brand stewards. In 2021, the association was eager to digitalize these interactions through the use of its mobile app and added many features to the app over the next two years to support a fluid road map. However, during those two years, the performance of marquee teams was disappointing. More than ever, it seemed important to engender continuous digital engagement with stakeholders as a basis for further commercial growth. In March 2023, the director of marketing and communication and the director of digital, innovation, and technology were reviewing and assessing the association’s digital strategy, especially during the previous two years, and strategizing about the future. Their assessment revealed several important questions about how to prioritize digital initiatives in the future.
Global health and wellness industries worldwide have been changing rapidly. In China, traditional Chinese supplements brand Guanzhan was founded in 2014 with the aim to provide younger consumers with new types of supplements that would satisfy their changing needs. The company employed a “New Retail” model to best serve the targeted consumer groups, who, compared to their older counterparts, knew little about traditional medicine and had higher taste and convenience requirements for supplement products. As of when the case was written, Guanzhan's ready-to-eat fish maw products had become one of the leading supplement product categories in the Chinese market. Looking into the future, the company sought to expand their footprint offline and develop new products that would satisfy the offline markets.
In February 2023, SZ Dà-Jiāng Innovations Science and Technology Co. Ltd. (DJI) was included in the list of the “Top 100 Global Innovators.” At the same time, the 200-metre DJI Sky Pixel—the world’s first asymmetrical suspension steel structure ultra-high-rise building—was achieving remarkable success in the 2023 China Architectural Awards. The building seemed to symbolize DJI’s meteoric rise. In 2023, DJI was a leading company in the global drone industry. From DJI’s inception in 2006 to the first University Student Robot Training Camp in 2013, and up to its current status in 2023, DJI had dedicated 17 years to the development and perfection of drones and more than a decade to the field of education. In its early days, DJI had to overcome serious technical challenges to achieve astonishing success and navigate the strong competition in the market. In 2023, the biggest hurdle DJI was facing was global trade tensions. What other issues were awaiting DJI on its path forward?
Rodolphe Saadé was the chief executive of the CMA CGM Shipping Co., Ltd. a giant in the maritime industry that was long criticized by customers for its lag in digitalization. Realizing the importance of digitalization, Saadé defined digitization as a key strategic priority for CMA CGM’s development. This case traces CMA CGM’s digital transformation process and discusses how Saadé and CMA CGM successfully addressed different challenges to gradually launch a series of digital innovations to the company’s processes, products, services, and business model. However, as new waves of technology, from autonomous vehicles to smart data continued to emerge, how could CMA CGM leverage the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the shipping industry? How could CMA CGM make full use of big data to optimize business operation decisions?
Tianjin Motor Dies Co. Ltd. (or “Tian Qi Mo”; TQM) was a China-based automotive technology supplier that specialized in the research and development (R&D), design, manufacturing, and distribution of automotive body panel dies, welding tools, and automobile body stamping fixtures. Although TQM had struggled during China’s reform toward a market economy, the company’s persistent focus on and investment in R&D, innovation, and technology enabled it to survive and thrive, eventually growing to become an industry leader in China. A key pillar of the company’s strategy was information technology (IT). The company’s focus on IT had enabled it to establish a solid foundation for growth. In today’s age of digital disruption, TQM sought to leverage IT to transform its traditional product-based business model into a hybrid model that included not only products but also a platform that enabled different stakeholders in the automotive industry to transact and collaborate. The vision was promising, but TQM faced many challenges in its implementation.
Founded in 1964, Brøndby IF (BIF) was a professional Danish football club located in Brøndbyvester, in the capital region of Denmark, and had won eleven Danish championship titles. In 2015, BIF embarked on a journey of incorporating sports data into its organization and building its sports analytics capabilities. By the end of 2022, sports data had become an integral component of the club’s activities and had enabled BIF to establish itself as a leader in sports analytics in Northern European football. However, BIF and its analytics capabilities were contending with the ever-changing landscape of modern sports characterized by rapid digitalization and internationalization.
In 2021, Shein’s app was ranked as the most downloaded shopping app in the e-commerce space, surpassing that of the technology giant Amazon.com Inc. A driver of Shein’s high adoption was how it leveraged technology throughout its business model: from analyzing consumer data to designing garments and manufacturing products to shipping clothing in a timely manner, Shein disrupted the fast-fashion space through its use of information technology. With exponential growth came complex challenges. Shein faced questions related to sustainability and social responsibility. What were some future opportunities and challenges for Shein? How could the company balance its technology-enabled strategy and sustainability? What initiatives should Shein implement to integrate sustainability into its supply chain and promote circularity among customers?
As a top-ranking hospital in Western China, Huaxi (which means West China in Chinese) Hospital of Sichuan University (Huaxi Hospital) had been navigating a digital transformation journey. In the early phases, Huaxi Hospital focused on the development of setting up a digital foundation. Specifically, it created the relevant supporting departments and built eighteen digitalized systems. In 2013, when Weimin Li became president of Huaxi Hospital, he prompted the expansion of digitalization. Telemedicine services, hospital services using smart technologies, and online hospital services represented examples of the digital innovation adopted. More recently, the COVID-19 epidemic further accelerated the process of hospital digitalization, and Huaxi Hospital continued to advance and keep up with the rapid changes. Artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and big-data platforms were implemented during this later phase. However, despite its success and facing an increasingly turbulent and complex health care industry, Huaxi Hospital needed to continually explore future digital transformation strategies. What could the future of Huaxi Hospital look like in the digital age? How should the hospital prioritize its different initiatives plans and design a road map for its future digitalization?
In March 2022, Nemus, an environmental planning, development, and sustainability consultancy based in Lisbon, Portugal, released a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through its Nemus Earth initiative with the goal of supporting reforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The company purchased at-risk land in rainforests, created collectible NFTs, and used proceeds from the NFT sales to support reforestation and economic and social development in the region. While some purchasers praised the company for the NFTs, other stakeholders, such as activists, government officials, and Indigenous groups, questioned the efficiency and legality of the project. By July 2022, Nemus faced a decision: should it continue with its mission, or should it leave it up to governments and non-governmental organizations to lead the way on climate action? Could NFTs be effective in protecting rainforests, or were there better alternative paths?