The case examines how the founder of a startup company came up with the entrepreneurial idea and used Kickstarter as a platform to establish and grow his company. The case describes in detail the history of the company and charts out the crowdfunding campaigns that provided the company the initial funding. The case concludes at the point at which the founder is considering different funding options to scale the company even further. The case can be used in a variety of classes including digital business, open innovation, strategic IT management, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, and digital marketing.
Innovating in networks with partners that have diverse knowledge is challenging. The challenges stem from the fact that the commonly used knowledge protection mechanisms often are neither available nor suitable in early stage exploratory collaborations. This article focuses on how company participants in heterogeneous industry networks share private knowledge while protecting firm-specific appropriation. It goes beyond the prevailing strategic choice perspectives to discuss interactive revealing practices that sustain joint opportunity creation in the fragile phase of early network formation.
Business regulation is greatly shaped by a theory from economics and political science called "public choice." Public choice argues that regulation is sought by existing business organizations as a means to create barriers to entry for new competitors--something incumbent firms cannot do alone in the competitive environment. The Internet introduces different, and more complex, relationships between business and regulatory institutions as the territorial jurisdiction of traditional governmental agencies erodes and control over technology standards by business and nongovernmental organizations arises. With some important caveats, public choice theory offers important insights into exchange relationships between regulatory institutions and firms operating on the Internet. Examines a specific application of public choice to the case of the Linux Standards Base, an Internet-based governing board for the open-source operating system. The Linux Standards Base provides an example of regulation where the regulatory institution is a nongovernmental entity.
Nokia faces the challenge of implementing the global network model: global R&D and production networks for global learning and control combined with local sales and customer service for a local market presence. It launches an international logistics project to provide integrated solutions delivery and after-sales service. This case describes Nokia's IT strategy study, which clarified the need for, and architecture of the new logistics system.
Discusses the two stages of an organization's reengineering effort--the design and implementation. While the design phase needs to be revolutionary, an organization must assess whether the appropriate path to implementation should be evolutionary or revolutionary. Discussions are based on a two-year study of reengineering efforts at over 40 companies by the authors.
Describes the redesign and rollout of the new order-fulfillment process for a flagship product at Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell is one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies comprised of seven regional business units. Rather than implement the new process, roles, and information technology proposed by the original design team, each regional business unit implemented those pieces that most quickly resulted in performance improvements and would not require lengthy negotiations with labor unions. Focuses on managing radical change programs in a decentralized organization.
Provides a longitudinal view of business reengineering at CIGNA Corp., a leading provider of insurance and related financial services throughout the United States and the world. CIGNA has been practicing business reengineering since 1989, completing over 20 projects. The case illustrates a number of reengineering projects. Also highlights the different forms and waves of business reengineering that the company has experienced.