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This case was written in 2019, 10 years after Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co. Ltd. (XCMG) initiated its SAP ERP project in 2009. The digital transformation of XCMG has been so fast, that within less than 10 years, it developed from this internal IT project to a digital platform that provides services to many external enterprises. This case is to discover the factors that enabled this rapid digital business transformation. The case study shows the digital transformation of XCMG, the leading construction equipment manufacturing company in China. Established in 1943, before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, for past over 66 years, XCMG was a traditional manufacturing company, and enjoyed the dividends of the China's economic development. XCMG was so successful in its manufacture b2b business not only domestically, but also internationally, by learning from oversee companies and continuous innovating. Until recently, China's economic development slowed down, and the China-US trade friction emerged, however, XCMG had already prepared for this situation, and started its digital transformation 10 years ago.

It was end-2019 and seven years into the founding of Carousell, a Singapore-headquartered peer-to-peer online classified advertisements marketplace started by three friends, Quek Siu Rui, Marcus Tan and Lucas Ngoo. Valued at US$550 million, Carousell had gained wide popularity with a presence in seven markets across Asia Pacific. However new challenges that surfaced continued to confront the pioneer and market leader of mobile classifieds in Southeast Asia. Back in 2012, the opportunity and challenge the three young founders were facing was much simpler - to simplify a cumbersome and lengthy process to sell pre-owned items online. The trio built a smartphone app at a hackathon that reduced the time taken to list an item from ten minutes to 30 seconds. On a mission to inspire others to start selling, they adopted a mobile-first approach targeting young adults and gradually built a strong community of Carousellers over the years. With successive rounds of equity funding and scaling-up, soon came the question of monetisation. Carousell adopted a freemium business model, and began to roll out paid premium services for used-goods sellers to increase the visibility of their listings, and subscription services for professional sellers (such as real estate agents), to promote their properties. Having evolved from paper press to web desktop and mobile versions, what was next for the classifieds industry? Carousell reckoned Classified Version 4.0 would be AI-driven. How then could Carousell compete with new entrants, such as Facebook Marketplace, contending for a slice of the classified platform business? How could Carousell combat the increasing prevalence of online fraud on its platform to offer safety and assurance to its users? Would the monetizing efforts by providing paid services on the platform derail the community building effort that had been critical to Carousell's early success?

New research shows that market leadership is increasingly temporary. Just 17% of companies are able to significantly outperform their industry average for five years. The ones that do continually find new sources of competitive advantage by reinventing their businesses and adapting to evolving market conditions. Their example offers lessons for leadership teams trying to fight the relentless pull to the mean.

Spreadsheet supplement to case 719455.

This case is primarily about the opportunity for mid-career professionals to return to work after a career break. It focuses on the company iRelaunch, which helps companies develop and implement career re-entry programs and connects employees and employers. The case protagonist is Carol Fishman Cohen, co-founder of iRelaunch. The case also touches on the different types of return to work programs and includes a vignette on Chevron which highlights the experience of three women participating in the company's pilot return to work program.

Kumar Food Corporation (KFC) was a partnership firm founded in the state of Maharashtra in India by Neeraj Kumar in 2010. The company manufactured, packaged, and distributed pickles, papads, and spices. Kumar, who had previously worked at a multinational company specializing in food processing, quit that job to start his own venture with an investment of ₹1 million. The company flourished and, in 2017, its revenue reached ₹50 million. Kumar then wanted to invest another ₹50 million with the aim of reaching a ₹200 million revenue target by the end of 2018. The company faced cutthroat competition from existing players in the food-processing industry, and Kumar was worried that the Government of India's Start-Up India initiative to promote entrepreneurship would further add to the competition. With a limited budget for marketing and communications, Kumar could take any or all of the following routes to fulfill his expansion ambitions: enhance product category, add new markets, or increase distribution channels. Which growth strategies should the company implement to establish its Shagun brand?

The 1999 strategic alliance between Renault and Nissan made this partnership the longest ever among large firms in the automotive industry. Together, the alliance partners are active in every important territorial market and in every customer segment worldwide.1 As the alliance was announced, automotive industry experts were very skeptical2 because both companies were having difficulties. The initial alliance partners started from weak positions as the collaboration was formed; however, today the alliance is a leader in electric vehicles,3 ranks among the top-three largest car manufacturers worldwide,4 and sold more than 10.6 million vehicles5 in 2017. Although the alliance encountered a number of challenges and difficulties over the years (e.g., increasing industry competition, pressure to generate synergies, the financial crisis of 2008, and recent trends disrupting the automotive industry), it has been extended over time, most importantly by the inclusion of Mitsubishi in 2016, as Nissan acquired a stake in its Japanese rival. Twenty years after its formation, the Renault-Nissan alliance is a prime example for strategic alliances because of its financial success in the past.

In July 2019, Pfizer announced that it would spin off its Upjohn division and merge it with Mylan, a specialty and generic drugs firm. Within Pfizer, the Upjohn business unit was a conduit for Pfizer drugs going off-patent. Divesting the Upjohn business would allow Pfizer to focus on innovative drugs and exit the generics sector. Combining Upjohn with Mylan would create a new company that would compete in branded prescription drugs, generics, biosimilars, and over-the-counter medicines. Cost synergies from the merger of $1 billion were projected. Under the terms of the agreement, each Mylan share would be converted into one share of the new company. Pfizer shareholders would own 57% of the combined new company and Mylan shareholders would own 43%.

This case examines General Motors' (GM) global strategy. From a manufacturing presence in 34 countries in 2007 to only eight countries in 2020, GM has dramatically changed its global strategy. GM has withdrawn from many regions and countries, including Europe, India, Australia, and Indonesia. Many assembly plants have been closed and sales are now heavily concentrated in the United States. Was GM retreating to its profit sanctuary in the United States and giving up on global business? How would GM's strategy fare against more global competitors such as Toyota, Volkswagen, and growing Chinese companies like Geely and Great Wall?

The case deals with the challenges faced by Anglo American mining corporation in managing local community relations where it has mining operations. The issues are complex and threaten the ability of the company to operate and even the viability of mining operations directly. The complexity is primarily due to the government policies that require mining companies to take on responsibilities for infrastructure and service delivery as a condition for obtaining a mining license. At the same time, the government does not actively support either local communities or the mines and is largely a passive observer. And, there are historical problems concerning land ownership (by individuals or by communities) as well as the challenge of resettling the people displaced by mining operations.

In 2020 TRX Industrial (TRX) was close to finalizing its acquisition of Wilson Technology Group (Wiltec). Brad Hunter, TRX Chief Operating Officer and head of the acquisition integration steering committee, was planning for a one-day team session to examine the post-merger structure for TRX and Wiltec. One of Hunter's objectives for the session was a decision about how much organizational autonomy, if any, would be retained by Wiltec. Hunter saw various options for Wiltec that ran along a spectrum. Wiltec could retain its independence and continue to operate much as it had before the acquisition. At the other end of the spectrum was absorption - Wiltec would be folded into TRX culture and operating processes and give up its autonomy. Wiltec and TRX could also seek to take the best of both firms in terms of culture, processes, and people and create something new.

This case provides a platform to discuss the role of the board in the governance of a corporation. Extant discourse on the role of the board is largely centered on the challenges of monitoring managerial behavior and as a consequence on board independence. The two other critical tasks of the board - mentoring the leadership (based on expertise) and maintaining continuity with robust succession of both the board and the executive leadership - are not as well documented. Set in 2019, this case documents the rollercoaster ride of Infosys Limited - India's second largest software services company - from an icon of corporate governance to its fall from grace after an ugly fight between its co-founders and the board, following whistle-blower allegations of governance failures. The case helps demonstrate the importance of issues related to board succession (to ensure continuity) and board capital (to guide strategic choices) that are often overlooked.

Madan Mohanka, Managing Director of Tega Industries, a start-up organization, was reviewing the marketing strategy and plan for introducing new improved wear-resistant rubber products in India in mining and metal processing industries. The case describes products, product characteristics, potential market, likely demand, customer behaviour, current and likely competition, segmentation, targeting, marketing strategy and marketing plan including segment coverage strategy, pricing, promotions, marketing organization, and the marketing and promotion budget. Participants can be challenged to evaluate objectives, marketing strategy, marketing plan, pricing, promotion, and marketing organization.

Supplement for Case A00335

Many executives assume that customer data can give you an unbeatable competitive edge. The more customers you have, the more data you can gather, and that data, when analyzed, allows you to offer a better product that attracts more customers. You can then collect even more data, repeating the cycle until you eventually marginalize your competitors. But this thinking is usually wrong. Though the virtuous cycles of data-enabled learning may look similar to those of network effects--wherein an offering increases in value to users as more people adopt it and ultimately garners a critical mass of users that shuts out competitors--they are not as powerful or as enduring. Nevertheless, under the right conditions, customer data can help build competitive defenses. It all depends on whether the data offers high and lasting value, is proprietary, leads to improvements that can't be easily imitated, or generates insights that can be quickly incorporated. Those characteristics do give firms an advantage. And when learning from one customer rapidly improves an offering for others (think Google Maps), people will care about how many other people are adopting it, and it will enjoy those sought-after network effects.

Large established organizations need to innovate as much as small entrepreneurial firms. The problem is, it takes real creativity to build something new out of something old. Harvard Professor and innovation expert Gary Pisano introduces the concept of 'creative construction', which entails redesigning an enterprise in a fundamental way while still operating the core business. He defines four types of innovation that large enterprises should embrace, and argues that all four types likely have a place in every organization's innovation portfolio.

Data science may well prove to be the most rewarding and exciting profession of the 21st century. That's because advances in computer processing speeds and reductions in data storage costs are enabling us to reach conclusions from large data sets in ways that were simply not possible 20 or 30 years ago. However, the author shows that this seismic shift in business comes with several key issues for society: data privacy, biased algorithms, ethics and transparency. In the end, he says, a continuing challenge for the human race will be to address these issues and figure out how to partner with machines in ways that benefit rather than harm humankind.

Since 2006, China has been in fast-forward mode as government ministries have rolled out ambitious plans to make the country an innovative society, with a growing emphasis on science and technology and the declared aim to become a world leader in advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI). Can China meet its lofty goals? In this article, the author summarizes some of the advantages China enjoys over other countries -as well as the challenges it faces in making its vision a reality.

Disruption is no longer a once-in-a-career problem to be dealt with. It's a constant cycle. Technology is increasingly creating the tools your competitors - incumbents and entrepreneurs alike - are using to build new digital products and services that target and release latent demand and serve unmet needs. The authors, senior leaders at Accenture, call that potential revenue 'trapped value' - and they argue that if you don't get to it before others, you may find not just your future growth disrupted, but your current business as well.