Publications
Publications
- December 1998 (Revised January 2001)
- HBS Case Collection
Acer, Inc.: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Anthony St. George
Abstract
Describes the strategic, organizational, and management changes that led Acer from its 1976 startup to become the world's second-largest computer manufacturer. Outlines the birth of the company, the painful "professionalization" of its management, the plunge into losses, and the transformation under founder Stan Shih's radical "fast food" business concept and his "client server" organization model, which are put to the test when a young product manager in Acer America develops a radically new multimedia home PC with global potential. Shih must decide whether to give an inexperienced manager in a loss-generating subsidiary the green light.
Keywords
Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Global Strategy; Transformation; Computer Industry; Taiwan
Citation
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Anthony St. George. "Acer, Inc.: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon." Harvard Business School Case 399-010, December 1998. (Revised January 2001.)