Woolworths South Africa

David B. Yoffie; Anthony  St. George

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Case | HBS Case Collection | October 1997 (Revised June 1998)

Woolworths South Africa

by David B. Yoffie and Anthony St. George

Abstract

Woolworths South Africa is one of the most successful retail chains in the country, modeled on Marks and Spencer of the United Kingdom. This case focuses on the sources of Woolworth's competitive advantage within South Africa and the challenges of growth in the wake of saturation among South African whites and new limits by Marks and Spencer on Woolworths' growth outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth Management; Global Strategy; Industry Structures; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Retail Industry; South Africa;

Format: Print

21 pages

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Citation:

Yoffie, David B., and Anthony St. George. "Woolworths South Africa." Harvard Business School Case 798-026, October 1997. (Revised June 1998.)

About the Author

David B. Yoffie

Max and Doris Starr Professor of International Business Administration

Strategy

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Supplement | HBS Case Collection | May 2017 (Revised May 2019)

Intuit: QuickBooks (B)

David Yoffie and Nicole Tempest Keller

This short case updates the earlier Intuit case on transitioning from a product company into a platform company. In addition to providing information on the recent successes and challenges of the business, it also explores a new challenge of building a platform with a branded third-party solution or a “white label” solution, which would hide the third-party brand.

Keywords: strategy; platform; strategic transition; Strategy; Market Platforms; Transition;

Citation:
Yoffie, David, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "Intuit: QuickBooks (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 717-513, May 2017. (Revised May 2019.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2019

Mobileye Update, 2019

David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

Mobileye was an Israeli company, officially headquartered in The Netherlands, which was a Tier 2 supplier to the global automobile industry. This short case updates Mobileye's business performance and strategy, following the acquisition by Intel in 2017.

Keywords: strategy; driverless car; technology; Competitive Advantage; Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Technology; Auto Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Technology Industry; Israel;

Citation:
Yoffie, David B., and Daniel Fisher. "Mobileye Update, 2019." Harvard Business School Case 719-511, May 2019. View Details

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Book | 2019

The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

The Business of Platforms explores the strategic, economic, and technology management challenges of digital platform businesses. We have five major themes in the book: 1) The world’s most valuable companies are all platforms, in part because platforms have network effects, with the potential for a winner-take-all or winner-take-most outcome. 2) Platforms come in 3 flavors: innovation platforms, transaction platforms, and hybrid platforms. We suggest that the world is moving towards more and more hybrids, and we identify the key steps in building a successful platform. 3) Failure is more likely than winner-take-all: mispricing, mistrust, mistiming, and hubris lead to hundreds of failures. 4) Old “dogs” can learn new tricks: conventional companies can adapt to a platform world with a buy, build, or belong strategy. And 5) Platforms are a double-edge sword: abuse of power, bullying poor labor practices, and bad actors can undermine even the most successful platforms. The book concludes with an exploration of platform battles of the future, including voice wars (Alexa vs. Hey Google vs. Siri), ridesharing and autonomous car platforms, quantum computing, and CRISPR.

Keywords: strategy; technology; platform; Online Technology; Management; Competitive Strategy;

Citation:
Cusumano, Michael A., Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie. The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power. HarperBusiness, 2019. View Details

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Woolworths South Africa

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