The Economist

Felix  Oberholzer-Gee; Bharat N. Anand; Lizzie  Gomez

Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2010 (Revised July 2010)

The Economist

by Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Bharat N. Anand and Lizzie Gomez

Abstract

In 2009 the Economist continued to experience impressive growth and operating margins while many of its peers reeled from both a cyclical downturn and structural threats to print publishing. The case describes the history, organization, and business model of the Economist, and describes three issues confronting Andrew Rashbass, the group's chief executive: first, reevaluating the magazine's digital strategy; second, preparing for e-readers; and, third, positioning the company to exploit what the Economist described as an era of "Mass Intelligence" where more readers sought out sophisticated and challenging information sources.

Keywords: Business Model; Journals and Magazines; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Online Technology; Publishing Industry; United Kingdom;

Format: Print

23 pages

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Citation:

Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, Bharat N. Anand, and Lizzie Gomez. "The Economist." Harvard Business School Case 710-441, March 2010. (Revised July 2010.)

Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2020 (Revised June 2020)

Ping An: Pioneering the New Model of ‘Technology-driven Finance’

Feng Zhu, Anthony K. Woo and Nancy Hua Dai

In mid-December 2018, Peter Ma, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. was considering whether the company should grow a fifth ecosystem of Smart City Services. Established in 1988, Ping An was one of the top 10 global financial institutions in terms of market capitalization with 342, 550 employees and nearly 1.4 million sales agents. Under Ma's leadership, Ping An was transforming from a traditional financial institution to a leading global technology-powered personal financial services group. In recent years it executed a strategy of "Finance+Ecosystem" by leveraging three frontier technologies-AI, blockchain, and cloud technology-to develop four ecosystems: Financial Services, Healthcare, Automobile Services and Real Estate Services. Smart City Services, with its business potential and social impact, had become an attractive new opportunity for Ping An to leverage its technology expertise and business experience while gaining new traffic for the other four ecosystems. Ma wondered: How important would this new ecosystem be strategically for the future of Ping An? If Ping An decided to go after this market, how should Ping An differentiate itself from competitors?

Keywords: business ecosystems; fintech; Finance; Technology; Business Model; Expansion; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry;

Citation:

Zhu, Feng, Anthony K. Woo, and Nancy Hua Dai. "Ping An: Pioneering the New Model of ‘Technology-driven Finance’." Harvard Business School Case 620-068, April 2020. (Revised June 2020.) View Details

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In March 2015, the U.S. television industry received a major wake-up call. HBO, a premium cable channel with over 30 million subscribers, had announced it would begin offering a standalone streaming service. This new service would allow customers to bypass the cable companies and get direct access to HBO's programming online. The announcement was followed closely by Brian Roberts, chief executive of the Comcast Corporation. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television content and delivering it via cable networks to more than 20 million households. Broadcast and cable television was a $173 billion industry in the U.S., but the rise of on-demand and streaming services meant viewers had more options than ever before. What did developments such as HBO's new service mean for the future of Comcast, and for the industry overall?

The (B) case, set in the summer of 2020, highlights the concern of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, as the streaming war intensifies. In a short period of time several new streaming services, such as Disney+, Apple TV+, Quibi, and HBO Max were launched and cable subscription declined significantly. This not only poses a challenge to Comcast but many streaming services are also likely to fail as consumers have more choices.

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The Economist

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