Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • May 2012
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Quietly Brilliant: Transformational Change at HTC

By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:31
ShareBar

Abstract

The case examines smartphone maker HTC's 2006 decision to become a branded company. The case focuses on the cultural and organizational shifts HTC underwent to successfully make the transition from an ODM, founded in 1997, to a leading branded manufacturer (7% market share of smartphones in 2010), with the adoption of the tagline: "Quietly Brilliant." Significant challenges considered in the case include: transitioning HTC from a Taiwanese to a global firm, developing and maintaining a functioning global structure, building a sales and marketing force, and finding the right cultural balance between eastern and western capabilities.

Keywords

Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan

Citation

Tushman, Michael L., and Kerry Herman. "Quietly Brilliant: Transformational Change at HTC." Harvard Business School Case 412-070, May 2012.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Michael L. Tushman

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • December 2022
    • Faculty Research

    TSG Hoffenheim; Step by Step Analysis in Excel

    By: Feng Zhu, Karim R. Lakhani, Kerry Herman and Sascha L. Schmidt
    • November 2022 (Revised January 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Hugging Face: Serving AI on a Platform

    By: Shane Greenstein, Daniel Yue, Kerry Herman and Sarah Gulick
    • October 2022 (Revised December 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress

    By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
More from the Authors
  • TSG Hoffenheim; Step by Step Analysis in Excel By: Feng Zhu, Karim R. Lakhani, Kerry Herman and Sascha L. Schmidt
  • Hugging Face: Serving AI on a Platform By: Shane Greenstein, Daniel Yue, Kerry Herman and Sarah Gulick
  • Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College