Edward Jones: Implementing the Solutions Approach

David  Collis; Ashley  Hartman

Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2018

Edward Jones: Implementing the Solutions Approach

by David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Abstract

In 2017 Edward Jones, the largest brokerage firm in the U.S., is deciding whether and how to implement a new "solutions" business model to replace its traditional "product" or "transactional" approach. Many of the required changes appeared to violate some of the tradeoffs that had made the previous approach successful. Was this the right way forward for Edward Jones? Where did this leave the classic strategy with its reliance on the one financial advisor office as the sole channel of distribution?

Keywords: strategy formulation; strategic change; ＂brokerage industry; ＂solutions approach; strategy implementation; ＂USA,＂; financial services industry; business model innovation; Change; Strategy; Business Model; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States;

Language: English

Format: Print

36 pages

Educators Purchase

Citation:

Collis, David, and Ashley Hartman. "Edward Jones: Implementing the Solutions Approach." Harvard Business School Case 719-411, August 2018.

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers—typically the slightly edgy 18–24 year old. The company had grown since that time into a multi-category retailer, expanding into third-party clothing, accessories, and its own private label. Its explosive growth was one of the biggest stories in e-commerce, especially when the retailer attracted $50 million in investment from Index Ventures, a top VC firm that funded other successful retailers such as Net-a-Porter and Etsy, in 2013. Yet, with a cash infusion, plans for a brick and mortar store, an ever-growing e-commerce site, and fierce competition, Amoruso wondered what opportunity to tackle next. Should she concentrate on product line expansion into lingerie, swimwear, cosmetics, and fragrances? How would a brick and mortar store impact the focus of the company or its ability to develop customized web sites for overseas markets? How would she maintain the detail and attention she had put into so many aspects of the company as Nasty Gal grew? As Amoruso's time was limited and management resources were already spread thin to sustain the existing site's growth, what was the best way forward?

The case discusses the digitalization strategy of Siemens AG, a German-based company operating in manufacturing and electronics. The increasing impact of digital technologies on all of its business units had prompted CEO Joe Kaeser and his team to put digitalization at the core of the new corporate strategy, alongside electrification and automation. The challenge was to balance this corporate initiative with the many business units within Siemens, which were used to being independent and had very specific offerings for their clients. For its new analytics platform, Siemens had opted for a push and pull approach to involve business units in its creation, rather than conceptualizing the platform centrally and imposing it on the business units afterwards. The jury was still out on whether this approach would drive digitalization within Siemens fast enough, given the exponential developments in data generation and analytics.

Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2016 (Revised August 2018)

JPMorgan Chase after the Financial Crisis: What Is the Optimal Scope of the Largest Bank in the U.S.?

David Collis and Ashley Hartman

When Jamie Dimon took over as CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan Chase) in 2005, he reaffirmed the commitment to pursue a "universal bank" strategy—providing a full range of products and services to both retail and wholesale clients. Yet the merits of the universal bank had long been disputed. After 2008, the financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession damaged many global and domestic financial services firms. While the government bailed out universal banks and monoline financial institutions alike, both governments and the public clamored for action against banks they deemed "too big to fail." Regulators around the world stepped in to increase capital requirements while the U.S. government passed the Dodd-Frank bill, which improved transparency and accountability, and, with the Volcker Rule, limited banks' ability to pursue proprietary trading. In response, many financial institutions reduced their scope and reshaped their portfolios.
In this context, JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S. by assets since 2011, which had successfully weathered the financial crisis in part due to the benefits of diversification, emerged with a "fortress balance sheet" and an improved position in the banking league tables. Nevertheless, the bank faced pressure from many directions, including large civil fines to settle, analysts' arguments about its "conglomerate discount," and regulation that penalized size, interconnectedness, and complexity. Despite the pressure, Jamie Dimon remained vocal in advocating for the value of a broad scope, large scale financial services firm. However, questions remained about the optimal scope of the bank and how JPMorgan Chase could best allocate resources across its diverse lines of business in the face of new regulations designed to limit size and complexity.

Keywords: corporate strategy; scope; financial crisis; banking industry; financial services industry; Regulatory Reforms; Universal Banking; Synergy; optimization; Simplification; diversification; Finance; Strategy; Business Strategy; Financial Crisis; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry;