More from the Author

• Background Note | HBS Case Collection | February 2020 (Revised June 2020)

  China Commerce 2020

  William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and Nathaniel Schwalb

  China's digital commerce platforms engage billions of consumers daily across a number of routine tasks from banking, retail purchases, travel, gaming, payments, and more. These platforms are the most sophisticated/informed and highest performing/capable in the world. While often business leaders refer to Amazon as a leader in digital exchange, this case highlights the vital areas where the Chinese platforms lead. Of special note is the merging of the retailers' on and offline capabilities into a unified consumer experience. Retailers like Walmart China have fundamentally altered their business model and federated with these Chinese platforms to build a better consumer experience, sell more, and manage costs and investment. While not all of these practices are globalizing, the non-China platforms are copying them fast to reach the new global standards. Leaders need to be informed and respond.

  Keywords: e-commerce; platforms; Strategy; Leadership; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; China;

  Citation:

  Kerr, William R., Daniel O'Connor, and Nathaniel Schwalb. "China Commerce 2020." Harvard Business School Background Note 820-014, February 2020. (Revised June 2020.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2020

  Agile Consumer Product Innovation with Alibaba's Tmall Innovation Center

  William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and James Palano

  Keywords: future of work; retail; ecommerce; Alibaba; consumer products; innovation; Innovation and Invention; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; China;

  Citation:

  Kerr, William R., Daniel O'Connor, and James Palano. "Agile Consumer Product Innovation with Alibaba's Tmall Innovation Center." Harvard Business School Case 820-087, June 2020.  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related

• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | June 2020

  Catalant's Operating System for the Future of Work

  Christopher Stanton, William R. Kerr, James Palano and Kendall Smith

  This case touches on the topics of project-based work, agile methodology, and skill and talent management through Catalant's evolution as a company. Catalant’s journey to becoming a software platform and talent marketplace provides context for students to explore new models of work and ways companies are mobilizing talent internal and external to their organization. This case urges students to contemplate how these considerations might shape the critical decisions business leaders will need to make about how to manage their organizations and use their resources to capitalize on their own vision for the future. This case also provides valuable lessons for technology entrepreneurship, introduces students to important gig economy concepts, and asks students to consider the unique challenges facing companies like Catalant that are selling a gig platform as part of their product or service.

  Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Transformation; Business Startups;

  Citation:

  Stanton, Christopher, William R. Kerr, James Palano, and Kendall Smith. "Catalant's Operating System for the Future of Work." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 820-105, June 2020.  View Details

  CiteView Details

  Related