HBSP (USA)
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Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent: The Three Kingdoms of the Chinese Internet
Zhu, Feng; Smith, AaronCase HBS-615039-EService and Operations ManagementThis note provides an overview of the Chinese Internet by describing its leading three companies: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT). While BAT had previously focused their respective businesses on distinct sectors of the online economy-Baidu for search, Alibaba for e-commerce, and Tencent for games and instant messaging-the proliferation of mobile devices in China introduced new territory to be conquered. By the end of 2014, BAT had each made a s...Starting at €8.20
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SF Express: From Delivery to E-Commerce
Zhu, Feng; Lane, DavidCase HBS-616003-EService and Operations ManagementShunfeng Express (SF), China's leading express delivery firm, in May 2014 opened the first 500 of several thousand Heike stores, which allowed consumers to buy and try out SF's own e-commerce offerings, in addition to other services. As an example of China's "online-to-offline" trend in e-commerce, Heike stores allowed SF to leverage its logistics and IT expertise to differentiate itself from its rivals in express delivery. As yet unclear was whe...Starting at €8.20
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ZBJ: Building a Global Outsourcing Platform for Knowledge Workers (B)
Zhu, Feng; Chen, Weiru; Sun, ShirleyCase HBS-618046-EInformation TechnologiesZBJ.com (ZBJ), an online platform that connects knowledge workers to small and medium-sized enterprises, is China's largest outsourcing platform. Founded by Mingyue Zhu in 2006, ZBJ had grown into a unicorn with 4,000 employees and a daily transaction volume of RMB15 million by 2017. During the company's 11-year history, ZBJ had launched ten transformation campaigns to overcome various challenges by changing its products, operations, and business...Starting at €5.74
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Pinduoduo
Zhu, Feng; Palepu, Krishna G.; Yining Cao, Bonnie; Lau, DawnCase HBS-620040-EService and Operations ManagementFounded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur, Colin Huang, Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) had become China's fastest-growing e-commerce platform in history. PDD pioneered a new approach to online shopping that allowed shoppers to share products, invite friends to form shopping teams, and purchase together at discounted prices. The company's rapid development helped it debut on the Nasdaq in July 2018, only three years after its inception. The fast growth was par...Starting at €8.20
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Ant Group (D)
Zhu, Feng; Palepu, Krishna G.; Herman, Kerry; Ma, Susie L.Case HBS-621089-EStrategyThe (D) case updates the case series from the time of Ant's planned IPO, and the Chinese government's regulatory shifts.Starting at €5.74
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TSG Hoffenheim: Football in the Age of Analytics
Zhu, Feng; Lakhani, Karim R.; Schmidt, Sascha L.; Herman, KerryCase HBS-616010-EService and Operations ManagementIn 2015, Dietmar Hopp, owner of Germany's Bundesliga football team TSG Hoffenheim and co-founder of the global enterprise software company SAP, was considering how to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness for TSG Hoffenheim. While historically a small team from bottom rungs of the league, TSG Hoffenheim, with revenues of 60 million to 70 million, reached the top division of the Bundesliga in the 2008-2009 season thanks to a de...Starting at €8.20
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Fasten: Challenging Uber and Lyft with a New Business Model
Zhu, Feng; Acocella, AngelaCase HBS-616062-EService and Operations ManagementFasten, a new ridesharing start-up in Boston, entered the scene in September 2015 hoping its unique vision of transparency for both driver and passenger and strategy to keep riders' fares low and charge drivers a flat $0.99 fee per ride as opposed to the 20-30% commission charged by its competition, would help differentiate it and gain the necessary traction in an ostensibly concentrated market between Uber and Lyft. Despite both Uber's and Lyft'...Starting at €8.20
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edaixi (eWash): Digital Transformation of Laundry Services (A)
Zhu, Feng; Chen, Weiru; Chen, Chuang; Lin, CiwuCase HBS-617034-EService and Operations ManagementFounded in 2013 as a laundry service featuring online ordering for home pickup and delivery, China's edaixi (eWash) illustrated the online-to-offline (O2O) business model. As yet unclear in 2016 was the optimal way to organize third-party laundry service providers, locally sourced teams of freelancers, and in-house operations.Starting at €8.20
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edaixi (eWash): Digital Transformation of Laundry Services (B)
Zhu, Feng; Chen, Weiru; Chen, Chuang; Lin, CiwuCase HBS-617038-EService and Operations ManagementFounded in 2013 as a laundry service featuring online ordering for home pickup and delivery, China's edaixi (eWash) illustrated the online-to-offline (O2O) business model. As yet unclear in 2016 was the optimal way to organize third-party laundry service providers, locally sourced teams of freelancers, and in-house operations.Starting at €5.74
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X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A)
Zhu, Feng; Acocella, AngelaCase HBS-617046-EService and Operations ManagementThree years after launching his brick-and-mortar store, X Fire Paintball and Airsoft, Steve Herbert Sr. and his sons began selling products on Amazon.com's third-party Marketplace and online sales expanded rapidly. Over time, X Fire noticed that products of which it had once been the only seller were now being sold by Amazon straight from X Fire's suppliers, effectively cutting X Fire out. Amazon was also ignoring the minimum advertised price (MA...Starting at €8.20