Abstract

This case was prepared by Associate Professor Terence Tsai of China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China, and Assistant Professor Shubo Liu of the Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China, as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either an effective or ineffective handling of an administrative or business situation. This case is about how United Asia Live Entertainment Co. Ltd. (United Asia), a real Chinese production and marketing company and a commercial arm of the Ministry of Culture, localized a popular global product, Mamma Mia!, to compete with other international and local firms during the period when the Government was pushing the reform of the cultural industry. Mamma Mia! is the first-ever Western musical without roots in the Chinese culture, being presented in Chinese (Mandarin) by an entire Chinese cast in China. United Asia staged the translated version with the creative team of the original musical. This case describes how United Asia faced and overcame many obstacles, including talent shortage, uncertain customer expectations and immature industrial clusters while it was preparing for the first show. The production turned out to be a big success. Although United Asia planned to launch more Western musicals in Chinese, the company aspired to go beyond introducing only copyrighted musicals and to create original musicals. This case leads to the reflection and discussion on what the company, as a groundbreaker in China’s new musical industry, should do next and how to sustain its competitive advantages.

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此案例描述了凡客诚品公司从2007年建立到现在发展过程中所遇到的挑战。作为国内近几年崛起的一家具有代表性的服装产业电商企业，凡客在其创始人陈年的领导下经历了早期的辉煌——销售业绩连年翻倍，并且吸引了投资人充足的资本支持，并且通过一连串具有创意的互联网广告内容和模式把凡客这一品牌做到家喻户晓，体现了“平民的时尚”，对整个服装产业都带来了不小的冲击。然而凡客的一鸣惊人、火爆传播和急速扩张所带来的是难以持久的虚假繁荣。

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电商 ;  凡客 ;  多元化 ;  平台 ;  服装 ;  广告

Abstract

此案例描述了凡客诚品公司从2007年建立到现在发展过程中所遇到的挑战。作为国内近几年崛起的一家具有代表性的服装产业电商企业，凡客在其创始人陈年的领导下经历了早期的辉煌——销售业绩连年翻倍，并且吸引了投资人充足的资本支持，并且通过一连串具有创意的互联网广告内容和模式把凡客这一品牌做到家喻户晓，体现了“平民的时尚”，对整个服装产业都带来了不小的冲击。然而凡客的一鸣惊人、火爆传播和急速扩张所带来的是难以持久的虚假繁荣。

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电商 ;  凡客 ;  多元化 ;  平台 ;  服装 ;  广告

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Indigenous emerging economy (EE) firms are increasingly competing in global markets or against multinational corporations (MNCs) in their home markets. But their institutional context at the national and local levels often suffers from what has been termed “institutional weakness” which is believed to put them at a competitive disadvantage on the global playing field. Yet little is known about how EE institutional weakness at the national level translates into competitive disadvantage at the firm level. In this perspectives paper, we examine this shortcoming in the literature. We utilize three popular theories of the firm—neoclassical economics, the resource-based view, and the nexus of contracts view—to examine how EE institutional weakness at the national level affects strategic choices at the firm level. We then explain how these strategic choices affect firm boundaries, internal organization, and the nature of competitive advantage for firms in EEs.

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Emerging economies ;  Institutions ;  Strategic choices ;  Theory of the firm

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This case was prepared by Associate Professor Terence Tsai of China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China, Shaohua Lu of Ohio State University, USA, Dr. Gary Liu and Shubo Liu of China Europe International Business School, as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative or business situation. The case study is supported by research grants of China Europe International Business School.

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The direct sales cosmetics company Mary Kay Inc. has earned its place in a man’s world by blazing a new path for women. Since opening its first factory in China in 1995, Mary Kay China has sought to introduce the values of the company’s founder in a market and culture far removed from Mary Kay Ash’s native Texas. Although the company’s direct selling model was banned by the Chinese government in 1998 and was held in suspicion by many Chinese consumers, Mary Kay China — by holding fast to its values as well as to its direct selling model — managed to establish a solid reputation and gain a significant share of the Chinese cosmetics market. Mary Kay China has also provided opportunities for thousands of women to have their own careers and has helped to redefine notions of feminine beauty among Chinese women. To accommodate ever-changing customer demands and combat fierce competition in the growing cosmetics sector, Mary Kay China must maintain its corporate philosophy within the flexible structure of direct selling. As a company that aims to “enrich women’s lives”, Mary Kay has a demanding mandate. Its values must somehow be internalized by hundreds of thousands of independent distributors/sellers with very different backgrounds. But outside the big cities, traditional Chinese culture conflicts with Mary Kay’s understanding of the role of women. Expanding into China’s second- and third-tier cities and more remote regions poses great challenges.

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China Market ;  Direct Selling ;  Corporate culture ;  Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ;  Business Model ;  Corporate Expansion

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Sinyi entered the mainland Chinese market in the early 1990s. Over twenty years of construction, Sinyi expanded its operations to places such as Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Suzhou and Zhejiang. By establishing a special bi-business model in China — a direct business model for Sinyi Rehouse and a franchise operation model for Coldwell Banker — Sinyi aimed to offer the best real estate agency service to customers in mainland China. Sinyi’s “Confucianism-based” and “people-centered” culture was deemed as a key to its success in the Chinese market. However, in 2008, as the market of mainland China kept expanding and competition intensified, Sinyi’s corporate philosophy and business model were challenged. Mr. Chun-chi Chou and his management team considered the following questions: Although they looked similar, the mainland China market differed from the Taiwan market. Under these circumstances, should Sinyi adhere to its previous corporate philosophy of righteousness and trustworthiness? Would Sinyi need to change its business model in order to counter its competitors’ aggressive moves? What necessary measures must Sinyi take in the ever-changing market? This case study introduces the corporate culture, development strategy and challenges of Sinyi in China, encouraging reflection and discussion of globalization strategy and emerging market strategy.

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Globalization ;  Business Model ;  Corperate Culture ;  Business ethics ;  Confucianism

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Following the launch of the National Health Insurance (NHI) program in 1995, universal coverage was achieved in Taiwan. In the period immediately following the introduction of the program, private hospitals did well and many opportunists entered Taiwan's rapidly expanding, prosperous healthcare market. However, the boom did not last long, ending with Bureau of NHI's hospital global budget system in 2002. The new NHI policies, stricter regulations, and higher public expectations of healthcare services intensified competition in the healthcare market and many private hospitals were forced to close. The Taiwan Landseed Medical Alliance (TLMA) was formed in 1993 by eight hospitals. It was the first successful hospital alliance in Taiwan. Although most of the alliance members were private district hospitals, through collaboration and integrated networks TLMA offered a unique model that combined the strength of each of these small-scale hospitals. The alliance thus enhanced the ability of its members to survive despite fierce competition, and increased their capacity to provide first-rate health care. By fully implementing the operations and development strategies inherent in a collaborative hospital group, TLMA members worked through difficulties together and are already on course to meet many other alliance goals including the upgrading of hospital management practices and service quality, improvement of the medical environment, and promotion of good hospital practice. The case aims to evoke discussion on the important role of alliances in competitive markets and ways to form strategic alliances. Supportive actions and alliance structures should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Asian Case Research Journal is the property of World Scientific Publishing Company and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.

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This case was prepared by Associate Professor Terence Tsai and Shubo Philip Liu of the China Europe International Business School as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative or business situation.

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decision making ;  Disneyland ;  government ;  Hong Kong ;  sustainable development ;  theme park

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This case was prepared by Prof. Terence Tsai of China Europe International Business School, Prof. Michael N. Young of Hong Kong Baptist University, Prof. Bor-shiuan Cheng of National Taiwan University, and Mr. Shubo Phillip Liu of China Europe International Business School as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative or business situation. The authors acknowledge the financial support of a research grant from the Research Committee of China Europe International Business School.

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