Tag Archives: Video

Gibberish as a Second Language

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Ever wonder what English sounds like to non-English speakers? This video goes a long way to demonstrate. You may feel like you should know what these people are saying but it just doesn’t sound quite right. This is another in the series of videos that are useful for teaching international business.

Contributed by Russ Coff

A Modular Smartphone?

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There has recently been some buzz about the possibility of making modular smartphones — hopefully to reduce waste as people upgrade modules instead of the whole phone. Now Motorola has joined the movement with Project Ara. This poses many interesting issues for discussion. As suggested in the WSJ, might Google really be interested in destroying profitability in smartphones to grow the market and enhance ad revenue? For that matter, is this technologically feasible? It implies that components are not strongly co-specialized and can be swapped out easily. Even if so, would the compromises to achieve modularity be acceptable? Articles by Melissa Schilling and Etheraj & Levinthal paper adds an interesting theoretical perspective. Lots to talk about in class…

Contributed by Russ Coff

Baby Click Me One More Time

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Market signals can be rather noisy and firms may over react or miss the signal entirely. In a similar way, the resource based view draws on causal ambiguity as an isolating mechanism — firms may misread noisy observations and imitate the wrong thing. This clip illustrates that problem as a firm ramps up to meet demand triggered by unusual activity on its web page…

Contributed by Russ Coff

A Different Script Ending…

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The economics of video streaming and DVD rental brought Netflix to conclude that the businesses were better off separated. However, they erred in assuming that the separation would be well accepted by their customers. Below is the explanation of the separation and how it would affect users after the uproar ensued. Ultimately, the customer pressure pushed them to reverse their decision.

…and this brought the following reaction from Conan O’Brien:

Contributed by Jeff Martin

Flush with Cash…

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A recent Wall Street Journal article points to a resurgence of toilet manufacturing in the U.S. but it is mostly under foreign ownership (like the Japanese company, Toto). Mary Tripsas has a nice HBS case on Toto’s attempts at entering the U.S. market and the WSJ article seems a nice conclusion to the story. A broader question one might ask is why product innovation has not penetrated the U.S, market in this industry. In Japan, top end toilets are highly differentiated and even link to electronic devices like Android smartphones. As such, this might spur discussion of when innovations are likely to take hold as well as questions about entry into new markets. Nevertheless, this video reminds us that there may still be a need for low tech solutions in this market…

Contributed by Russ Coff

Do You Speak English?

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Here is another in the series of humorous videos about the hazards of doing business in different countries. Will the people want to help you if they can? See some related videos here.

Contributed by Russ Coff

The Problem with Credible Commitment

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Credible commitment sends a valuable signal but can only be achieved at a substantial cost. Unfortunately, that cost can create challenges for implementing different strategies later. A tattoo might be considered one form of credible commitment…

Contributed by Russ Coff

Capabilities: Matrix Mouse

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This mouse clearly has extraordinary capabilities. These are especially notable after it acquires the VRIN resource (cheese). Which is the critical resource, the cheese or the ability to acquire it at a discount (e.g., still being alive)?

Contributed by Russ Coff

Blue Sheep of the Family?

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This Mercedes Benz commercial poses a critical strategy challenge for firms seeking to differentiate: “How do you try to stand out in a crowd where everyone is trying to be different?”

Contributed by Russ Coff

Get Out of Jail Free

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There are many game theory simulations available online to supplement lectures and cases. If you have limited class time or are teaching a distance course, these simulations can be especially valuable because, unlike video lectures or PowerPoint voice overs, these are quite interactive. Here are some examples:

If you really need a video, this one from Greg Mankiw’s page should work. See also the classic Dilbert Prisoner’s Dilemma video.

Contributed by Russ Coff

Failing Newspapers Affect Crazy Loons

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Ok so here is another funny Onion News Network story of how the death on newspapers affects crazy loons who fill their houses with old newspapers. However, there is a serious issue on how firms ensconced in old technologies respond to strategic challenges. Here is an academic paper by Adner and Snow on the topic. You may also be interested in their HBR article on the topic that may be useful for teaching.

Contributed by Russ Coff

CEO Excels at Destroying Ideas

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In another of our Onion News Network stories, the video below examines how a CEO has a knack for recognizing great ideas and then transforming them into complete failures. The story includes interviews of employees amazed at the skill with which the CEO dismantles exceptional ideas. Funny as it is, it may invite a rich discussion of how CEOs really can destroy good ideas.

Contributed by Russ Coff

Samsung owns the Android ecosystem?

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Google may have its back against the wall and needs the new Moto X phone to be a big success. They are planning to invest $500M just in marketing the new phone (more than Apple or Samsung). This may be motivated by the fact that Samsung is capturing up to 95% of the profits from the Android ecosystem since it owns the “last mile” where consumers lay down cash for devices. Samsung has recently invested further in their Tizen mobile operating system to keep their options open and solidify their bargaining power against Google (a nice 5 forces example of tapered integration). Google’s battle to remain relevant in the Android ecosystem is a nice update to the mini case posted earlier here on Google’s $12.5B acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Also, based on this review, it appears that they may have created some of the vertical integration value. Here is a demo video for the Moto X.

Contributed by Russ Coff

Madonna vs. The Stones?

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A longstanding debate has compared the “static” resource-based view to dynamic capabilities. When does competitive advantage stem from staying the same and when does it demand constant change? This article in the Financial Times explores how the Rolling Stones have maintained their advantage by avoiding change. The article discusses how change may be bad for goods that have emotional appeal. In contrast, Madonna has reinvented herself multiple times. This is most apparent in her reinvention tour (below). The musical legends may help to bring this discussion to life.

Contributed by Aya Chacar

A Cut at Vertical Integration

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Firms have sometimes had a tendency to vertically integrate tasks that can be more efficiently outsourced. This humorous video examines the problem in the context a haircut that ultimately costs twice as much (because they tried to do it themselves).

Contributed by Russ Coff

An Agency Problem at the club…

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When making decisions on behalf of others, managers may not have their objectives aligned. This humorous video points out some of the challenges of trusting a party in this context. It is especially useful in exploring agency theory and corporate governance issues.

Contributed by Russ Coff

Cross Cultural Craziness

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Cultural differences certainly present an important barrier to expansion in new markets. This sequence of 3 commercials get at a few of these differences in a funny way. You can probably show any one of them to spark further discussion on how to manage these problems (mode of entry, routines, etc.).

Contributed by Russ Coff

You’re Gonna Like My Company

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After firing the founder and CEO (George Zimmer), the board has now released the reason: the CEO wanted to sell to a group of private equity investors. Here the board didn’t want to take the company private “for the sake of the employees.” While the CEO was fired, the news has apparently fired up investors who may be interested in buying the company — now it may be in play regardless of what the board wanted.This seems like it might be helpful to drive home the different goals and objectives for different stakeholders, While the board accused Zimmer of being opportunistic, he made the case for his actions in an open letter. This should make for enough drama to dress up your class…This video may lighten the discussion. At the same time, It highlights the company’s biggest strategic challenge: appealing to a younger audience…

Contributed by Russ Coff

New Prius Designed to Kill Owner

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Clearly the problem in green strategies is to reduce consumption. What could do this more effectively than reducing the owners carbon footprint to zero? This ONN story explores the new Prius that has this special feature. A nice introduction to green strategies…

 Contributed by Russ Coff

Keystone Cops in a Detroit Robbery

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Competitive advantage is not visible to all stakeholders at the same time. This is why entrepreneurs can have an advantage in negotiating with stakeholders who come late to the game. The bank robbery below illustrates how even a small advantage in awareness can change the game.

Contributed by Karl Wennberg