Latest cases

August 2020

Jean-Philippe Courtois at Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations: Empowering Digital Success (Spanish language)

By Herminia Ibarra

When Jean-Philippe Courtois took control of Microsoft’s global sales, marketing and operations in 2016, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella, he realised that he needed to lead the organisation away from an "inspection culture" towards a culture of learning and coaching. After a first phase of ...

July 2020

Haier’s (2019) ecosystem revolution: From Rendanheyi 2.0 to Rendanheyi 3.0

By Michael Jacobides, Lisa Duke

2019 was an important year for Haier. Its new version of its radically decentralised structure, dubbed Rendanheyi 2.0, based on many independent ‘Ecosystem Micro-enterprise Communities’ (EMCs) had been devised to help it respond to the shifting ways of adding value in the digital, internet-based...

July 2020

Haier’s Rendanheyi 2.0: An ecosystem revolution

By Michael Jacobides, Lisa Duke

Haier in 1984 was a small, local firm on the verge of collapse, with poor-quality products and low morale. Within 30 years, it was transformed by Zhang Ruimin, who took over as CEO, into one of the worlds’ leading white-goods manufacturers, with a reputation for quality and innovation and an incre...

July 2020

Haier in 2014: An entrepreneurial juggernaut facing a world of platforms and ecosystems

By Michael Jacobides, Lisa Duke

Until the 2010s, China had been known for inexpensive products and efficient, low-cost production and for copycat or OEM products rather than for leading-edge innovation. Yet, in a few short years, Chinese firms turned to quality and innovation, drastically increasing their market share. A shining e...

June 2020

Enel S.p.A.: A Traditional Utility Embraces the Digital Revolution

By Julian Birkinshaw, Ken Mark

The case study describes the digital transformation of Enel under the leadership of Francesco Starace from 2014 to 2019. Enel is one of Europe’s largest utilities, providing electricity to 71 million customers across Europe and South America. It is also an impressive success story. At the time the...