Chapter 14 Discussion

Select a brand like Applegate Deli Meats or a service like Nationwide Insurance.  Note which brand you chose.  Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of expanding the selected brand to a more global presence.  Be thorough, and please use a different company than you have previously used in discussions and cases.  

Chapter 13 Discussion

Instructions 

Think of some transformational new businesses (at least 2 businesses) such as Starbucks, Blue Apron, or Amazon (please note that these are only examples–you may choose these or other businesses that you see as transformational).  Please use different businesses from those used for other discussion questions and cases. Answer the following questions for each business you select:

1. How was each business different from what came before?  What was similar to what came before?  Scale them in terms of “newness” from truly transformational (5) to substantial (1).  Explain your rationale.

2. Was there an innovator advantage?  Explain your answer.  If there was an innovator advantage, how long did it last?  

3. Where did the idea for the business come from?  If you can’t find this information, speculate.  

Chapter 16 Discussion

Instructions 

Subscription-based delivery companies, such as Blue Apron and Birchbox, are growing rapidly.  However, competition in the area has been growing tremendously as well!  Select one specific subscription-based delivery company (either one of the two named or another). 

Based on the ideas from this chapter, how should they respond to these competitive threats?  Are they currently responding in ways that match the chapter’s content?  Explain. 

What could they do differently to better align with the chapter’s content?