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V. Brian Viard
Assistant Professor of Strategy and Economics
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
99Bill (A), with Arar Han, 2011.
An early-stage venture capitalist faces critical stratetic decisions after investing in 99Bill, China's largest independent third-party payment systems provider. In conjunction with 99Bill's senior mangement he must decide whether to grow the company organically or align themselves with an established e-commerce company and whether to focus on building market share or revenue. The decisions depend in part on how China's e-commerce market develops relative to that in the U.S.
99Bill (B), with Arar Han, 2011.
Describes the strategic decisions made by 99Bill's investors and managers in the early growth of the company. 99Bill management is now confronted with how to respond to increased competition from China's large, state-controlled payments company.
Baidu: Searching for Truth?, with Arthur Chengchun Qi, 2010.
Baidu, China's largest search engine firm, must respond to a damaging report by state-run television alleging that Baidu allowed producers of fake medical products to bid on keywords presented in its search results. Illustrates the strategic challenges in developing a new information-based market in which customers have not yet formed clear perceptions of firms' quality levels.
Baidu: Searching for Truth (B)?, with Arthur Chengchun Qi, 2010.
Describes the short-term response by Baidu in the aftermath of the CCTV report and describes the state-run television's shift in focus to Google, Baidu's main competitor.
Baidu: Searching for Truth (C)?, with Arthur Chengchun Qi, 2010.
Describes the longer-term steps taken by Baidu to respond to the CCTV report.
Gushan and the Biodiesel Market (A): Is the Engine Running out of Gas?, with Yunfei Feng, 2010.
Discusses the economic viability of Gushan's biodiesel business which primarily uses used cooking oil as an input. Illustrates the unique economics of renewable energy businesses and the potential transferrability of Gushan's business model to new markets inside and outside of China.
Gushan and the Biodiesel Market (B): A Major Roadblock, with Yunfei Feng, 2010.
Presents possible responses by Gushan to changes in the taxation of biodiesel which significantly degrades the economics of its business.
Third-Party Payment Systems in China, with Arar Han, 2010.
Describes the different channels for third-party payment systems in China facilitating an analysis of how the industry will develop in the future and how it compares to those in developed countries.
The Instant Messaging Battle: New Enemies and Widening Conflict, 2010.
Follow-on case to "The Long Battle for an Instant Messaging Standard" (below). IIIustrates the strategic issues in forming alliances in the midst of a complex standards war with multiple standards and new technologies.
Blizzard v. bnetd.org: Managing Intellectual Property, with Pamela Yatsko, 2007.
Illustrates legal and non-legal alternatives for managing intellectual property of digital goods. Game maker Blizzard filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the developers of the bnetd project, a volunteer effort to address frustrations with playing Blizzard’s games on its online gaming service.
ezboard: Making Customers Pay, with Pamela Yatsko, 2005.
Illustrates the challenges of pricing a digital product to avoid the “death spiral” of declining prices that these products usually exhibit. The CEO of ezboard is preparing to issue a new release of their bulletin board product and must determine its pricing structure.
The Long Battle for an Instant Messaging Standard, with Steven Fan, 2005.
Poses the strategic choices in fighting a standards war. Instant messaging firms have employed a variety of tactics to push their individual standards, allowing students to evaluate their strategic effectiveness.
Netflix: Opening or Closing Credits in Online Movie Distribution?, with Jessica Phillips Patrick, 2004.
Illustrates the management of industry transitions driven by technology. Netflix takes advantage of an earlier transition (from the VCR to the DVD) and must determine how to respond to the oncoming transition to video-on-demand.
Tata Consultancy Services: Globalization of Software Services, with Sanjeev Dheer and John Roberts, 1995.
EDS Information Technology Outsourcing, with Sanjeev Dheer and Garth Saloner, 1993.
Video of me discussing use of cases: click here (will take few seconds to start).