Learning from another SBU: strategizing growth at SEE-Tech
07 Nov 2018-Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies (Emerald Publishing Limited)-Vol. 8, Iss: 4, pp 1-30
TL;DR: The case experiences decision-making on template versus principle route to replication giving the participants enough exposure and thinking on the subject as mentioned in this paper, which led to formation of a strategic business unit that grew faster and also became role model.
Abstract: Supplementary materials
Teaching Note includes case synopsis, assignment/discussion questions, suggested readings, teaching plan, methodology, case analysis, what happened, references and data in exhibits.
Learning outcomes
Appreciating the role of process innovation in enabling growth; Understanding why replication is time consuming and not straight-forward; distinguishing formal and informal dimensions of coordination-mechanisms; Analyzing the differences in replication using template and principles.
Case overview/synopsis
Entrepreneurs desire to grow their businesses. They look for opportunities, in this case, when an opportunity came in year 2006, the entrepreneur successfully en-cashed. This lead to formation of a strategic business unit (SBU) that grew faster and also became role model. However the main SBU, for which the firm is known, continued past legacy. It is only when they found it difficult to grow, they decided to emulate. However, transition was not easy, it took much higher efforts. In the transformation, the older-SBU found that it is only inspiration, direction and fundamental principles that they can take from the newer-SBU. They have to fight their own battle and evolve solutions themselves. The older-SBU finally did succeed in the replication. The case experiences decision-making on template versus principle route to replication giving the participants enough exposure and thinking on the subject.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Complexity academic level
For MBAs and working professional’s training.
Subject Code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the key elements of a theory of replication strategy and discuss key aspects of a replication strategy, namely the broad scope of knowledge transfer and the role of the central organization, and the analytical concepts of template and Arrow core.
Abstract: Replication, a familiar phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "McDonalds approach," entails the creation and operation of a large number of similar outlets that deliver a product or perform a service. Companies pursuing this strategy are now active in over 60 industries. Although replicators are becoming one of the dominant organizational forms of our time, they have been neglected by scholars interested in organizations. As a result of this neglect, replication is typically conceptualized as little more than the exploitation of a simple business formula. Such a view clouds the strategic subtlety of replication by sidestepping the exploration efforts to uncover and develop the best business model as well as the ongoing assessment that precedes large-scale replication of it. Empirical evidence supports an alternative view of replication strategy as a process that involves a regime of exploration in which the business model is created and refined, followed by a phase of exploitation in which the business model is stabilized and leveraged through large-scale replication.In this paper we present the key elements of a theory of replication strategy. We discuss key aspects of a replication strategy, namely the broad scope of knowledge transfer and the role of the central organization, and the analytical concepts of template and Arrow core as a preamble for specifying hypotheses about the conditions under which a replication strategy is more likely to succeed in a competitive setting. Replication strategy provides unusually transparent examples of the process of leveraging knowledge assets; we exploit this in our concluding discussion.
1,222 citations