Publication records

This three-part case-study illustrates key concepts and lessons about leading adaptive change in organizations in the context of turning around Deutsche Telekom, one of the world's largest telecommunication companies. The case portrays some of the efforts undertaken by Deutsche Telekom under the leadership of René Obermann after his ascent to the CEO position in that organization. The case illustrates the challenges associated with resistance to adaptive change, management of expectations of organizational members from their leaders, and the psychological challenges of leading necessary, but unpopular, change efforts under the conditions of pressure from organizational stakeholders, who consciously or unconsciously attempt to divert the change-oriented leader from pushing the organization forward. The case serves as fruitful ground for exploration of the theory of adaptive change as put forward by Heifetz & Linsky (2002), Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky (2009a, 2009b), discussion of the dangers of leading (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002), and psychological challenges of leading (Kets de Vries, Korotov, & Florent-Treacy, 2007).

Voith Paper, one of the two big international suppliers of premium, technically complex machines for paper production, has to improve its profitability. This also affects Mr. Kohl, senior sales executive of the product division with the highest turnover. He, however, does not want to save the additional millions through cost or personnel reduction. Instead, he plans to sell the consulting services of his sales engineers and thus meet the financial target.

During the last two weeks of December 2005, the four founding partners of the Rare Find, based in Cape Town, South Africa, were all on the road following up business ideas. Nearly all of these ideas had resulted from a well-placed magazine article in one of the South Africa's leading real estate publications several months earlier.

The Christmas break had provided some badly needed time for the four partners to check some of their initial assumptions and conclusions about how to realize the Lifestyle Portfolio opportunity. While still committed to the basic directions set earlier, they had nevertheless agreed to check the financial implications of some key alternatives.

In early January 2006, the four partners knew that if any changes were made in the approach they had been taking in the months before Christmas (see The Rare Find A), they would also have to make some changes in the December draft of their marketing brochure.

The conversations the four partners had in early January about the Lifestyle Portfolio Project had highlighted the essence of the trade-offs between potential benefits and rewards to fractional owners, financial investors, if there were to be any, and themselves.

This case study provides a discussion of how Virgin Mobile, an innovative virtual mobile network operator, has developed a unique position in the UK market through unique positioning and strong business system fit. The first section of the case discussion focuses on the rather innovative Virgin Mobile's business model and strategy and the firm's underlying business activities that provided a uniquely differentiated positioning in the UK mobile telecommunications sector up until mid 2005. The second section explores how Virgin Mobile was able to achieve sustainable competitive advantage over the period from 1999 to 2005, but then turns to an analysis of how the firm's competitive advantage has been eroded by changes in regulation and a shift in the competitive environment.

This is a two part case study that explores Celtel Nigeria's innovative approach to serving the rural poor. The A Case provides an overview of the mobile telecommunications market in Nigeria as of mid 2007, as well as detailed demographic and socioeconomic information. At the time of the case Celtel Nigeria is the second largest mobile telecommunications company in the Nigerian market with a 28% market share and subscriber base of approximately 8 million. The company has experienced considerable success in serving Nigeria's cities and larger towns, but has only recently shifted its attention to serving poorer consumers in rural areas - a massive but as of yet under tapped market. But this shift from urban to rural has not been easy, and although some 50% of Nigeria's population lives in rural regions the challenges of reaching them sometimes seem overwhelming. The absence of a reliable national electricity grid means that the company's rural telecommunications towers have to be run on diesel generators, resulting in high maintenance and diesel fuel costs. Theft and vandalism of expensive communications equipment and generators has emerged as a major concern, resulting in the need to employ full-time security guards on virtually every base station site outside of urban areas. The distribution and marketing of products and services is also a challenge, with existing distributor networks well established in urban areas, but virtually absent from the countryside. On top of all this, while there is real demand for telecommunications services most consumers in rural areas still see mobile telephony as an expensive necessity, with affordability remaining a very real issue for many communities. At the end of the A Case Celtel Nigeria's Chief Operating Officer Lars Stork is pondering the challenges of bringing the benefits of mobile telecommunications to Nigeria's rural poor, setting the scene for analysis by students in suggesting potential route to market approaches for the company. The B Case demonstrates how Celtel has been able to implement a highly innovative marketing strategy to serve low-income rural customers. At the heart of this marketing approach is what is called the Rural Acquisition Initiative (RAI), a micro-franchising model involving partnerships with local entrepreneurs. It is recommended that both Case A and B are distributed to students, but the case can also be taught if only the A Case is distributed. In the latter situation, instructors will still need to review the B case to be able to explain the business model behind the rural acquisition model. There is also PowerPoint pack and video CD-Rom to complement the case study, and both are highly recommended to enhance the classroom experience. Both can be ordered via the ECCH Collis website.

This is the second of a two-case series (ESMT-309-0096-1 and ESMT-309-0097-1 ). The cases explore Celtel Nigeria's innovative approach to serving the rural poor. The (A) case provides an overview of the mobile telecommunications market in Nigeria as of mid 2007, as well as detailed demographic and socioeconomic information. At the time of the case Celtel Nigeria is the second largest mobile telecommunications company in the Nigerian market with a 28% market share and a subscriber base of approximately 8 million. The company has experienced considerable success in serving Nigeria's cities and larger towns, but has only recently shifted its attention to serving poorer consumers in rural areas - a massive but as of yet untapped market. But this shift from urban to rural has not been easy, and although some 50% of Nigeria's population live in rural regions the challenges of reaching them sometimes seem overwhelming. The absence of a reliable national electricity grid means that the company's rural telecommunication towers have to be run on diesel generators, resulting in high maintenance and diesel fuel costs. Theft and vandalism of expensive communications equipment and generators has emerged as a major concern, resulting in the need to employ full-time security guards on virtually every base station site outside of urban areas. The distribution and marketing of products and services is also a challenge, with existing distributor networks well established in urban areas, but virtually absent from the countryside. On top of all this, while there is a real demand for telecommunications services most consumers in rural areas still see mobile telephony as an expensive necessity, with affordability remaining a very real issue for many communities. At the end of the (A) case Celtel Nigeria's Chief Operating Officer Lars Stork is pondering the challenges of bringing the benefits of mobile telecommunications to Nigeria's rural poor, setting the scene for analysis by students in suggesting potential route to market approaches for the company. The (B) case demonstrates how Celtel has been able to implement a highly innovative marketing strategy to serve low-income rural customers. At the heart of this marketing approach is what is called the Rural Acquisition Initiative (RAI), a micro-franchising model involving partnerships with local entrepreneurs. It is recommended that both case (A) and (B) are distributed to students, but the case can also be taught if only the (A) case is distributed. In the latter situation, instructors will still need to review the (B) case to be able to explain the business model behind the rural acquisition model.

The case aims to leverage the telecommunications industry as an earlier analogue for the development of infrastructural industries (e.g. utilities, railways, aviation) in times after liberalization. It describes the years of Deutsche Telekom CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke. By doing so, it provides students with the opportunity to analyze the need to adjust the company model to a changing competitive environment and the role of leadership in times of transition.