Digital Winners and Losers

September 13, 2015

Read The Full Prompt

The basic thesis of our course is that digital technologies are upending many industries and companies. Think about Uber’s impact on the taxi business or Spotify’s impact on music downloads and the record industry.

For this module, we would like you to identify companies/organizations that you think are winning or losing. Just work on either winners or losers. Please focus on just one organization. Tell us why they are a winner or loser. Discuss elements of how they create and/or capture value that is leading you to call them a winner or loser.

Create an approximately 500-750 word post to make your contribution. Please create appropriate tags for your post including if it is a “winner” or “loser” Please also respond to and comment on three other posts per module. Feel free to use graphics, data, videos and links to other sites to corroborate your points.

Selected posts will be discussed in class and also featured on the HBS Digital Initiative website.

Submitted (145)

FreshDirect: A Beloved Loser
Qing
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 4:45 pm
An online grocer's asset heavy and local focused business model come at odds with the rapid scalability often associated with the digital era.
Zillow: Bringing Data and Transparency to the Neighborhood
Fisher
Posted on September 11, 2015 at 8:39 pm
Zillow brings data and transparency to neighborhoods across the U.S.
Vertical Integration Maximizes Creativity and Profit at Audible
The future ex Mrs. Kevin Branch-Elliman-Obara
Posted on September 14, 2015 at 12:36 pm
The near market monopoly enjoyed by Amazon/Audible demonstrates the ability of vertically integrated media companies to maximize value for the customer
Fidor – Digital winner in the banking industry?
SJB
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 8:39 pm
Fidor, a fully digital bank from Germany is trying to revolutionize the way we do banking!
Is Rebecca Minkoff’s smart in-store shopping the future of fashion retail?
Golden
Posted on September 14, 2015 at 11:28 pm
Have you ever been in a fitting room, half naked with the wrong size and no sales associate in sight? Or wished that someone would bring you a cup of water or coffee while you shop? Rebecca Minkoff’s Soho store [...]
Polaroid: Instant Photography King No More
DB
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Polaroid went from being one of the most successful companies in the photography industry to filing for bankruptcy in 2011. How could things go so wrong for such a successful company that was able to ward off competition in the [...]
Resmed Sleeps and Breathes Innovation
Chippydip
Last modified on September 11, 2015 at 11:33 pm
The sleep apnea treatment industry gets a breath of fresh air from Resmed, with their constant innovations and data-driven advances. I wouldn't hold my breath for Phillips or other competitors to catch up anytime soon. Rest assured- Resmed is #winning.
Box Is Winning the Digital Enterprise Match
QC
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Box: winner in the digital enterprise space.
Vox Media: Journalism is commoditized, technology is not
DD1
Posted on September 14, 2015 at 12:58 am
Investment capital has been pouring into Vox Media over the last couple of years, with the company recently raising $200 million from NBC Universal (owned by Comcast) at a post money valuation of approximately $1B. This is orders of magnitude higher than prices paid even for the [...]
Envoy: disrupting the visitor registration sysem
AK
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 11:35 pm
A San Francisco based start-up, Envoy, is transforming how visitors are received and welcomed at an office's reception desk.
Saida – automating loan approval process for emerging markets
JI
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Saida is leveraging users prepaid cellphones data to make instant short term loan approvals for citizens in the African continent.
Fast Fashion FTW(For the Win): How Zara and Fast-Fashion Retailers are Rapidly Changing the Game with Technology…and Making the Rules
MR
Last modified on October 19, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Zara and fast fashion retail giants leverage technology and real-time data to serve up a winning formula
Hybrid Cloud, What’s Next?
HBSSectB
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 9:14 pm
EMC began in 1979 as a reseller of memory chips. Through strategic acquisitions and in-house innovation, EMC now offers data storage, information security, cloud computing, Big Data analytics and virtualization that enable small, medium and large businesses to store, manage, [...]
The demise of the LPs: Who are real losers in this new era of digitized music?
NoMoreOrders
Last modified on September 14, 2015 at 6:14 pm
The demise of the LP and the end of the Album Era has spurred the rise of 1-hit wonders. Good-looking slightly-talented hungry YouTube tweens stars are now topping our charts. So, who are the real losers of the digitization of [...]
Digital healthcare by Medicover Group
ilny
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 10:21 pm
One of Europe's largest private healthcare providers wins in the digital space, offering seamless health management to their patients and vast savings to themselves
Rockwell Automation : Leading Digitization in Manufacturing
MaskOfZorro
Posted on September 14, 2015 at 11:27 am
Rockwell Automation : Leading Digitization in Manufacturing
Ravel Law: Unraveling Justice Through Big Data
xyz
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 11:49 pm
Ravel Law has employed digital tools to brilliantly upset the status quo of a digital-phobic industry.
Facebook’s bet on mobile
Yannis
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 9:30 pm
In 2012 Facebook became a “mobile-first” platform. By betting on mobile, Facebook created value for its users and increased its ad value capture, positioning itself to compete against Google.
First Post! Welcome to our Learning Community
Karim Lakhani
Last modified on September 8, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Hi All, We would like to welcome you to the Fall 2015 Digital Innovation and Transformation Course at HBS. Over the next four months we are going to be exploring the ins and outs of how digital technologies are transforming [...]
Commercializing Color
Tikola Nesla
Posted on September 12, 2015 at 4:41 pm
How Pantone won the color game
Outfront Media: Billboard of the Future
AP
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 5:50 pm
Outfront Media is keeping out-of-home advertising relevant in the online world
P&G leads consumer goods giants in race to figure out digital
Jon Malankar
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 3:22 pm
Procter and Gamble's award winning digital advertising combined with willingness to disrupt its sales process makes it a winner in digital
Action-packed digital memories: GoPro as an early winner
Matt
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 7:09 pm
GoPro high definition video-recording devices have created tremendous amounts of digital content
VIVE: An Almost Too-Good-To-Be True #DigitalWinner
#mustshop
Last modified on September 14, 2015 at 11:39 pm
VIVE: An Almost Too-Good-To-Be True #DigitalWinner. Unlimited blowouts for $99 a month. What?!
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