Digitization Winners and Losers

September 24, 2019

Read The Full Prompt

Digital technologies are upending many industries and companies. Think about Uber’s impact on the taxi business, or Spotify’s impact on music downloads.

For this assignment, please identify companies/organizations that you think are winning and losing due to a specific instance of digital transformation. Pick one situation with a winner on one side and a loser on the other. Why are they a winner and why is this transformation putting the losing organization in a difficult place? Stress the novelty of the situation. Discuss the key elements of how the winner creates and/or captures value, and similarly for the key elements of how the other firm is losing value. (Please devote most of the space to the winner, and focus less on the losers, devoting attention to winner/losers according to a ratio approximately 3/1.)

800 words max.

Submitted (21)

Carvana:The new way to buy a car
Matthieu
Last modified on September 23, 2019 at 7:02 pm
Carvana is an online e-commerce platform for used cars. The company bypasses the traditional dealership infrastructure and uses astonishing marketing strategies to attract customers: Car vending machines, Youtube advertising campaigns, 360-patented technology, etc.
Mirror: The Future of Fitness?
KO
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 7:03 am
Mirror is a recent example of a tech-enabled “home gym.” Digital products like Mirror are putting pressure on regular fitness clubs.
Peloton’s Fast Clip
Paxton
Last modified on September 23, 2019 at 6:51 pm
This article discusses the rise of Peloton in the health and wellness space, rapidly outpacing SoulCycle through digital transformation.
MoNBAll
LoremIpsum
Last modified on September 24, 2019 at 10:27 am
🏀🏀🏀 Why are the Golden State Warriors so successful? Some say it is due to Steph Curry. Others say Steve Kerr is the mastermind behind the success. Ask Curry and Kerr, and they will tell you how sports analytics made [...]
Checkr: Playing Chess in the Background Screening Industry
Tommy PF
Last modified on September 23, 2019 at 5:56 pm
Checkr has built an AI-backed process to handle background checks. By automating the processing of digital records, Checkr has created a highly scalable business, which can lower the cost of verification on the gig economy.
Podcasting: Wayne’s World v.s. Corporate Media
Jackson Howell
Last modified on September 24, 2019 at 1:54 am
My winner/loser scenario is a David and Goliath story, still in its early stages but picking up serious steam, embedded in a larger conflict between two colossal mediums. I am interested primarily in podcasts, but before digging into podcasts specifically [...]
Big Mac to Big Data: Why Mcdonald’s is betting its future on digital innovation
Rocco Puno
Last modified on September 24, 2019 at 8:35 am
The fast food industry has been experiencing plenty of headwinds in the last few years: a shift in consumer preferences toward healthier options, the rise in fast casual restaurants like Chipotle and Sweet Greens, as well as the on-demand economy [...]
Invisalign – 9/10 dentists recommend additive manufacturing
Keagan Pang
Last modified on September 23, 2019 at 8:42 pm
Digital transformation, in the form of additive manufacturing enabled by computer-aided design and optical scanning hardware, has led to the creation of a new treatment modality for misaligned teeth – clear aligners. Invisalign has been the forerunner in commercializing this [...]
Fashion Nova, the rise of an Instagram based crowdsourcing and marketing model
CM
Last modified on September 24, 2019 at 7:52 am
Instagram has provided the chance to brands like Fashion Nova to challenge the traditional fashion institutions. Using social media, crowds can express their opinion and taste which made market opportunities visible to small scale niche e-retailer.
Birth Control and Baby Planning – There’s an app for both
C. Williams
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 4:46 am
Natural Cycles is a natural fertility tracking app and the first and only digital contraception app to receive regulatory approval (certified in Europe and FDA-cleared in the US). It’s disrupting big pharma birth control by replacing “the pill” and has [...]
Nubank: Digital Banking
MAO
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 1:15 am
Nubank is a Brazilian digital bank. Nubank’s products include credit cards, debit accounts, and most recently, personal loans. As a digital bank, it provides all of its services through digital channels, upending the traditional banking industry that relied on physical [...]
Are you loyal to bricks-and-mortar? (Wells Fargo vs. Revolut)
Theon Greyjoy
Posted on September 23, 2019 at 10:38 pm
Revolut is a digital invader in retail banking. Are established banks well positioned to protect their lucrative position? A heavy anchor of branch network can let them down.
Lemonade – Renters and Home Insurance For Urban Dwellers
Dominika Sarnecka
Last modified on September 23, 2019 at 11:24 pm
Build on the combination of technology and behavioral economics, Lemonade is an innovative insurance company hoping to "transform insurance from a necessary evil into a social good."
Quantopian: How Main Street Became a Worthy Competitor to Wall Street
Sarkis
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 8:00 am
How architectural change disrupted the hedge fund industry
TripAdvisor – changing travel one review at a time.
Riddhi Shah
Last modified on September 24, 2019 at 7:20 am
How TripAdvisor turned the travel world upside down by using a digital platform to let travellers review all aspect of their trip.
Disrupting the David vs Goliath classic: Walmart’s catch up game with Amazon in the 21st Century
Leonardo Leal
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 1:40 am
How has Walmart managed to keep up with Amazon's disruption of the retail ecosystem? Despite making large investments in its digital transformation, including the purchase of Jet.com at a $3.3 billion offering, Walmart has not matched Amazon's strategic success in [...]
Wechat Public Accounts: Farewell, My Old Friends in Conventional Publishing
Leo Li
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 12:32 am
How WeChat public accounts are taking over conventional publications and becoming the go-to place for reading and news following in China.
Ambulnz, Inc.
cpassarella@mba2020.hbs.edu
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 7:51 am
Ambulnz, Inc. is developing proprietary technology that helps hospital facilities, nursing homes and patients order an Ambulance more easily and efficiently.
Bandcamp: leveling the platform for indie artists
Short Apple
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 12:12 am
“We want a music platform to exist where the playing field is level, where artists are compensated fairly and transparently, and where fans can both stream and own their music collections.” -Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp founder and CEO. (1)
How Booking.com Became Hotels’ Biggest Enemy
Peter Wintermaier
Posted on September 24, 2019 at 7:23 am
With the recent growth of Booking.com far above the growth of the industry and commissions at a record-high level, the hotel industry is becoming concerned that the online travel agency will capture an ever-increasing share of the overall profit margin.
When incumbents gave customers lemons, disruptors made Lemonade.
Crimson_Ranger
Posted on September 23, 2019 at 10:06 pm
Lemonade is disrupting how consumers purchase and interact with the insurance policies. The jury is still out on how worried traditional carriers should be