E*Trade, Charles Schwab & Yahoo!: The Transformation of On - Line Brokerage

The technological ability to trade financial assets on the Internet is changing the structure of the brokerage industry, altering the rules of competition, creating new sources of competitive advantage, and attracting new customers. Since its beginning in 1994, on-line brokerage services have proliferated, growing from zero to over five million accounts, and from zero to over sixty competing firms. This case focuses on E*Trade - the pioneer, Charles Schwab - the leader, and Yahoo! - a potential new entrant, to understand the rapidly changing dynamics of the on-line brokerage business.

This case is most useful for discussing issues related to business innovation and the Internet. Given the widespread impact of the Internet on the business models, such issues can arise in courses on different topics such as general management, strategic management and technology management. The on-line brokerage sector is at the leading edge of such developments and thus the case provides a useful basis for discussions related to business transformation and the Internet.