Healthcare (A): Rehability, Innovation in a Highly Regulated Industry

Published 20 Dec 2013
Reference 6013
Topic Strategy
Industry Medical Devices
Region Europe
Length 5 page(s)
Summary

Executives in heavily regulated industries, such as Healthcare, often feel their hands are tied by rules and regulations which some claim to even interfere with their ability to innovate. As such, it is not uncommon to find regulated firms competing in the same way for decades without ever challenging the status quo. The case "Rehability (A)" describes the conditions of the highly regulated medical supplies industry in Germany and shows how traditional players, bounded by the conventional logic about how to compete in such an industry, focused on providing the lowest-cost standardized products and the widest range of ancillary supplements in stores while overlooking the pain points experienced by users of these products, thereby trapping themselves in ever intensifying and price-based competition. This two-part case is accompanied by a two-part theory-based movie, which reviews the Healthcare industry conditions and the traditional approach of the medical supplies industry and demonstrates Rehability's strategic move to shift the orientation of the industry and create a blue ocean. Together the theory-based movie and the case are excellent for teaching both MBAs and executives how to reconstruct an industry through the six paths framework. Theory-based Movies and Lecture Slides can be obtained from https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/teaching-materials/rehability/

Teaching objectives

• To demonstrates how a company can reconstruct market boundaries and create a blue ocean in a highly regulated industry, where organizations often feel their opportunities for innovation are limited. • To illustrate several key frameworks and tools of blue ocean strategy such as the Six Paths Framework, the Buyer Experience Cycle/Buyer Utility Map, and the Four Actions Framework.

Keywords
  • Blue ocean strategy
  • Healthcare
  • Medical Supplies
  • Highly regulated industry
  • Germany
  • Wheelchairs
  • Innovation
  • Rehability
  • Michael Heil
  • Q21314
  • European Competitiveness Initiative
  • European Competitiveness
  • Europe