The Optical Networking Industry (B)

Published 11 Jan 2001
Reference 4971
Topic Strategy
Region Global
Length 7 page(s)
Summary

The case describes how five telecommunications equipment companies developed their innovative capabilities in order to address technological opportunities and competitive threats in the ‘new economy’. Questions are raised as to how the growing importance of the stock market for firms in this industry has impacted on organizational learning and the development of innovative capabilities, in particular in relation to stock-based acquisitions and the use of stock options.

Teaching objectives

The case permits students to appreciate how the management of learning in organizations needs to be adapted to new technological knowledge bases. It highlights the impact that new entrants can have on the traditional view of the development and management of innovative capabilities. Students are introduced to a period in time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the stock market came to play a fundamental role in strategic decision-making and the case encourages them to question the organisational and the broader societal implications of this development.

Keywords
  • Technology Disruption
  • Technoloty Substitution
  • E-Commerce
  • Vertical Integration
  • Industry Restructuring
  • Supply Chain Analysis