Discuss How HTC Seeks to Develop the Virtual Reality Ecosystem, and What Are the Merits of Pursuing Innovation in Hardware, Software, and Services, or Both?
In April 2016, HTC released its first VIVE virtual reality headsets, considered one of the most advanced VR systems. Primarily targeted at gamers, the VIVE was successfully developed to allow users to experience a fully intensive 360° immersion for prolonged times. The positive response of the public motivated HTC to develop VR further, while the sale of part of the smartphone business to Google provided the required funds (Yoffie, Wu,& Ciechanover, 2018, p. 1). Since then, HTC has been working on the creation of a coherent virtual reality ecosystem, developing hardware, software, and platform services while promoting the growth of the demand for VR worldwide.
HTC directed its efforts in producing unique and distinctive hardware. For example, the VIVE Head-Mounted Display (HMD) featured a tracking system which allowed users to perform a vast array of sudden movements both in real and virtual reality. Hardware accessories were equally innovative: the VIVE Tracker, for example, featured such a high degree of versatility that almost every real object could become a controller in VR. Besides building advanced hardware, HTC focused on the VR content, developing high-quality software suitable for many categories, including games, design, healthcare, and sports among others. Moreover, the management supported external developers, encouraging them to implement content that was adaptable to other platforms, though having VIVE as the principal reference system (Yoffie et al., 2018, p. 11).
Pursuing innovations in hardware means to be able to compete with big companies such as Facebook, and Samsung (Yoffie et al., 2018, p. 5). Developing the software is crucial to creating contents able to broaden the demand for VR (Yoffie et al., 2018, p. 9). HTC’s policy of integrating the development of hardware and software responds to the goal of creating an ad hoc VR ecosystem, where the VIVE platform holds a central position in the market, influencing the future tendencies through software and contents.
Case. Resilience at InterMune
What Steps Did InterMune Take to Execute Its Strategy?
Founded in 1998, InterMune was an independent biotech company whose core research was on pulmonary and fibrotic conditions. The firm faced a series of tough contingencies which led to massive layoffs and to sharpen the research field. In 2014, the Esbriet, a drug based on pirfenidone, ended a three years trial period, and it was deemed suitable to treat the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (Bahrami, 2015, p. 1). A few months later, InterMune was acquired for 8.3 billion dollars by Roche, and the drug received approval in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The turning point for InterMune occurred in 2003, when new management, led by Dan Welch, succeeded in developing a winning strategy.
When Welch joined the InterMune, the resources were allocated non-optimally, distributed on hepatology, pulmonology, infectious disease, and oncology. Moreover, some previous activities led to a federal inquiry in 2014, undermining the corporate cohesion, and damaging its reputation. Through a series of steps, Welch and his staff managed to change the situation. First, they focused on rebuilding a corporate culture while narrowing the field of research to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and hepatitis C (Bahrami, 2015, p.3). The new management showed versatility, resilience, and foresight. In 2005, the discovery of new molecules changed the hepatitis research scenario, and InterMune took the second crucial step, phasing out part of the HPV program, and focusing on its most innovative part. A choice that led to a favorable contract with Roche, which eventually acquired the program in 2006. The dismissing of the hepatitis C research led to an income of almost 750.000 dollars, and a significant downsizing, a dramatic but necessary third step (Bahrami, 2015, p.7). Since 2006 InterMune could focus on IPF, starting a series of globally clinical trials to test Esbriet. Ambiguous outcomes made the approval of drug an ordeal, requiring an additional trial phase. The company was under pressure, and a redefinition of its core values became urgent, as well as a broad restructuring of the leadership organization.
The approval of Esbriet in 2014 and the consequent acquisition of the firm by Roche rewarded the company strategy, being able to create a strong corporate culture, conform to the coeval contingencies, and make drastic decisions when required.
References
Bahrami, O. (2015). Resilience at InterMune: A Journey Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The Berkeley-Haas Case Series. Web.
Yoffie, D. B., Wu, A., Ciechanover, A. M. (2018). HTC and Virtual Reality. Harvard Business School Case, 718-421. Web.