Wendy Simpson in China (B) (Overhead case)

Pasona Group, a Japan-based human resources company, is committed to driving social change through business and supporting individuals to find "ikigai” (fulfillment) through work. The company has promoted flexible work and equitable workplaces and created employment opportunities for minorities. Pasona now wanted to tackle the overconcentration of population and businesses in Tokyo and the related decline of rural areas; both issues raised questions of well-being and sustainability. In response, Pasona moved its headquarters from Tokyo to Awaji Island, setting up sales and back-office operations for its core business and launching the "Regional Revitalization" initiative. Employees who moved from Tokyo to Awaji said that their lives became more sustainable, and their well-being improved. On the other hand, some Tokyo-based employees chose not to relocate, worried that boundaries between work and personal life would be blurred. Pasona was also criticized for its tourism-oriented and corporate-driven approach to local development, while the local government of Awaji appreciated the increase in the population and tax revenue that Pasona had brought. As Pasona sought to expand its "regional revitalization" model throughout Japan and attract more local governments to partner with the company, it needed to rethink its strategy to develop its original model in Awaji into a more powerful showcase that would lead to a more decentralized and sustainable society while ensuring the well-being of its own employees.

In the 2010s, card processing – Mastercard’s flagship service – started showing signs of commodification as new, nimble players (typically, fintech startups thriving on digital) entered the payment processing space, and customer preferences evolved beyond plastic cards and traditional contact payments. To re-energize its central position and its ability to capture value, Mastercard – as the incumbent – had to make bold decisions. The case details Mastercard’s approach to conceptualizing and building a global platform ecosystem that upholds the principles and design elements of modularity (i.e. interoperability and scalability) and optionality. Today, Mastercard's services, based on application programming interfaces (APIs), integrate with a variety of platforms and offer flexibility to businesses that require customized payment solutions. All along, the company has accommodated a high level of internal disruption. The case also explores the nature of Mastercard’s systematic collaboration with fintechs – players that often started out as competitors in specific parts of Mastercard’s value chain. It describes the company’s engagement with fintechs as fostering collaboration and co-creation and facilitating access; in other words, opening doors and sharing tools with partners. The case presents observations and quotes by CEO Michael Miebach, whose career trajectory at Mastercard – spanning Africa & Middle East experience, fintech partnerships, product management and the CEO role – sheds additional light on the philosophy and values that have driven the company’s transformation to a technology powerhouse and self-described original fintech.

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