Case (C) is about Autohome, which is the only unicorn Ping An acquired, rather than built from the ground up. After acquisition by Ping An, Autohome was transformed form a pure automobile website to develop four key offerings — content, transaction, finance, and lifestyle — all powered by AI, big data, and cloud technology. After the acquisition, in the span of three and a half years, Autohome’s stock price quadrupled.
Ping An: How a Chinese insurance firm became a tech giant (A)
Summary
The case illustrates how Ping An can anticipate digital trends such as cloud computing and evolve from its core business to expand to new areas. Pi...
Best-selling
Case Study
Reference
IMD-7-2138
Copyright
©2020
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Ping An Insurance
Industry
Finance and Insurance
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Ping An: How a Chinese insurance firm became a tech giant (B)
Summary
While Ping An is so successful to transform and reinvent itself to a tech giant, it discovered the demand of small and medium sized financial insti...
Reference
IMD-7-2243
Copyright
©2020
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Ping An Insurance
Industry
Finance and Insurance
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Ping An: How a Chinese insurance firm became a tech giant (C)
Summary
Case (C) is about Autohome, which is the only unicorn Ping An acquired, rather than built from the ground up. After acquisition by Ping An, Autohom...
Reference
IMD-7-2244
Copyright
©2020
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Ping An Insurance
Industry
Finance and Insurance
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Lifepreneurs - Rethinking the default
Women’s realities are often overlooked, but lifepreneurs—entrepreneurs innovating from experience—are turning struggles into profit and systemic change.
By
Vanina Farber
Banking Regulations - UBS - Sergio Ermotti
Switzerland should assess the Credit Suisse collapse before adding more banking regulations, says UBS Group CEO in a talk on Europe's financial future.
By
David Bach
AI Adoption - From artificial to actionable - CFO
CFOs can rethink underperforming AI adoption by focusing on business value, data readiness, and employee buy-in.
By
José Parra Moyano
Your company (and your life) in the hands of an AI agent?
Summary
The case study introduces an original way of exploring the many questions and concerns around AI adoption in business. Based on a true story, it discusses the dilemma of AI implementation through Joe, the CIO of ParcelFlow. Joe is getting ready to present his AI strategy to the company's executive committee. Joe is also diabetic and on the morning of his presentation, he receives an AI-powered insulin pump. This is a life-changing event that raises both questions and fears that range from device functionality and safety to data privacy. Joe realizes that at his morning doctor's appointment, he has just gone through the same process that the executive committee is about to experience. Will Joe succeed in convincing the executive committee to transition towards the use of AI agents? To ultimately transform ParcelFlow's operations, Joe knows that answering the committee's concerns is vital. Joe's thoughts span the various stakeholders he needs to convince: Diane - the chief financial officer; Elena - the head of customer experience; Michael - the head of operations; Albert - the chief human resources officer; Robert - the legal counsel; and Lucy - the chief executive officer. Each stakeholder will have their own reservations and worries about the financial implications, customer experience, operational efficiency, workforce impact, legal compliance, and overall benefits of AI. Building trust is key for engaging people in this technological revolution. This can be achieved smoothly and rapidly by understanding, identifying and analyzing what AI is about and what it will do for us or our business. And most importantly, it must be accomplished with an excellent communications strategy.
Reference
IMD-2666
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Industry
Healthcare, Medical Device;Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Lifepreneurs - Rethinking the default
Summary
Women’s realities are often overlooked, but lifepreneurs—entrepreneurs innovating from experience—are turning struggles into profit and systemic change.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
AstraPay in Indonesia: Playing the digital payments platform vs ecosystem game
Summary
This case study explores AstraPay’s journey to become a significant player, despite its latecomer status, in Indonesia’s burgeoning digital payments landscape. Launched in 2018, AstraPay had grown to serve over one million customers, but it faced intense competition from tech-first digital super-apps like GoTo and OVO. Led by Rina Apriana, who became CEO in 2023, AstraPay had to leverage its unique position within Astra International, a vast conglomerate with deep roots in Indonesia’s economy, to differentiate itself. The case first explores the conceptual differences between a platform and an ecosystem. It then considers how AstraPay can leverage Astra International’s unique characteristics to unlock synergies and evolve into an ecosystem. The question is underpinned by considerations on how AstraPay can best leverage its late mover status to compete with established digital first competitors. Finally, the students are encouraged to explore a range of alternative options available to Astra for building its ecosystem by highlighting the pros and cons of each approach against which to assess the final path taken by AstraPay.
Reference
IMD-2650
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
AstraPay
Industry
Finance and Insurance, Financial Services
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Travel's AI revolution: Balancing tech and touch
Summary
From AI-powered bookings to strategic technology investments, discover how top companies fuse AI with authentic experiences—and why loyalty is your ultimate defense against disruption.
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Banking Regulations - UBS - Sergio Ermotti
Summary
Switzerland should assess the Credit Suisse collapse before adding more banking regulations, says UBS Group CEO in a talk on Europe's financial future.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
AI Adoption - From artificial to actionable - CFO
Summary
CFOs can rethink underperforming AI adoption by focusing on business value, data readiness, and employee buy-in.
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Is a US crypto reserve the next Fort Knox or a financial time bomb?
Summary
US President Donald Trump’s full embrace of digital assets has sent shock waves through the cryptocurrency market, driving a price surge while creating both new opportunities and heightened risks for investors and corporations. Last week, Mr Trump...
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
TBC Group: Future proofing a history of success
Summary
The case explores TBC Bank Group’s remarkable journey from a small Georgian bank to a regional leader in digital financial services across Central Asia. Founded in 1992 with just US$500 in initial capital, TBC evolved into Georgia’s largest financial institution and pioneered into digital banking. The case highlights TBC’s strategic expansion into Uzbekistan, where it rapidly built a leading digital banking ecosystem. Students will analyze TBC’s international growth approach as it transformed customer experience, leveraged technology and built a sustainable competitive advantage through product diversification, strong organizational culture and operational agility. The case explores international market entry, digital transformation and aligning strategies with local market needs, highlighting how TBC’s focus on innovation drives its regional expansion.
Reference
IMD-2651
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
TBC Bank Group
Industry
Finance and Insurance, Banking
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Boosting and sustaining operational excellence
Summary
The case explores the principles and challenges of operational excellence through the experience of Magdi Batato, former EVP of Operations at Nestlé. It examines how he implemented Mission-Directed Work Teams (MDWTs) to empower front-line workers,...
Reference
IMD-2653
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Nestlé
Industry
Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage;Consumer Goods
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
DSS+: Carving out a sustainability consulting leader
Summary
The case examines the entrepreneur-led carve out and buyout of dss+, DuPont’s safety and sustainability consulting division, by Gyrus Capital and dss+ management team. dss+ (formerly “DuPont Sustainable Solutions”) played a pivotal role in high-risk industries such as oil, gas, and chemicals, providing critical consulting services at a time when global regulatory pressure on operational safety and sustainability was intensifying. Gyrus Capital, a mid-market private equity specialist, came together with the management team to engineer the buyout, based on the firm’s strong and predictable revenue streams, long-term client relationships and specialized expertise in safety and sustainability consulting. What emerged out of the 2019 transaction was an independent sustainability consulting powerhouse with over 1,500 consultants around the world. By 2024, dss+ was still expanding rapidly in terms of staff and domains of expertise, not to mention geography, and had to respond to quickly evolving external and internal demands, with clients increasingly expected to be served globally on a full range of sustainability-related services. With a strong sense of purpose (saving lives and creating a sustainable future), a potent pitch line (Protect. Transform. Sustain), over 750 clients on 1,800 projects across 41 countries, a global team of 1,500 people and plenty of organic growth across 7 core industries, the company was clearly heading for the stars. Yet, new questions loomed: Was it time to start managing that wild growth, deepening competitive advantages and building functional moats? How would dss+ remain competitive? Was it time to put a few new initiatives on high octane fuel: Leadership? Digital transformation? Global growth? Some totally new ideas?
Reference
IMD-7-2639
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
dss+, Gyrus Capital, Inflexion
Industry
Services, Environmental Services;Healthcare, Health and Medical Services;Services, Public Safety;Business Management Services, Consultancy
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications