Final Thesis: Should Firms Disrupt Their Customers? (Teaching Case)
Abstract: This is a master thesis for the program International Information Systems. In this thesis work the situation of a software company and its product is analyzed. The situation is written in form of a Harvard Business Case with a lucid narrative. The case will be taught in Product management course in the university. Although the specific situation of one company was evaluated, thousands of firms with strongly customer-focused product development face similar challenge. The problem arises when listening to customers’ requests poses threats to product innovation and hence its market position. The main questions are if firms should disrupt their customers and what are the effects of disruptive and sustaining innovations on the firm’s business. Along with the main case, there are teaching note and class discussion guide, so that the teacher had more material to discuss the case with students. The thesis work is licensed CC-BY-3.0.
Reference: Mehrdad Golagha. Product Management Case: Should Firms Disrupt Their Customers? Master Thesis, Friedrich Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg: 2012.