From Telco to Techco: Globe’s dual transformation
Many companies today face the need to embark on a dual transformation: Reinventing and sustaining their core business while concurrently creating new, future businesses. This case about Globe Telecom, Inc., in the Philippines presents the s.tory of just such a transformation The case is bookended by the CEO’s 14-year tenure and describes successive waves of reviving and retooling the once-flagging telecom business. It is situated in a transient, highly competitive B2C landscape, continually susceptible to the forces of saturation and commodification. The thread connecting Globe’s successive reinventions is the CEO’s belief in the company’s “unfair advantage” when building new businesses in telco space adjacencies. The project of building this advantage – and the attendant pursuit of new opportunities, sectors and partnerships – has had to be constantly balanced with the ongoing task of growing market share in the core mobile business. Underlying both sets of activities is the rediscovery, at regular intervals, of Globe’s purpose as a corporation, a consumer player, an employer and an important stakeholder in the emerging and fast-growing domestic economy, as well a broader sense of being an agent of development for the nation. Managing these intricate processes requires not only foresight from the company’s top leadership but also the presence of ambidextrous talent – a workforce that is up to the task of optimizing for today while transforming for tomorrow. Historically, organizations have separated these two tasks in terms of talent, budgets and reporting lines. The case showcases flesh-and-blood individual managers and their observations on the dual challenge of running this business at the same time as building the next businesses.
- Appreciate the goals and challenges of leading a dual transformation – something a growing number of organizations face today.
- Articulate the demands of managing a dual transformation with ambidexterity, i.e., pursuing two sets of strategic goals concurrently.
- Understand the dynamics and management philosophy behind developing a platform business and building a digital services ecosystem.
- Examine the role of leadership in navigating discrete phases of a dual transformation – each with its own opportunities and challenges – and the underlying cultural change.
- Highlight the dilemmas and tradeoffs that come with decisions the company needs to make in pursuing the dual transformation’s goals and affirming its purpose and values.
Globe Telecom, Services, Telecommunications
2009-2022
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Set in 2024, the case describes the trajectory of Nike's success and how it had recently lost its way. The company was experiencing its worst slump in more than 10 years. Since 2020, CEO Donahoe oversaw a significant shift away from wholesale, wit...
This brief case exercise presents an increasingly common business scenario: An established player acquires a small, agile start-up to re-energize its value proposition. In this case, established global beauty giant UrbanLuxe acquires beauty start-...
in I by IMD
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD Brain Circuits 18 June 2025
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications