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Case Study

E-cigarettes – disruptive innovation or a pipe dream?

By John W. Walsh and Lisa Simone Duke

24 pages

August 2013

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Reference: IMD-3-2385

This case looks at the global exponential growth of e-cigarettes. E-cigarette companies were predominantly small, entrepreneurial, usually web-based start-ups, rather than Big Tobacco. We look at the origins of e-cigarettes from a multi-dimensional perspective, including marketing and advertising, sales channels, the reaction of anti-smoking groups, Big Tobacco’s reaction and governments and regulators, identifying the threats and challenges to this fledging market disruptor.

Learning Objective

To consider the marketing of reduced-harm products, the interaction between marketing and regulatory bodies, and the difference in marketing strategy between new entrants and incumbents.

Keywords

Disruptive Innovation, Tobacco, General Management, Strategy

Settings

World/global
Consumer Goods, Tobacco
Until 2013

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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