Case Study

Xiaomi 2013: Copycat? Not my style

17 pages
September 2013
Reference: IMD-3-2410

Chinese mobile start-up Xiaomi has achieved remarkable growth between 2009 to 2013. As a mobile phone maker, Xiaomi’s market valuation was more than what Microsoft just paid for Nokia’s handset unit in 2013. The company, however, saw itself as an internet company rather than a traditional manufacturer, focusing on services and application development. Xiaomi’s success even attracted former VP of product management at Google to join the company to expand its international market.

Learning Objective

The case illustrates several important concepts: 1) How product modularity can lead to fragmentation of the industry structure; 2) How new entrant can leap-frog leading players through business model innovation; 3) How open innovation can drastically reduce R&D cost and increase product effectiveness; 4) How the outlook of Chinese entrepreneurs differ from the Western counterpart.

Keywords
Open Innovation, Disruptive Innovation, Consumer Electronics, General Management, Strategy
Settings
Asia, China
Xiaomi, Manufacturing, Electric and Electronic Equipment, Services, Telecommunications
2009 to 2013
Type
Published Sources
Copyright
© 2013
Available Languages
English
Case clearing houses
IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

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]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Discover our latest research
IMD's faculty and research teams publish articles, case studies, books and reports on a wide range of topics