Barnes and Noble Case Study: Roundtable 2014 Paul Wang

Case Studies

• Barnes & Noble

• The Weather Company

(Parallel Realities)

The Jane Austen Book Club

Becoming Jane

Lost in Austen

“Notice Things”

The Power of Noticing

(Notice things that others don’t)

• Literature and Journalism

• Marketing and Advertising

• Technology and Transformation

• Leadership and Strategic Change

(Notice what you are noticing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=NnEKQD1fS20

(Becoming Jane)

“Notice Irony and Heroism”

Uncle: Do I detect you in

irony? It is my considered

opinion that irony is insult

with a smiling face.

Austen: No, irony is the bringing

together of contradictory truths to

make out of the contradiction a new

truth with a laugh or a smile, and

I confess that a truth must come

with one or the other, or I account

it as false and a denial of the

very nature of humanity itself.

The Importance of the Journey:

• From Heroic to Ironic

• From Ironic to Heroic

The Mastery of Irony

The Responsibility of Heroism

Pride and Prejudice

“It is a truth universally

acknowledged, that a

single man in possession

of a good fortune must

be in want of a wife.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=mP8dllTkpEg

(38:00 - 43:00)

Case Write-Up

• What was the main problem in the

case?

• Why did it occur?

• What is your proposed solution

and why?

Hypothesis Testing

Prepare a written

argument for one of the

following propositions:

H1. In order for Barnes & Noble’s Nook to

remain a viable competitor in the e-book

market for at least the next three years

Barnes & Noble must take the following

actions (list and describe).

- OR -

H2. Despite any management actions

Barnes & Noble’s Nook will fail in the e-

book market in the next three years due

to the following factors (list and describe).

H3. Five years from now it will be clear

that eBook will never be developing into a

market where there is a format or device

with a majority market share (> 50%)

- OR -

H4. Five years from now there will be an

eBooks format or device with a majority

market share (> 50%) and that will be

__________. (Identify the winner)

The Unit of Analysis

Key Players

• Amazon Kindle

• Apple iPad

• Barnes & Noble Nook

• Sony Reader

• Kobo Reader

(Laptop, Smart Phone, Tablet)

Sellers

• Publishers

• Authors

• Literary Agents

Buyers

• E-readers

• Heavy Readers (Fiction)

• Students

Hidden Players

• Google

• Microsoft

• Walmart

• Advertisers

• (Others)

Confusing Social Interactions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=rkoKP3dwP6w

Sex and the City

Season 3, Episode 16

Telegraph Herald

Dubuque, IA

TH Media’s mission is to

be the preferred provider

of local news, information

and advertising content in

the markets we serve.

Designed to fit your life

Weather the Storm

(The Weather Company)

Google

Apple

Yahoo

Twitter

Facebook

etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=57e4t-fhXDs

(Procter & Gamble:

“Thank You Mom”)

“Pick Them Back Up”

“For teaching us that falling

only makes us stronger.”