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
Available Languages
English
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