Business Administration

Google, eBay and Amazon have one thing in common: their business is providing a platform that facilitates users’ interaction. The success and failure of these business models depend to a large degree on the number of people using the platform and the “network effects” between them. Understanding networked businesses, their unique management challenges and competitive dynamics is crucial for students interested in a career in any such industry. Platform businesses comprise a large and rapidly growing share of the world economy. Such businesses in the computer, consumer electronics, media and internet sector comprise the heart of the so-called “New Economy.” Network effects are at the core of a series of improbable success stories, such as the intense growth of the smartphone-based car service Uber, the enormous user numbers of the Chinese auctioning site Taobao, and the massive advertising revenue that Facebook realized in recent years. Platform businesses face distinctive management challenges, which differ from those found in traditional manufacturing and service industries. Familiar rules for marketing and strategy may not apply. Pricing strategies for example follow different rules and platform providers often price their products and services below cost – or even given them away for free. Traditional barriers to entry no longer hold. Many of the industries gravitate towards “winner-take-all” competition. They have room for only few large players outperforming all of their competitors, as the spectacular success stories of Facebook, Amazon, and Google show. The course introduces concepts and frameworks to analyze platform business models and provides a foundation for strategic decision making in them. Using the Harvard Business School case study method, students discuss real-life cases, their successes, failures and options for the future. After completing the course, students are able to systematically analyze different networked businesses and evaluate the economic, technological and public policy context for the development of such businesses.

This course focuses on the development and management of theme parks. It enables students to participate in the design and management of theme parks through classroom reports, and to cultivate their innovation and problem analysis ability. This course covers the development history, trends, macro-strategy and specific operations of theme parks, and analyzes internationally renowned theme park groups and cases, as well as the development status and future trends of theme park management.

The key objective of this course is to provide the students with a comprehensive overview of digital marketing and to discuss its main vehicles such as online banner advertising, search marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing and emerging topics from both theoretical and pragmatic perspectives. As a team project for the course, students recruit a real business, run search or social media advertising, and submit a final written report.