Digital Business Case Studies and Solutions Vol II (e-book)

Digital Business Case Studies and Solutions Vol II by Gregory John Lee and Vernon Timothy Thaver is a remarkable compendium of case studies in the domain of digital business and digitalization, as well as a varied collection of challenges to the readers and reflections by the authors on those challenges.

The book contains many features, as follows.

Case content. The cases are designed primarily from a digital business viewpoint, however, many of the studies have broader applicability. For example, there are a collection of cases on digitalization in healthcare (e.g., Google’s Augmented Reality Microscope, 3D printing of human organs, CRISPR as a digital-linked technology, etc.), which could be of interest to people in that profession more broadly, and, certainly, many of the cases pertain more broadly to technology and technology management.

Case length. Some of the cases are longer- up to whole chapter-length studies – and some are as short as a few paragraphs. Therefore, there are cases which could suit almost any requirement, from very short in-classroom engagements to substantial assignments or learning journeys.

Case and book organization: The book is broadly organized into four sections of cases, which can be held in many cases quite loosely: a) Cross-cutting cases, b) Cases in 4IR technologies and the business application of these, c) Cases illustrating strategy in the digital era, and d) Cases illustrating digital transformation and maturity.

Case origins. Many of these case studies started out as smaller and older versions in the Mercury Books Digital Business series by Brian Armstrong and Gregory Lee as seen in the “Related Books” section above. However, in this new collection, each of those cases has been expanded and updated, often markedly so, and there are also a selection of brand new cases in this book.

Geographical coverage. The book covers a great many US-based technology companies, as can be expected given the dominant position that Silicon Valley in particular and that country in general has within the history of digital expansion. However, we have also strived to diversify the cases with many examples from other countries and regions, such as UK or European cases, cases from China (e.g. Alibaba and Temu), cases from Africa (Discovery Group, and Lonmin / Sibanye Stillwater in ‎Case 2) one intersecting Canada and France (Modiface and L’Oréal), and one from Australasia (ANZ Bank). There are also several geographical-agnostic cases.

The challenges, reflections, and model appendices. All cases present the reader with a Challenges section containing one or more challenges, which often draw on models and theories from the Mercury Books Digital Business series by Brian Armstrong and Gregory Lee as seen in the “Related Books” section above. For instance, a challenge might be for the reader to apply the “Antsoff Matrix” (a strategy tool for thinking about organizational growth opportunities) to the case study. Then, there is a Reflections section in which at least some of the challenges are answered by the authors. Note that some of these reflections are separated out into the book Instructor’s Solutions for Digital Business Case Studies & Solutions Vol I which is only available to verified instructors who are prescribing or using this book for courses. This facilitates some of the challenges being used for tests and exams.

Reverse cases. A few of the case studies are “reverse cases”. These are cases where the reader is presented first with the challenge to compose their own case study, and then with a reading list. The case study itself is the solution to the challenge. These types of challenges would typically be used as course-based assignments by instructors, and the case would be used as the model answer.

Intended audience. Anybody with an interest in digitalization, especially in organizational contexts, could be interested in this book, including business school or similar students and instructors, professionals affected by or working on digitalization, managers, and so on.

Cases and timing. Most of these cases have been brought up-to-date as of late 2024 or even early 2025. However, some of the cases are strictly historical. Also, any business case can and should be analyzed within its time even years later. It is certainly possible and desirable for us to place ourselves years or decades into the past to place ourselves into the shoes of leaders, managers, employees, regulators or other stakeholders in that time and use the case to learn lessons and compare to where the organization actually did go. This works so long as we are respectful of the true time and context of that case, while still pushing to learn how we could have . Therefore, we trust that, should we not have the privilege of further updating these cases, they can still provide learning and reflection opportunities over years to come for readers.

The following cases are contained in Volume II:

PART I: CROSS-CUTTING CASES

Case 1. Google AR Microscope
Google’s AI & AR cancer-detection microscope

Case 2. WeTransfer
WeTransfer brings file transfers to life

Case 3. Discovery Group
Discovery Group: Innovation for breakfast

PART II: CASES IN BUSINESS USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Case 4. Wits Business School
Extensive case study of cloud-based RPA

Case 5. SolarWinds
The SolarWinds hack of 2020

Case 6. Woebot
Can bots be successful therapists?

Case 7. Self-Driving Vehicles
What happened to self-driving vehicles?

Case 8. The Toothpaste Factory
Technological over-shoot at a toothpaste factory

Case 9. The Port of Rotterdam
Port of Rotterdam harnesses digitalization to the maximum

PART III: STRATEGY IN THE DIGITAL ERA CASES

Case 10. VodaPay
From telco to fintech: VodaPay’s disruptive impact on financial services

Case 11. Blue River Technologies
Applying AI to agriculture

Case 12. Telkom Group
Telkom Group rides disruption

Case 13. Uber
Uber disrupts the taxi industry

Case 14. Airbnb
The meteoric journey of Airbnb

Case 15. Disrupting Human Capital Management
Disruption of an organizational function

PART IV: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION & MATURITY CASES

Case 16. Microsoft Digital Transformation Reverse Case
Microsoft’s rollercoaster rise

Case 17. Zappos
Crafting elements of digital maturity

Case 18. DeepMind
Alphabet expands their AI capabilities through DeepMind

Case 19. Dropbox Reverse Case
Dropbox deploys elements of lean innovation

Case 20. Ethics at OpenAI
Grappling with ethical quandaries at OpenAI

Case 21. Discovery Vitality
Discovery Vitality Active Rewards gamifies health

Case 22. CRISPR
Digitally enabled CRISPR presents opportunities & ethical headaches