Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore all the strategies adopted by Uber China to gain more and more market shares of Chinese markets. It included localization of its core product, adaptation to Chinese demands and tying up with different Chinese companies.

The case study has been prepared after thoroughly studying Uber’s business in China. Secondary data is collected from credible sources such as the Uber website, newspapers, interviews and journal publications. This data helped in arriving at a basic understanding of the company, its objectives, strategies and the business model. The strategies formulated by Uber and the challenges it faced while operating in China are studied and explained based on this secondary data. Various published papers, reports released by reputed organizations and universities, interviews of managers and experts and research papers were also used to develop this case.

This case is developed considering the bent of today’s consumers toward sharing economy. The scope of businesses based on the concept of sharing economy is very wide and is increasing. China’s sharing economy sector was one of the fastest economies in the world. The case chronicles ride of Uber in China: from its entry in the country, strategies adopted, challenges faced and to the exit from China.

International business management at the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in management

In China, with the rapid dissemination of mobile communications technology along with congested traffic and increasingly expensive transportation costs, consumers are turning to smartphone-enabled, ride-sharing services. Sharing economy requires trust in strangers. Based on trust transfer theory and a dyadic conceptualization of trust from cognitive to affective, the purpose of this study is to examine trust building through the use of Didi, a third-party, ride-sharing platform that mediates exchanges among strangers.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) results based on 242 observations indicate that the platform functions as an important enabler of trust, which influences a consumer's behavioral intention.

Specifically, Didi's reputation and security assurance have a positive influence on passengers' cognitive trust in drivers. There is also evidence that the interaction as mediated by the app between passengers and drivers helps the formation of affective trust, while the results do not support a relationship between cognitive and affective trust.

The research findings address trust transference between participants in the sharing economy and its effects, which have significant theoretical and practical implications and offer opportunities for future research in other sectors of the sharing economy.

Uber China is a strategy pricing case that examines the role of customer acquisition tactics and brand positioning in entering the tantalizingly large Chinese market. The case adopts the perspective of an outside observer looking at Uber's efforts to compete in China from its entry in 2013 to its exit through its acquisition by Didi Chuxing, the highly dominant industry leader in China's ride-sharing market. After laying out the market opportunity, consumer and competitive landscape, and the various acquisition-related moves of Uber and the other major players, the case asks students to conduct a postmortem on Uber's failure in China. Specifically, they must consider what drew Uber to the opportunity in China and what it might have done differently in terms of positioning and customer acquisition to compete more effectively. First and foremost a pricing-related discussion, the case illustrates the relationship between pricing and acquisition tactics and brand positioning and the use of both in market entry and penetration.

By late March 2014, the ridesharing company Uber was on a roll, rapidly expanding service to untapped markets and gaining new, enthusiastic customers, as well as a few vocal and visible detractors. Uber’s innovative organization of the supply-demand matching process produced eager customers who recruited others. Buzz marketing and aggressive recruitment of drivers augmented growth.

This case presents Uber as an example of a middleman adding real value for consumers and upstream suppliers (limo drivers). Unlike Tesla, which battled to sell cars directly to the public, Uber created value by adding a layer between limos and prospective riders, organizing the market for convenience and transparency for both sides. Where Uber stirred up the competitive equivalent of a hornet’s nest was with expansion from the livery car market into the taxi service market with UberX. The material allows for a lively discussion around disruptive digital technology and the firm’s business model.

This paper provides a perspective on the field of nonmarket strategy. It does not attempt to survey the literature but instead focuses on the substantive content of research in the field. The paper discusses the origins of the field and the roles of nonmarket strategy. The political economy framework is used and contrasted with the current form of the resource-based theory. The paper argues that research should focus on the firm level and argues that the strategy of self-regulation can be useful in reducing the likelihood of challenges from private and public politics. The political economy perspective is illustrated using three examples: (1) public politics: Uber, (2) private politics: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup, and (3) integrated strategy and private and public politics: The Fast Food Campaign. The paper concludes with a discussion of research issues in theory, empirics, and normative assessment.

There is a heavy dependence on cars for people living in rural areas and small towns. The countryside has so far been left out of the transition to carbon-free transport, and public transport shares are low in rural areas. New information and communication technology (ICT) solutions and autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to improve the conditions for public transport in rural areas, as they may increase efficiency and reduce costs. Still, these technological novelties are rarely tested in rural settings and policy focus and pilot tests have occurred almost exclusively in cities. The aim of this chapter is to explore the conditions and challenges for public transport in rural areas through ICT and AVs. The authors will discuss how policy focus needs to change to increase attention to rural areas and give suggestions on concrete policy measures that can be used. In the chapter, the authors draw empirically on results from two research projects in Sweden about the conditions for public transport in rural areas and ongoing tests with new ICT solutions.

This chapter focuses on the largely unexplored within- and cross-category spillovers between category kings and commoners within the field of the sharing economy. Going beyond the reputational spill-overs that are the main focus of extant literature, the authors also consider spill-overs in awareness, regulation, and customer usage between category kings and commoners, providing a holistic view of what it means to be a commoner in the same or adjacent category as a king. On the basis of a mixed-method study based on semi-structured interviews with UK sharing platforms and a consumer survey, the authors show that category commoners are affected by kings differently depending whether they are in the exact same sub-category or in an adjacent one within the same larger category. This chapter expands extant work on within and cross-category dynamics by taking the less popular perspective of the less visible category members. Studying these dynamics in the setting of the sharing economy also contributes to the authors’ knowledge of what enables/hinders the growth of a new field as a whole. Finally, the findings have important policy implications.

This descriptive qualitative study explores how working conditions impact the health of taxi drivers in Toronto, Canada.

Drivers were recruited between September 2016 and March 2017. A total of 14 semi-structured qualitative interviews and one focus group (n = 11) were conducted. Transcripts were analyzed inductively through a socioecological lens.

The findings of this study are as follows: drivers acknowledged that job precariousness (represented by unstable employment, long hours and low wages) and challenging workplace conditions (sitting all day and limited breaks) contribute to poor physical/mental health. Also, these conditions undermine opportunities to engage in health-protective behaviors (healthy eating, regularly exercising and taking breaks). Drivers do not receive health-enabling reinforcements from religious/cultural networks, colleagues or their taxi brokerage. Drivers do seek support from their primary care providers and family for their physical health but remain discreet about their mental health.

As this study relied on a convenience sample, the sample did not represent all Toronto taxi drivers. All interviews were completed in English and all drivers were male, thus limiting commentary on other experiences and any gender differences in health management approaches among drivers.

Given the global ubiquity of taxi driving and an evolving workplace environment characterized by growing competition, findings are generalizable across settings and may resonate with other precarious professions, including long-haul truck operators and Uber/Lyft drivers. Findings also expose areas for targeted intervention outside the workplace setting.

Health management among taxi drivers is understudied. A fulsome, socioecological understanding of how working conditions (both within and outside the workplace) impact their health is essential in developing targeted interventions to improve health outcomes.