Author Description

This case study on India's wireless giant Bharti Airtel (Airtel) is the second of two cases on the company that show how the firm exemplifies many of the tenets set forth in the book the New Age of Innovation by CK Prahalad and MS Krishnan. Case B presents the students with the varied strategies that Airtel has pursued to become one of the most profitable wireless telecommunications companies in the world, despite the fact that it operates in one of the poorest countries on Earth. Airtel changed the industry by moving away from such standard metrics as Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and has employed alternative measurements for success. It has also relied heavily on outsourcing non-core functions and designed unique Value-Added Services for its varied customer base. the case asks students how Airtel can maintain its culture of innovation while growing quickly. How will it be able to remain agile, entrepreneurial, and flexible in the face of the necessary standardization that accompanies scale?