NETW 583 Week 1 Case Study; Case Study Chotukool Project

NETW583 Strategic Management of Technology Case Study: Chotukool Project Professor M. BulejeKeller Graduate School of Management Mario Smith What were the pros and cons of attempting to develop a refrigerator for India’s rural poor? There are both many pros and cons to the development of the Chotukool refrigerator for India’s rural poor. The first pro was improved quality of life and food security for the rural poor. They would have the ability to store food at an appropriate temperature prior to and after preparation. Additionally, this presented the opportunity for more diverse food selections. Another pro was increased shares and revenue for the Chotukool company. The next pro is another for the business which is the Chotukool refrigerator would open a new market. Last but not least was increased market segmentation creating a new option within the appliance segment. While there were definitely many pros associated with the creation of the Chotukool refrigerator, there were offsetting cons as well. First, it was a risk on many levels specifically whether or not it would be successful and whether it would reach the targeted population. Second, it ended up still being too expensive for the targeted population. The third con was the difficulty marketing the refrigerator. What product and process innovations did the ChotuKool entail? Would you consider these incremental or radical? Architectural or component? Competence enhancing or competence destroying? The Chotukool company used both product and process innovations. They made changes to the product by changing its physical design as well as 100 decorative skin designs. The Chotukool company also changed the process of acquiring their newly market refrigerator by reaching an agreement with the India postal office to stock their refrigerators at postal offices which were already located in every rural area. Both innovations were certainly radical. The concept of a refrigerator that was powered by a 12 volt battery was unheard of and a major deviation from other solutions that were ava