Bharti Airtel: Case studies (A) and (B)

These two classic cases studies on India's wireless giant Bharti Airtel (Airtel) are the first to examine 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 A presents the students with the history of India's wireless telecommunications industry and the unique challenges faced by operators in that environment. It also gives the background on Airtel, introduces its leaders, and describes some of the biggest challenges facing the company. Case A ends by asking students to analyze the Indian environment and capabilities of Airtel to determine what strategies the wireless provider should use for growth. Case B gives students the opportunity to see which strategies the company actually pursued and the results of those approaches. The teaching points of these cases include: How to reduce a firm's cost structure by turning fixed costs into variables costs, and methods of expanding service offerings to reach new markets at the bottom of the pyramid