Abstract

Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited (HKT) is a member firm of the PCCW conglomerate and Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications company. In November 2011, HKT rolled out eSmartHealth; the first cloud-based health data management service in the territory. eSmartHealth aimed at providing integrated data on personal wellness and healthcare management. The business kicked off with a wellness management service targeting figure-conscious females, marathon lovers, and health-conscious urban dwellers. Over the next five years, eSmartHealth evolved its positioning from wellness to healthcare and explored new segments.
HKT would typically give a new business venture a year’s grace period to break even. But eSmartHealth was going into its sixth year and still looked like it was in the startup stage. Teresa Ng, the Head of marketing for HKT’s consumer group, sensed the pressure to turn eSmartHealth around and make it a success was intensifying. She and her team realized that the generosity of top management would not persist if the business failed to make a decent profit.
 

Learning Objectives

Through case analysis, students are enabled to:

1. Gain an understanding of the digital health industry ecosystem, the role played by different stakeholders, and their interests and concerns;
2. Evaluate the challenges and opportunities of a first-mover in the digital healthcare market;
3. Examine a company’s competitiveness and identify its advantages and unique propositions; and
4. Evaluate options to develop a strategic plan for building up a profitable growth strategy.