For China’s coronavirus-hit companies, the internet can be much more than just a lifeline
- Beyond selling through the internet or developing internet-based products, visionaries are using it as a testing ground for novel ideas and improvements, including ‘employee sharing’ to direct resources to where they are most needed
Some firms see the internet as a mere substitute for offline sales and distribution channels. More farsighted firms develop internet-based products and services, carving out a niche on the back of a new business model that they hope will thrive in the post-pandemic world.
Better still, a few corporate visionaries see the outbreak as a blessing in disguise, in line with the Chinese idea that every crisis presents an opportunity.
What sets these three types apart is how they treat the internet: as a mere substitute, a new market frontier or, ultimately, a platform enabling fundamental changes to the business model and organisational design.
After the pandemic struck, many public hospitals responded by launching a flurry of online medical service platforms. This is in stark contrast to the old days when a “digital transition” at such institutions meant little more than adding online registration, report checks and payment options. Few had the incentive or the capacity to add online diagnosis to their portfolios.