Using Social Media in Business Disputes Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Big businesses frequently exploit capabilities and their enormously superior legal resources to the disadvantage of smaller rivals. The prospect of a drawn-out lawsuit and the only threat of litigation are frequently all that is necessary to persuade a smaller business to acquiesce to the larger opponent's legal demands. The author writes about a defensive strategy he calls "lawsourcing"that turns the tables on large firms by collecting public support, typically through social media and public relations. The notion of lawsourcing -which is a variation of what's become known as "crowdsourcing"-isn't completely new. Back in 1984, when Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. was a six-year-old upstart in the ice cream company, Pillsbury (then the owner of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream brand) attempted to pressure some of its distributors not to manage Ben & Jerry's products.

Ben & Jerry's fought back hard, with a scrappy campaign built around the motto "What's the Doughboy Afraid Of?" Well-performed lawsourcing campaigns can provide major advantages to businesses, including loyalty and increased sales and greater brand awareness. The writer cites several examples, including: Hampton Creek Foods Inc., a small San Francisco-based food producer. In the fall of 2014, Unilever, owner of the Hellmann's brand of mayonnaise, filed suit against Hampton Creek for using the word "mayo"to describe its vegan mayonnaise replacement, called Just Mayo. Hampton Creek fought back by commenting about the suit on Twitter and Facebook and participating with media sympathetic to its circumstances. Unilever removed its litigation. Vermont artist Bo Muller-Moore, who sells T shirts adorned with the slogan "Eat More Kale."Atlanta-based fast-food chain Chik-fil-A Inc. maintained that Muller-Moore's slogan infringed upon its national trademark rights to the phrase "Eat Mor Chikin."After an energetic social media effort, Muller Moore got his own brand. Tesla Motors Inc., which is challenging state franchise regulations that control Tesla from selling cars directly to consumers. Tesla's strategy leverages company CEO Elon Musk's powerful social networking presence and the company's site to advise sympathizers about the dilemmas and encourage them to tell regulators of their resistance to regulations restricting direct sales. The author notes several common themes for lawsourcing efforts that are successful, including a persuasive narrative; strong, engaged social networking efforts; direct appeals for support and leveraging social media for mainstream media exposure.

Using Social Media in Business Disputes Case Study Solution

PUBLICATION DATE: January 01, 2016 PRODUCT #: SMR544-HCB-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about TECHNOLOGY & OPERATIONS