Description
Firms face many challenges and trade-offs with respect to their technology investment decisions. The case of Back Bay Battery will help us engage deeply with such challenges and trade-offs in a real business situation. You will play the role of the President at Back Bay Battery Company, a manufacturer of AGM batteries. The President’s responsibility is to determine the appropriate timing and level of R&D investments between existing and new battery technologies under uncertain real-world conditions. Your decisions are of course subject to corporate-level financial constraints.
You will get up to two practice runs, and then you will do the final run. Note that each run includes making decisions over an eight-year period.
Simulation write-up:
The simulation write-up is meant to capture your thinking over the course of the final run of the simulation. You can include exhibits if you think this will help explain the rationale for why you took certain decisions.
The write-up should address the following questions (either in a Q&A or an essay form). In answering the questions, please refer only to your decisions in the final run of the simulation (not the practice runs).
What was the initial strategy while playing the game (related to prices, choice of technology, R&D spending and ultimate performance goal) and the logic underlying that strategy? Please be explicit about the assumptions that formed the basis for the initial strategy.
How did the strategy change over time (i.e. between the first and the eighth year) and what were the reasons for those changes?
What did you take away from the simulation? Comment on the key insights you obtained from playing the game. You may draw on theory from the lectures related to disruptive innovation, technology S-curves.
Will provide access to the game
