Each year, EFMD celebrates influential contributions to management development through the Case Writing Competition. The 2023 edition showcased a remarkable array of winning cases from diverse industries. To delve deeper into the stories behind these achievements, we spoke with the winners about their motivations, inspirations, and the challenges they overcame.

In this interview, we feature Howard Lam, Hugh Thomas, Elsie Tsui, and Tracy Shiyu Lu, the winners of the “Bringing Technology to Market” category.

“Health View Bioanalytic Limited: Generating Impact from Research”

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share your academic or professional background?

Professors Howard Lam and Hugh Thomas have worked together successfully on several cases. Hugh approaches problems historically (his bachelor’s degree was in history) and financially (MBA and PhD). Except for a seven-year stint as a young banker between his MBA and PhD, Hugh has always been an academic and is currently based at The Chinese University of Hong (CUHK), Shenzhen’s School of Management and Economics. Howard was a businessman with a long, successful career in creating new brands and products, rising to be a leading executive in several global consumer goods companies before he became an academic. Although he has a marketing PhD, his undergraduate was in computer science; his masters were in MBA and finance.  Howard has worked in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen and is currently based at the School of Business at CUHK in Hong Kong. Dr. Elsie Tsui initiated the case through her role at The Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) at CUHK in Hong Kong, where she works to commercialize academic research and technology, generating both social impact and financial returns. Elsie is also on the faculty at CUHK Business School. Her DBA thesis centred on social innovation and entrepreneurship. She has held executive positions in corporations and worked as a management consultant specializing in innovation in Hong Kong, London, and Shanghai. Dr Shiyu Tracy Lu, who was a PhD student at the Department of Social Work at CUHK when she joined the team, has a strong interest in healthy ageing and is now an Assistant Professor at the City University of Hong Kong.

What inspired you to develop this particular case study?

We are all interested in how entrepreneurs can benefit mankind and especially in how university professors can convert their academic research into valuable products and services.

We have known the founder of Health View Bioanalytic Limited and case protagonist, Prof. Benny Zee, for many years. A colleague at CUHK, Benny, served on the board of the CUHK Centre for Entrepreneurship when Hugh was its director. After Benny became the head of the ORKTS, he welcomed Elsie’s suggestion that our team research and write the case. So, the four of us worked on the case together with the active support of Benny.

What key learnings or insights have you gained from the experience of writing the case?

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology can help us identify health risks early. Health View provides fast, inexpensive, non-invasive assessments of the risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease by using AI to analyse retinal images taken with opticians’ fundus cameras.

In addition to a viable technology, a start-up needs a good business model to maximise the value it provides to society. HealthView offers the new service via existing networks of other companies and NGOs, including opticians with retail outlets. The case asks how HealthView can scale up to reach more people.

Many challenges are involved in translating academic and scientific research into a thriving business. Through our conversations with Benny, we learned how he strove to ensure technology accessibility, to align with societal demands, and to generate tangible societal impact through scaling up. These challenges pose considerable difficulties for entrepreneurs in general, but they are even more pronounced for academics who have dedicated their lives to scientific discovery for social good.

How does your case study reflect current trends or shifts in the industry or market it focuses on, and what implications might these trends have for future business practices?

AI can create tremendous value in healthcare. By applying parametric analysis and AI to meticulously constructed data sets of disease suffers and non-suffers, university researchers can publish cutting-edge articles in leading scientific publications. They can also create web-based models with trained values of parameters. The models can be accessed at extremely low costs by operators of standardized devices (the fundus camera, in the case of HealthView) operated by technicians with minimal training. This can give information to individuals at risk of developing chronic ailments before they become ill, allowing them to manage their own health.

The case presents just one of the many ways that AI will impact business. Not only will it be a co-pilot for doctors, but it will also give information directly to patients, allowing them to make important lifestyle choices and, with their doctors, intelligent treatment decisions.

Universities produce knowledge, but to be more relevant, they must transfer and translate that knowledge beyond academia. This will lead to commercialization and positive change in society, generating impact and helping attain sustainable development goals. We hope our case will serve as a valuable point of reference for individuals interested in utilizing technology to foster social impacts while obtaining financial returns.

How do you hope your case study will impact future learners and educators in your field?

We hope that instructors and students will deepen their understanding of the entrepreneurial dilemma in scaling up social- and for-profit enterprises using AI in customer-centric health services.

We hope that our case will encourage more educators to conduct case research and publish their own cases. Putting students in the shoes of the case protagonist not only teaches them about actual commercial practices but also encourages them to devise viable business models based on academic frameworks and concepts.

And we hope to encourage more academics to engage in successful knowledge transfer for the betterment of society.

The Sponsor’s Commentary

The category “Bringing Technology to Market” is kindly judged by The Case Centre. EFMD deeply appreciates the invaluable expertise and the dedicated efforts of The Case Centre in supporting the Case Writing Competition. Vicky Lester tells us more about the winning case:

How does sponsoring a category in the EFMD Case Writing Competition align with your institution’s core values and mission?

Sponsoring a category in the EFMD Case Writing Competition aligns with The Case Centre’s mission as the independent home of the case method. By supporting this competition, we contribute to the development of high-quality educational materials that foster critical thinking and practical problem-solving skills among students globally. This sponsorship reflects our commitment to advancing the case method worldwide, sharing knowledge, wisdom and experience to inspire and transform business education across the globe and creating a platform where innovative ideas and best practices can be shared and celebrated.

Reflecting on the winning case and its contributions, what has been your institution’s learning experience from being involved in this competition?

Reflecting on the winning case, The Case Centre has gained valuable insights into emerging trends and challenges in the business world. The competition highlights the importance of integrating theoretical knowledge with practical applications, enhancing our message to institutions across the globe in how case studies can be used as powerful teaching tools and have an incredible impact on developing vital employability skills in students to be our future managers and leaders.

What, in your view, set the winning case apart in the category sponsored by your institution?

The winning case in the “Bringing Technology to Market” category distinguished itself through its comprehensive analysis of the commercialisation process for innovative technologies. What set it apart was its clear demonstration of strategic thinking and practical application. The case effectively highlighted the complexities and challenges involved in bringing a new technology to market, including aspects such as assessing business models, value propositions, target markets, sales channels, and strategic partners. Its robust, real-world relevance and the depth of its pedagogical insights made it a standout submission.

About Sponsorship

EFMD Case Writing Competition is proud to have dedicated sponsors who drive management education towards impactful teaching and learning. Sponsoring a category allows you to showcase your institution’s expertise in the specific field of management education in the wide EFMD network. The choice of category, its exact definition and any specific conditions are the privileges of the sponsor. Sponsorships for the following categories are currently available – Bringing Technology to Market, Continuous Improvement: the Journey to Excellence, and Latin American Business Cases. If you are interested in sponsoring the mentioned categories or launching a new category relevant to case writing and teaching, please contact Petra Grestenbergerova at petra.grestenbergerova@efmdglobal.org.

More information about the 2023 EFMD Case Writing Competition can be found on the EFMD Case Writing Competition page. Please visit The Case Centre’s webpage to access the collection of the winning cases. See other interviews from this series.