Product details

The case puts the students in the role of Dr Alfons Schrader, the CEO of Heise Medien GmbH & Co KG (Heise Medien). Heise Medien is one of the largest and most important publishers of magazines for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, publishing also the largest German-language ICT print magazines, the c't. Schrader's challenge is to develop a business model for the still successfully operating Heise Medien with its online and offline formats and its events. The case describes the competitive environment in the German publishing industry in the segment of ICT in the broader sense, including traditional magazines, such as the c't, as well as price comparison websites, online magazines for semi-professional photographers and events and information for the maker scene. Current developments and revenue models are discussed referring to publicly available sources and field research and interviews with the case protagonists Dr Alfons Schrader (CEO), Johannes Endres (chief editor), and Fabien Rohlinger (business development manager). The big picture resulting is a successfully operating publisher who has already given a number of right responses to the digital transformation of the publishing industry. But still, Schrader has not yet found the business model to create sustainable competitive advantages and prepare the company for the on-going digital transformation.