Teaching Note: Wanda's Twist on Say's Law

Abstract

This case teaches advanced business reasoning skills by focusing on the motivations for Wanda-Dalian’s Chairman Wang Jianlin’s conflict with Disney over Disney’s new Shanghai theme park. The case reviews Wanda’s development – from real estate up-start to national builder. From cinema operation to movie maker. And from its focus on global cultural industries to fighting with Disney for market share in China’s quickly growing real estate and entertainment businesses. At its heart, the decision to fight Disney pits the Wanda Way against the Disney Way, and tests whether Chinese companies need to develop local markets following the National Development Model and the Communist Party’s policies in order to succeed. Questioning canonical business school thinking, the case challenges readers to explore the limits of consumer value by thinking through the limits of Say’s Law (named after 18th century French philosopher Jean-Baptiste Say and his admonition that supply creates its own demand).

Keywords: Core Competencies, Business Strategy, Government-Business Relations, Wanda, Wang Jianlin, Disney, Hollywood, Entertainment, Cultural Industries

JEL Classification: M11, L14, L88, M38, R38