Abstract

The case “China’s Cheetah Mobile: Strategy Development for a Global Business” is about China-based Cheetah Mobile’s (Cheetah) efforts to sustain itself in the global mobile app market through various strategic moves and technological adaptations. The case starts out by providing a brief history of Cheetah that started off as a PC (Personal Computer) software company, but later shifted to mobile apps, due to the growing prospects of the mobile industry. The monetization efforts of the company are also described briefly, especially its efforts in the in-app mobile advertising space. The case then delves into the reasons that prompted the company to target international markets and also documents its efforts in that regard. It mentions the various improvements made by the company in its apps to increase user engagement such as becoming a content provider, embedding the content app in its utility apps, and rolling out Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies across most of its utility apps. The case concludes with a look at the challenges faced in the future focus areas of the company and its efforts to further monetize its business.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Explore the reasons that drive a company to make strategic changes
• Analyze the impact of various strategic decisions on a company’s strategic direction
• Understand how strategy development takes place for a company in a technology-intensive industry
• Identify the various business models used to monetize a mobile app business
• Examine the reasons that drive the globalization strategies of Chinese companies

Keywords

Mobile apps, Business Models , China, Globalization, Strategic Change, Strategy Development, Business Monetization, Mobile Advertising, Revenue Streams , Artificial Intelligence, Strategic Decisions, Content Provider, Technology Changes, User Retention, Competitive Strategy