Naver Webtoon, digital comics case for global MBA study

Naver Webtoon Ltd., the world’s top digital comics provider, is set to be a textbook case study for global students as a prominent business school has published teaching material examining the service.

INSEAD, one of the world’s leading business schools and based France, on Dec. 5 issued as part of its curriculum “Innovate Storytelling: How Webtoon Entertainment Transformed Comics,” a case study authored by W. Chan Kim, a distinguished professor of strategy and international management, Renée Mauborgne, an affiliate professor of strategy, and Oh Yong Koo, an institute executive fellow.

Webtoon Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of South Korea’s top online portal Naver Corp., is Naver Webtoon’s parent company and manages the global digital comics business.

“Webtoon Entertainment ... with over 60% of the market share, is a prime example of how a company creates and captures new market opportunities in the era of digital transformation,” the summary of the case study said.

The case study is expected to be used for teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, as well as platform and globalization strategy.

FROM WEBTOON SERVICE TO TOP STORYTELLING PLATFORM

The authors of the case study explored the key milestones of Webtoon Entertainment to show how the company transformed the comics industry and became the largest storytelling platform in the world.

Webtoon Entertainment is an example of an unprecedented creation of customer values as a digital media that established an ecosystem to allow creators and users together to make content while attracting people who previously had not read cartoons, the study said.

The company became a major player in the global entertainment sector as it expanded its services in 10 languages and discovered local artists, establishing an economy of scale, according to the study.

In addition, it created various business opportunities such as movies with webtoons, maximizing the value and potential of its own intellectual property, said the study, noting rhat the company could become the “Next Marvel.”

“Naver Webtoon’s market development is significant enough to be a textbook case of Blue Ocean Strategy,” said Koo.

“Naver Webtoon set up an innovative business model not only to show the infinite potential of content IP but also to create new demand in an era required digital transformation. That is interesting enough to a teaching material that provides the insight of value innovation to current and future business leaders.”

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.