As part of the Harvard Business School’s MBA course, a group of students were in Delhi from January 2-12 to analyse the multiplex chain PVR Pictures’ business model and develop a case study.
The project is a mandatory part of the first year of Harvard Business School’s MBA programme in which students engage in a 10-day project where they analyse a business model of an enterprise. This was PVR Pictures’ second year, associating with the students from Harvard.
This year, the students analysed and submitted a case study on ‘end-to-end digital experience for customers’, which saw a group of six students interacting with PVR’s customers to come up with feasible and practical suggestions. Students worked on how PVR could boost e-commerce prospects and engage with their customers both before and after watching a film.
Accompanying the students was faculty member Paul McKinnon who said, “Harvard Business School is committed to understanding how business is done around the globe. Therefore, for our students, it is important to see and understand how business is conducted in a country which is completely new for them and whose environment they are alien to. Our students had a wonderful experience in India and met with almost 165 customers and visited a few of the cinemas to understand the business better.”
Stating that the interaction is beneficial for both the parties involved, PVR Pictures CEO, Kamal Gianchandani, said that although PVR does not have a similar tie-up with any Indian business school, they would welcome the same.
“We value this relationship with Harvard Business School. Consumers are availing entertainment content online, and PVR is keen to find out practices that can be deployed to understand our consumers better. As part of the case study, the students visited nine of our theatres and came up with several suggestions which we are looking into and trying to internalise through observations and inputs. Many of their observations were extremely insightful and helpful. Ours is a growing business, and their suggestions help us move ahead,” Mr. Gianchandani said.
Adding that last year’s case study was a beneficial one, Mr. Gianchandani said that one of the suggestions — adding subtitles — was already being put to practice and has proved to be beneficial.
