Naver Webtoon Featured in MBA Textbook... "Next Marvel Has Plenty of Potential"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Choi] Naver Webtoon’s growth strategy, which has pioneered the global webtoon market, is being used as a case study in business schools and graduate programs worldwide.

On the 13th, Naver Webtoon announced that a team of professors including Kim Wichan and Renee Mauborgne from the Blue Ocean Strategy Institute at INSEAD, a prestigious French business school, published a case study titled “Innovative Storytelling: How Webtoon Entertainment Changed the Comics Market,” analyzing Naver Webtoon’s market pioneering case and global success strategy. Webtoon Entertainment is the corporation that serves as the headquarters of Naver Webtoon and acts as a global webtoon business hub.

The case study analyzed how Naver Webtoon successfully pioneered the market with a new content form, webtoons, in a comics market traditionally centered on print publishing, and how it rose to become the world’s number one story-tech platform. The INSEAD research team focused on the fact that Naver Webtoon did not simply digitize comics but created a new form of content called webtoons. They analyzed that Naver Webtoon used digital transformation as a lever for value creation and growth to find a breakthrough for innovation.

The case study stated, “By attracting users who previously did not read comics and building an ecosystem where users and creators co-create content, Naver Webtoon created unprecedented customer value as a digital media.” It explained, “By expanding services in 10 languages to globalize the platform itself, discovering local creators, and achieving economies of scale, it was able to emerge as a key player in the global entertainment industry.” In particular, the creation of various business opportunities utilizing original intellectual property (IP) such as video adaptations was evaluated as sufficient grounds for Naver Webtoon to become the ‘Next Marvel.’

The case study was designed to provide insights through interviews with Kim Jun-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, Son Hye-eun, Chief Design Officer (CDO), and Rachel Smythe, author of ‘Lore Olympus,’ who won three awards at this year’s global comics awards. It covers topics such as ▲Naver Webtoon’s initial service planning intent ▲user expansion strategies ▲monetization strategies ▲global expansion strategies ▲language-specific user experience and interface (UX/UI) design strategies considering usability by country ▲and the value of the amateur creator recruitment system established by Naver Webtoon. The case study on Naver Webtoon will be used as teaching material in courses covering strategic management, innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and platform economy.

Guo Young, Senior Research Fellow at INSEAD’s Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, stated, “Naver Webtoon’s market pioneering case is a meaningful example that can serve as a textbook case for Blue Ocean Strategy theory.” He added, “Not only did it create an innovative business model demonstrating the infinite potential of content IP, but in an era requiring digital transformation, Naver Webtoon created new demand, built a market, and became the global number one. This case provides valuable insights into value innovation for current and future managers and is an engaging educational resource.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.