Mitchell Energy and the Shale Revolution: Blue Ocean in Practice
written by Kannan Ramaswamy, fl. 2016 (Glendale, AZ: Thunderbird Global School of Management, 2016, originally published 2015), 7 page(s)
Details
- Abstract / Summary
- George Mitchell founded Mitchell Energy to prospect for gas in resource-rich Texas. The company was imbued with a counter-intuitive, 'can-do' culture right from its start as a scrappy independent player among the more formidable majors, many of whom had a large presence in the region. However, unlike the established rivals who were primarily competing to prospect and produce oil reserves, Mitchell focused on natural gas. The natural gas business was not a hospitable environment, especially in the 1970s when Mitchell Energy was getting fully entrenched in the business. George Mitchell brought a new perspective to the gas business by implementing a blue ocean approach. Creating a culture of innovation that encouraged his crew to question received wisdom and fostering an environment that helped his staff take well-measured and well-managed risks, he was able to oversee the advent of the shale gas revolution the United States. The case offers several important lessons on implementing blue ocean thinking in practice that can be used across industry settings. The specific teaching objectives for the case are: (a) To illustrate the challenges associated with implementing a blue ocean strategy in a traditional, established, mature business (b) To provide a template that explores the application of blue ocean concepts in the real world (c) To understand the obstacles that typically stifle innovation in corporate environments.
- Field of Interest
- Business & Economics
- Author
- Kannan Ramaswamy, fl. 2016
- Copyright Message
- Copyright © 2016 Thunderbird School of Global Management, a unit of the Arizona State University Knowledge Enterprise.
- Content Type
- Case study
- Duration
- 0 sec
- Format
- Text
- Original Publication Date
- 2015
- Page Count
- 7
- Publication Year
- 2016
- Publisher
- Thunderbird Global School of Management
- Place Published / Released
- Glendale, AZ
- Subject
- Business & Economics, Social Sciences, Energy & Environment, Business, Marketing and advertising, Natural gas mining, Natural Gas Distribution, Mitchell Energy and Development, George P. Mitchell, 1919-2013
