Stan Shih's Decisions: On his way to San Jose in February 1995, Stan Shih pondered the significance of the Aspire project.Clearly, it represented the client-server system at work,this could become the first product designed and developed by an RBU, in response to a locally sensed market opportunity. Beyond that.he had the feeling it might have the potential to become Acer's first global blockbuster product. Despite its promise,however, Shih wanted to listen to the views of the project's critics. Some pointed out that AAC had just begun to generate profits in the first quarter of 1994, largely on the basis of its solid OEM sales, which accounted for almost 50% of revenues. Given its delicate profit position, thry argued that AAC should not be staking its future on the extremely expensive and highly competitive branded consumer products business.Established competitors were likely to launch their own multimedia home PCs-perhaps even before Acer.Building a new brand in this crowded,competitive market was extremely difficult as proven by manny failed attempts,including the costly failure of Taiwan-based Mitac, launched as a branded PC in the early 1990s. Even among those who saw potential in the product,there were several who expressed concern about the project's implementation.With all the company's engineering and production expertise located in Taiwan, these critics argued that the task of coordinating the development and delivery of such an innovative new product was just too risky to leave to an inexperienced group in an RBU with limited development resources. If the project were to be approved,they suggested it be transferred back to the SBUs in Taiwan for implementation Finally,some wondered whether Acer's client server organization model and "local touch"management would support Aspire becoming a viable global product. With the growing independence of the RBUs worldwide,they were concerned that each one would want to redesign the product and marketing strategy for local market, therby negating any potential scale economies. As his plane touched down in San Francisco,Shih tried to resolve his feelings of excitement and concern. Should he support the Aspire project,change it, or put it on hold? And what implications would his decisions have for the new corporate model he had been building?