Harvard Business School Publishing
Case Map for
Hoskisson, Hitt, Ireland, Harrison
Competing For Advantage, 2nd Edition
(Cengage Learning, ©2008)
This map was prepared by an experienced editor. Faculty at Harvard Business School were not
involved in analyzing the textbook or selecting the cases and articles.
Every case map provides only a partial list of relevant items from HBS Publishing. To explore
alternatives of for more information an the cases listed below, visit: www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators
1. Introduction to Strategic
Management
Ice-Fili
Michael G. Rukstad; Sasha
Mattu; Asya Petinova
Product#: 703516
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Stephen P. Bradley, Pankaj
Ghemawat, Sharon Foley
Pub. Date: September 18,
2003
Product#: 9-794-024
Bally Total Fitness
John R. Wells, Elizabeth A.
Raabe
Pub. Date: November 14,
2005
Product#: 9-706-450
Nucor at a Crossroads
Publication Date: Aug 31,
1992
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Pankaj Ghemawat,
Henricus J. Stander III
Type: Case (Field)
Setting
Setting:
Russia; Food
industry; $25
million revenues;
2002
Setting:
United States;
Retail industry;
large; $68 billion
revenues; 440,000
employees; 1994
Setting:
United States;
Fitness industry;
$954 million
revenues; 22,200
employees; 20032004
Setting:
Charlotte, NC;
Steel industry;
Fortune 500; $1
billion assets; 1987
Description
Designed as an overview of all aspects of the strategy process: industry
analysis, positioning, dynamics and sustainability, and scope issues of
corporate strategy, including vertical integration, horizontal diversification,
and location issues. Ice-Fili is the largest ice cream producer in Russia in
2002, but is facing strong competition from Nestle despite its success over
other multinational competitors. Contains detailed exhibits, allowing
deeper analyses. Teaching Purpose: To introduce students to strategy.
Subjects Covered: Business policy, Competition, Competitive strategy,
Corporate strategy, Emerging markets, Five forces, Food processing
industry, General management, Industry analysis, Manufacturing industry,
Russia, Strategy formulation.
Description:
Focuses on the evolution of Wal-Mart's remarkably successful discount
operations and describes the company's more recent attempts to diversify
into other businesses. The company has entered the warehouse club
industry with its Sam's Clubs and the grocery business with its
Supercenters, a combination supermarket and discount store. Wal-Mart
experienced a drop in the value of its stock price in early 1993, which it
still has not made up. Wal-Mart has advantages over its competitors in
areas such as distribution, information technology, and merchandising, to
name a few.
Subjects Covered:
Competition, Discount department stores, Industry structure, Strategy
formulation, Strategy implementation.
A modest health and tennis club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to
become one of the major firms in the $14 billion U.S. health club industry
in 2004. Throughout its history, Bally had faced its share of challenges as
it rose to become a leading health club operator. The last couple of years
had proven particularly difficult, however: Bally's stock price had
collapsed, it restated earnings in 2003 to the chagrin of stockholders, and
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating the
company's accounting procedures. Also, Bally faced significant competition
from the likes of privately owned 24 Hour Fitness, which had $1 billion in
sales in 2003. In 2004, under the direction of CEO Paul Toback, the
company streamlined advertising efforts--targeting undertapped segments
of the population--cut costs, and modified the firm's internal controls.
Management's focus remained on increasing membership and maximizing
revenue per member. Would Toback's efforts get the company's price back
up, inspire stockholder confidence in Bally, and resist a rumored takeover,
enabling Bally to remain a major player in the industry? A rewritten
version of earlier cases.
Subjects Covered:
Accounting, Competitive strategy, Five forces, Health, Industry analysis,
Industry structure, Profits, Service organizations.
Description:
Nucor is a minimill deciding whether to spend a significant fraction of its
net worth on a commercially unproven technology in order to penetrate a
large but hitherto inaccessible segment of the steel market. This case is an
integrative one designed to facilitate full-blown analysis of a strategic
investment decision.
Subjects Covered:
Product Number: 9-793-039
Revision Date:
Jan 20, 1998
Length: 22p
2. Strategic Leadership
GE’s Two-Decade
Transformation: Jack
Welch’s Leadership
Christopher A. Bartlett; Meg
Wozny
©1999 24 pages
Product#: 399150
Howard Schultz and
Starbucks Coffee Company
Publication Date:
Feb 13, 2001
Revision Date:
Sep 30, 2005
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Nancy F. Koehn
Type: Case (Pub Mat)
Product Number: 9-801-361
Length: 40p
Teaching Note
Capital investments, Competition, Economic analysis, Expansion,
Technological change.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Setting
Setting:
United States;
Global; $100 billion
revenues; 293,000
employees; 19811998
Subjects Covered: Business policy, Competitive strategy, Conglomerates,
Corporate culture, Corporate strategy, Executives, General management,
Leadership, Management of change, Manufacturing industry,
Organizational behavior & leadership, Organizational change,
Organizational development, Service industry, Strategy implementation,
Upper management.
Seattle, WA; Retail
industry; $2.2
billion revenues;
37,000 employees;
1982-2001
Setting:
Boston, MA; United
States; 5
employees; 2005
Bennie Wiley at The
Partnership, Inc.
Laura Morgan Roberts, Victoria
W. Winston
Pub. Date: October 24, 2005
Product Number: 9-406-012
Bill Belichick and the
Cleveland Browns
John R. Wells, Travis Haglock
Product Number: 9-706-415
3. The External
Environment:
Opportunities, Threats,
Industry Competition, and
Description
GE is faced with Jack Welch’s impending retirement and whether anyone
can sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the
Welch era. After briefly describing GE’s heritage and Welch’s
transformation of the company’s business portfolio of the 1980s, the case
chronicles Welch’s revitalization initiatives through the late 1980s and
1990s. It focuses on six of Welch’s major change programs: The
“Software” Initiatives, Globalization, Redefining Leadership, Stretch
Objectives, Service Business Development, and Six Sigma Quality
Setting:
Cleveland, OH;
Sports industry;
$100 million
revenues; 200
employees; 1995
Investigates the entrepreneur's strategic initiatives to develop a mass
market for specialty coffee in the 1980s and 1990s. These initiatives
included the development of premium products, rapid expansion of
company-owned stores--each with attractive retail environments and
responsive customer service--and, especially, the creation of a strong
brand. Also devotes considerable attention to how Schultz built the
Starbucks organization, examining the consistent emphasis that he and his
colleagues placed on the company's relationship with its employees, how
Schultz financed Starbucks' early expansion, how vertical integration
ensured quality control, and how--strategically and operationally--the
company managed its phenomenal domestic and international growth after
1993.
Description:
Benaree Wiley, an African American, female HBS graduate (class of 1972),
was appointed CEO and president in 1991 of The Partnership, a Bostonbased nonprofit dedicated to developing leadership potential in
professionals of color and in increasing their representation in area
businesses and institutions. The organization suffered from a lack of unity
among the board, an unclear mission, and financial challenges, including
debt in excess of $100,000. Starting with only an administrative assistant,
Wiley built the organization from the ground up, using her ability to
develop and nurture relationships as the basis for growth. In December
2004, Wiley announced her impending retirement, leaving the organization
with the strategic challenge of moving its programs and services to a level
of greater impact (beyond the Boston community), without the leadership
of its heralded CEO.
Subjects Covered:
African Americans, Business models, Careers & career planning, Diversity,
General management, Growth strategy, Leadership, Minority & ethnic
groups, Nonprofit sector, Power & influence, Women in business.
Description:
Genius? That is not what they were calling Bill Belichick in Cleveland. Why?
Four losing seasons in five years. Fans hurled trash and insults. The media
resented him. Ownership abandoned him. Players quit on him. Very
different from the three Super Bowls in five years Belichick would win with
the New England Patriots a few years later. Different players? Different
ownership? Different management styles? Different strategies? Different
coach? Find out. What happened when the Browns hired a man who began
studying football strategy at the age of six? A man with a degree in
economics who almost became an MBA candidate before accepting a job in
football that paid $25 a week. A man who was long recognized as one of
the best assistant coaches in the NFL. Learn how Belichick managed the
players, the coaches, the owner, the media, etc.
Subjects Covered:
Business history, CEO, Human resources management, Leadership,
Management philosophy, Strategy formulation, Strategy implementation.
Setting
Description
Competitor Analysis.
Crown Cork & Seal in 1989
Publication Date:
Mar 1, 1993
Revision Date:
Jul 26, 2005
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Stephen P. Bradley, Sheila
Cavanaugh
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-793-035
Length: 21p
Teaching Note
Computer Reservation
Systems : An Industry of Its
Own
Ali F. Farhoomand, Andrew Lee
Pub. Date: January 01, 2000
Product#: HKU055
Setting:
United States;
Packaging, carton
& container
industries; Fortune
500; $1.8 billion
revenues; 1989
Setting:
Global; Airline
industry; 1998
The Pharmaceutical
Industry: Challenges in the
New Century
Stephen P. Bradley; James B.
Weber
©2003 (revision 2004) 32
pages
Product#: 703489
Yahoo!: Business on
Internet Time
Jan W. Rivkin, Jay Girotto
Pub. Date: July 10, 1999
Product#: 9-700-013
4. The Internal
Environment: Resources,
Capabilities, and Core
Competencies
Setting:
Internet & online
services industries;
$30 billion market
value; 900
employees; 1999
Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) vendors have enjoyed an
indispensable role in the travel industry--75% to 80% of all airline
bookings are made by travel agents using CRSs. But by mid-1998, their
solid position in the industry is being threatened by two forces: the Web
Sites run by airlines that are capable of accepting bookings directly from
customers, and a new CRS, supported by travel agencies around the
world, called Genesis. It is scheduled to go on trial in fourth quarter of
1998 and for launch in 1999.
Subjects Covered:
Corporate strategy, Electronic commerce, Five forces, Travel.
Provides a broad overview of the numerous internal and external forces
that were driving change in the global pharmaceutical industry in 2003.
These forces—including downward price pressures, political and social
pressures, increased development costs, new technologies, new and
different competitors, consolidation, and threats to its basic business
models—were changing the way drugs were discovered, developed,
manufactured, tested, regulated, marketed, sold, and purchased. A
rewritten version of an earlier case.
Subjects Covered: Business & government, Competitive strategy,
General management, Global Research Group, Industry analysis, Industry
structure, Management of change, Manufacturing industry, Organizational
behavior & leadership, Pharmaceuticals industry.
Description:
In the wake of major competitive moves, CEO Tim Koogle and his senior
team at Yahoo!, an Internet portal, must decide whether and how to
adjust their strategy. Following deals between AOL and Netscape, Excite
and @Home, Infoseek and Disney, and Snap and NBS, Yahoo! faces the
prospect of being the last portal without a significant partner. Students
must grapple with the benefits and costs of integration in the rapidly
changing world of the Internet. Special emphasis is given to the
interactions among Yahoo!'s functions and the effects of those interactions
on firm flexibility.
Subjects Covered:
Competition, Internet, Search engines, Strategy formulation.
Setting
Description
Starbucks is faced with the issue of how it should leverage its core
competencies against various opportunities for growth, including
introducing its coffee in McDonalds, pursuing further expansion of its retail
operations, and leveraging the brand into other product areas. The case is
written so that students need to first identify where Starbucks’
competencies lie along the value chain, and then assess how well those
competencies can be leveraged across the various alternatives. Also
provides an opportunity for students to assess what is driving growth in
this company. Starbucks has a tremendous appetite for cash since all its
stores are corporate, and investors are betting that it will be able to
continue its phenomenal growth so it needs to walk a fine line between
leveraging its brand to achieve growth and not eroding it in the process.
Starbucks
Mary M. Crossan; Ariff Kachra
©1998, 28 pages
Product#: 98M006
Documentum, Inc.
Rajiv Lal , Sean Lanagan
Description:
Describes the structure and recent trends of the metal container industry,
Crown's successful strategy for competing in the industry, and John
Connelly's leadership over more than 20 years. In 1989, William Avery
succeeded Connelly as CEO and is forced to consider new strategic options
in the face of industry change. May be used with How Global Brands
Compete (R0409D) 8p Douglas B. Holt, John A. Quelch, Earl L. Taylor
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Setting:
Silicon Valley;
Subjects Covered: Brands, Competitive strategy, Core competency,
Corporate strategy, Entrepreneurship, Fast food industry, Growth strategy,
Industry analysis, Marketing strategy, Product management, Service
industry.
Description:
Describes Jeff Miller's attempt to implement Geoffrey Moore's crossing the
Pub. Date: September 18,
2001
Product#: 9-502-026
Software industry;
start-up; $2 million
revenues; 20
employees; 1993
Setting:
Palm Beach, FL;
2001
Digital Angel
Youngme Moon, Kerry Herman
Pub. Date: November 09,
2001
Product#: 9-502-021
Adolph Coors in the Brewing
Industry
Publication Date: Aug 20,
1987
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Pankaj Ghemawat
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-388-014
Revision Date:
Jun 23, 1992
Length: 21p
5. Business Level Strategy
Airborne Express (A)
Publication Date:
Feb 5, 1998
Revision Date:
Dec 7, 1999
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Jan W. Rivkin
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-798-070
Length: 23p
Teaching Note
Samsung Electronics
Publication Date:
Jun 30, 2005
Revision Date:
Jul 29, 2006
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Jordan Siegel, James Jinho
Chang
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: 9-705-508
Language: English
Length: 26p
Teaching Note
Setting:
United States;
Fortune 500;
1975-1985
Setting
United States;
Express delivery;
$2.5 billion
revenues; 20,000
employees; 1997
China; Global;
South Korea;
Electronics
industry;
Semiconductor
industry; $78.5
billion revenues;
113,000
employees; 2005
Setting:
Radio; 2002
XM Satellite Radio (A)
David B. Godes, Elie Ofek
25 pages ©2003 (Update
2004)
Product#: 9 504009
chasm ideas at enterprise software vendor, Documentum.
Subjects Covered:
Entrepreneurial management, Information technology, Market selection,
Marketing strategy, New product marketing, Sales strategy, Software.
Description:
Digital Angel is considering the appropriate marketing plan for the launch
of its new locator device. The device, a watch and pager worn in
combination, provides GPS location information and monitors heart rate
and body temperature via body sensors. Parents of young children and
caregivers of Alzheimer's patients are the initial target markets for the
device, but at least 26 potential markets have been identified for the
product. Building a brand and generating positive word of mouth are
central to the marketing plan decision. But the technology also raises
concerns over privacy issues, and the benefits of the product are complex
and challenging to communicate.
Subjects Covered:
Advertising strategy, Consumer marketing, Innovation, Marketing
planning, New product marketing, Product development, Product
introduction, Technology.
Description:
Describes a company that had traditionally followed a strategy quite
distinct from its major competitors', its eventual decision to imitate them,
and its subsequent performance.
Subjects Covered:
Beverages, Competition, Industry analysis, Industry structure.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description
In the wake of a highly successful quarter, senior managers of Airborne
Express, the third largest player in the express mail industry, review the
firm's competitive position. Airborne has survived, and recently prospered,
in an industry with significant economies of scale even though it is much
smaller than industry giants Federal Express and United Parcel Service.
The case challenges students to understand Airborne's unusual position.
Detailed data allow students to analyze Airborne's relative cost position,
the fit among its activities, the differences between Airborne and its rivals,
and the evolution of its industry. Using these analyses, students make
recommendations concerning the firm's pricing policy, its globalization
efforts, and a partnership with a related company. Designed to be taught
in a course on business-unit strategy. May be used with Selected Exhibits
from Airborne Express (A), Spreadsheet (9-703-751).
When is it possible to create a dual advantage of being both low cost and
differentiated? In this case, students assess whether Samsung Electronics
has been able to achieve such a dual advantage, and if so, how this was
possible. Moreover, Samsung Electronics' long-held competitive advantage
is under renewed attack. Students also can assess how Samsung should
respond to large-scale Chinese entry into its industry.
XM Satellite Radio is a radically new way to listen to radio. Management
must develop a marketing strategy to launch the firm and the category. A
crucial aspect of the strategy is to determine which of two business models
the company will pursue. Should it focus predominantly on charging
customers a monthly subscription fee or on selling advertising time to
advertisers? This decision is closely related to target market selection and
to the choice of optimal price points for subscription fees and radio
receivers. Market research commissioned by XM provides rich insights into
these issues. In addition, XM management needs to figure out how to
establish partnerships with the leading electronics manufacturers. A
consideration of its market share and channel presence are essential to
XM’s ultimate success in integrating satellite radio into home and car audio
systems. As it formulates its plan, XM needs to take into account the
competitive landscape, primarily comprised of broadcast radio (AM and
FM) that has been in existence for many years and is offered for free, as
well as a second satellite radio provider (Sirius).
The Brita Products Co.
John Deighton
Pub. Date: August 30, 1999
Product#: 9-500-024
Inside Intel Inside
Youngme Moon, Christina
Darwall
Pub. Date: June 05, 2002
Product#: 9-502-083
Callaway Golf Co.
Publication Date: Aug 11,
2000
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Rajiv Lal, Edith D.
Prescott
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: 9-501-019
Revision Date:
Sep 26, 2005
Length: 23p
6. Competitive Rivalry &
Competitive Dynamics
Matching Dell
Publication Date:
Jun 6, 1999
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Jan W. Rivkin, Michael E. Porter
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-799-158
Language: English
Length: 31p
Teaching Note
Cola Wars Continue: Coke
vs. Pepsi in the Twenty-First
Century
David B. Yoffie; Yusi Wang
©2004, 24 pages
Product#: 702442
Setting:
United States;
Consumer
products; $200
million revenues;
1989-1999
Setting:
California;
Semiconductor
industry; $26
billion revenues;
83,000 employees;
2002
Setting:
Carlsbad, CA; Golf;
$800 million
revenues; 1999
Setting
Global; Computer
industry; Fortune
500; $19 billion
revenues; 1998
Setting:
United States;
Global; Beverage
industry; Fortune
500; 2000
Subjects Covered: Broadcasting industry, Business models,
Communications industry, Competition, Competitive strategy, Corporate
strategy, Decision making, Entertainment industry, General management,
Managerial skills, Managers, Marketing strategy, Pricing, Product
introduction, Product life cycle, Product management, Service industry,
Services, Technology.
Description:
Clorox's Brita skillfully exploits a tide of water safety concerns, growing a
home water (filtration) business from inception to a 15% U.S. household
penetration in ten years. The dilemma in the case arises as the period of
increasing returns seems to be drawing to a close, and management must
use its legacy, an installed based and a strong brand equity, to take the
business forward into a less friendly environment. Students can model the
relation between the primary demand for pitchers and the derived demand
for filters to decide where they want to put future investments.
Subjects Covered:
Marketing management, New product marketing, Test markets, Water
pollution.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description:
In early 2002, Pamela Pollace, vice president and director of Intel's
worldwide marketing operations, is debating whether the company should
extend its "Intel Inside" branding campaign to non-PC product categories,
such as cell phones and PDAs. The "Intel Inside" campaign has been one
of the most successful branding campaigns in history. However, the
campaign is more than ten years old, and growth in the PC market
appears to be stagnating. In contrast, sales of portable digital devices-such as PDAs and cell phones--appear to be growing at a healthy rate.
Pollace is debating whether the "Intel Inside" campaign will work in these
other product categories, even though Intel doesn't dominate these other
markets like it does the PC market, and it isn't clear that consumers will
associate Intel with these other markets.
Subjects Covered:
Advertising, Brands, Consumers, Direct marketing.
Description:
Describes a situation faced by Mr. Ely Callaway, the 80-year-old founder,
chairman, and CEO of Callaway Golf Co., in the fall of 1999. After a decade
of stunning success with the marketing concept, Callaway suffered a
significant loss and witnessed a steep decline in sales in 1998. Mr.
Callaway had built a $800 million business by making a truly more
satisfying product for the average golfer, making it pleasingly different
from the competition and communicating the benefits to the consumer.
The results in 1998 forced Mr. Callaway to reconsider the marketing
program that had successfully supported the product until now.
Subjects Covered:
Consumer marketing, Distribution channels, Marketing mixes, Marketing
strategy.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description
After years of success with its vaunted "Direct Model" for computer
manufacturing, marketing, and distribution, Dell Computer Corp. faces
efforts by competitors to match its strategy. This case describes the
evolution of the personal computer industry, Dell's strategy, and efforts by
Compaq, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway 2000 to capture the benefits
of Dell's approach. Students are called on to formulate strategic plans of
action for Dell and its various rivals.
Examines the industry structure and competitive strategy of Coca-cola and
Pepsi over 100 years of rivalry. New challenges of the 21st century
included boosting flagging domestic cola sales and finding new revenue
streams. Both firms also began to modify their bottling, pricing, and brand
strategies. They looked to emerging international markets to fuel growth
and broaden their brand portfolios to include noncarbonated beverages like
tea, juice, sports drinks, and bottled water. For over a century, Coca-Cola
and Pepsi-Cola had vied for the "throat share" of the world's beverage
market. The most intense battles of the cola wars were fought over the
$60 billion industry in the United States, where the average American
Wal-Mart Stores in 2003
Publication Date: Sep 18,
2003
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Pankaj Ghemawat,
Stephen P. Bradley, Ken Mark
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-704-430
Language: English
Revision Date:
Jan 30, 2004
Length: 32p
Apple Computer—2002
David B. Yoffie, Yusi Wang
Product Number: 9-702-469
Apple Computer, 2005
David B. Yoffie, Barbara J. Mack
Product Number: 9-705-469
Bitter Competition: The
Holland Sweetener Co. vs.
NutraSweet (A)
Publication Date: Dec 28,
1993
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Adam
Brandenburger, Maryellen
Costello, Julia Kou
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: 9-794-079
Revision Date:
Nov 13, 2000
Length: 14p
7. Cooperative Strategy
The Renault-Nissan Alliance
Publication Date:
May 9, 2003
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Michael Y. Yoshino, Perry L.
Fagan
Type: Case (Field)
Setting:
United States;
Retail industry;
$245 billion
revenues; 19652003
Setting:
Global; Personal
computer industry;
Fortune 500; $5.4
billion revenues;
9,600 employees;
1977-2002
Setting:
United States;
Computer industry;
Consumer
electronics; $8.2
billion revenues;
11,695 employees;
2004-2005
Setting:
Global; Sugars &
sweeteners
industry; large; $2
billion revenues;
1965-1992
Setting
Japan; France;
Automotive
industry; $36
billion revenues;
140,000
employees; 20022003
consumes 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks (CSD) per year. In a
"carefully waged competitive struggle," from 1975 to 1995 both Coke and
Pepsi had achieved average annual growth of around 10% as both U.S.
and worldwide CSD consumption consistently rose. This cozy situation was
threatened in the late 1990s, however, when U.S. CSD consumption
dropped for two consecutive years and worldwide shipments slowed for
both Coke and Pepsi. The case considers whether Coke's and Pepsi's era of
sustained growth and profitability was coming to a close or whether this
apparent slowdown was just another blip in the course of a century of
enviable performance. A rewritten version of an earlier case by Michael E.
Porter and David B. Yoffie.
Subjects Covered: Beverages, Competition, Competitive strategy,
Corporate strategy, Food processing industry, Global business, Industry
analysis, Industry structure, International business
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description:
Examine's Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides
financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, WalMart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the
largest generator of revenues. Its international operation seems poised to
become the next growth driver for the company as it marches toward the
trillion dollar sales mark. But problems are starting to surface even as the
company is winning recognition as the number one company in the
Fortune 500--unions keep pressuring its minimum-wage employees and
allegations of gender discrimination are alleged. Teaching purpose: To
introduce students to creating a competitive advantage.
Subjects Covered:
Competitive advantage, Corporate strategy, Discount department stores,
Distribution planning, Information technology, International business,
Management controls, Mass merchandising.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description:
In 1980, Apple was the leader of the personal computer industry, but by
2002 it had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Wintel camp. This
case examines Apple's strategic moves as the PC industry evolves in the
21st century and poses the question: Can Steve Jobs make Apple
"insanely great" again?
Subjects Covered:
Competitive advantage, Corporate strategy, Industry analysis, Strategy
formulation.
Description:
Apple has reaped the benefits of its innovative music player, the iPod.
However, its PC and server business continue to hold small market share
relative to the worldwide computer market over the past few years. Will
the iPod lure new users to the Mac? Will Apple be able to produce another
cutting-edge device quickly?
Subjects Covered:
Computer systems, Innovation.
Description:
The NutraSweet Co. has very successfully marketed aspartame, a lowcalorie, high-intensity sweetener, around the world. NutraSweet's position
was protected by patents until 1987 in Europe, Canada, and Japan, and
until the end of 1992 in the United States. The case series describes the
competition that ensued between NutraSweet and the Holland Sweetener
Co. (HSC) following HSC's entry into the aspartame market in 1987.
Describes the subsequent move and countermove in both the marketplace
and the courts. Also, discusses the business "game" that takes place at
both the tactical and value levels. Ends with the final countdown to the
expiration of NutraSweet's U.S. patent.
Subjects Covered:
Beverages, Competition, Food, Game theory, Patents, Strategy
formulation.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description
On Wednesday, May 29, 2002, the board of directors of Renault-Nissan BV
(RNBV) met for the first time to discuss the state of the alliance between
Renault SA and Nissan Motors-two of the world's largest automakers.
RNBV was a 50/50 joint venture company established in March of that year
to oversee the strategy of the alliance and all activities undertaken jointly
by Renault and Nissan. The new company would "steer alliance strategy
and supervise common activities on a global level, while respecting the
identity and culture of each company and not interfering in operations."
Product Number: 9-303-023
Length: 26p
Executives at both companies believed much had been accomplished in the
first three years of the alliance. Nissan, under Carlos Ghosn's leadership,
had improved its finances dramatically and was rapidly reemerging as a
major player in the global auto industry. Moreover, the alliance partners
were in line with their initial forecast of $3.3 billion in cost savings and
synergies promised by 2002, according to their internal reporting. As the
board prepared to meet, Louis Schweitzer and Ghosn believed the alliance
faced difficult challenges ahead. To what extent would the two companies
be able to realize further savings and synergies, particularly in the areas of
manufacturing and additional sales? How should the RNBV board address
issues that had surfaced as employees of the two firms worked together
across disparate corporate and national cultures, functions, and
geographies? Ultimately, would the two firms be able to strike a balance
between deepening their alliance while "respecting the identity and culture
of each company and not interfering in operations?"
Focuses on Millennium’s strategy to grow and revolutionize drug
development through the use of new technologies such as genomics.
Describes how Millennium Pharmaceuticals—a fast-growing biotechnology
firm in Cambridge, MA—has used strategic alliances to finance the
development of technology platforms based on the latest breakthroughs in
genomics. As the firm considers developing pharmaceutical drugs itself,
they face a number of challenges: 1) Can they revolutionize drug
development by making it more predictable, faster, and less costly? 2)
How should they select their alliances such that they move closer to
becoming a pharmaceutical firm and still attract the funding needed for
their strategy? 3) How can they continue to grow rapidly and attract and
retain some of the best minds in the pharmaceutical industry?
Millennium Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (A)
Stefan Thomke; Ashok
Nimgade
Pub. Date: December 21, 1999
Product#: 600038
Migros
Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent
Dessain, Anders Sjoman
Pub. Date: December 14, 2005
Product Number: 9-706-028
Setting:
Switzerland;
Agribusiness; Food
industry; Retail
industry; $4.2
billion Swiss francs
revenues; 9,700
employees; 2005
Setting:
Global; Coffee;
2002
Starbucks and Conservation
International
James E. Austin, Cate Reavis
Pub. Date: April 01, 2003
Product Number: 9-303-055
Subjects Covered: Alliances, Biotechnology, Competitive strategy,
Corporate strategy, Employee retention, Entrepreneurship, Financing,
Innovation & entrepreneurship, Marketing, Operations management,
Pharmaceuticals, , Product development, Product life cycle, Strategy
implementation.
Description:
In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros,
is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer
for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to
600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only four outside its domestic
market), is facing stiffer competition, both from existing competitors (such
as Coop) and new arrivals (such as hard discounters Lidi and Aldi).
Riedener and Migros management have so far always had faith in Migros'
position in the marketplace, built around its governance structure (the
customers were also the owners, creating a close link between the retailer
and the market) and its emphasis on never selling harmful products.
Socially, ecologically, and ethically produced products was a key aspect of
Migros' product offering. Riedner knows that Migros benefited from a
unique position--and he wants to make sure that Migros defends it from
both new and old competitors.
Subjects Covered:
Agribusiness, Competitive advantage, Competitive environment,
Cooperatives, Corporate governance, Environmental protection, Food,
International business, Product differentiation, Social enterprise, Strategy,
Supply chain.
Description:
Starbucks, the world's leading specialty coffee company, developed a
strategic alliance with Conservation International, a major international
environmental nonprofit organization. The purpose of the alliance was to
promote coffee-growing practices of small farms that would protect
endangered habitats. The collaboration emerged from the company's
corporate social responsibility policies and its coffee procurement strategy.
The initial project was in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and
resulted in the incorporation of shade-grown coffee into the Starbucks
product line, providing an attractive alternative market for the farmer
cooperatives at a time when coffee producers were in economic crisis due
to plummeting world prices. Simultaneously, the company had to deal with
growing pressures from nonprofit organizations in the Fair Trade
movement, demanding higher prices for farmers. Starbucks was reviewing
the future of its alliance with Conservation International and its new coffee
procurement guidelines aimed at promoting environmentally, socially, and
economically sustainable coffee production. The nature of the industry puts
the case in the global context from both the supply and demand sides.
Subjects Covered:
Agribusiness, Beverages, Corporate responsibility, Social enterprise,
Strategic alliances.
Focuses on Millennium’s strategy to grow and revolutionize drug
development through the use of new technologies such as genomics.
Describes how Millennium Pharmaceuticals—a fast-growing biotechnology
firm in Cambridge, MA—has used strategic alliances to finance the
development of technology platforms based on the latest breakthroughs in
genomics. As the firm considers developing pharmaceutical drugs itself,
they face a number of challenges: 1) Can they revolutionize drug
development by making it more predictable, faster, and less costly? 2)
How should they select their alliances such that they move closer to
becoming a pharmaceutical firm and still attract the funding needed for
their strategy? 3) How can they continue to grow rapidly and attract and
retain some of the best minds in the pharmaceutical industry?
Millennium Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (A)
Stefan Thomke; Ashok
Nimgade
Pub. Date: December 21, 1999
Product#: 600038
Subjects Covered: Alliances, Biotechnology, Competitive strategy,
Corporate strategy, Employee retention, Entrepreneurship, Financing,
Innovation & entrepreneurship, Marketing, Operations management,
Pharmaceuticals, , Product development, Product life cycle, Strategy
implementation.
8. Corporate Level
Strategy
Setting
Describes the development of a successful corporate strategy based on the
acquisition and subsequent consolidation of low-technology manufacturing
companies. Starting with a company history and discussion of current
business segments, the case goes on to detail the innovation of corporate
headquarters in strategy formulation and operations. Highlights the
synergistic possibilities in alike acquisitions and addresses the issue of
long-term value creation in acquisition-oriented firms. Emphasis is placed
on the systems and procedures installed to implement the corporate
strategy.
Cooper Industries’
Corporate Strategy (A)
David J. Collis; Toby Stuart
1991 (Update 1995) 26 pages
Product#: 391095
Allianz (A1): An Insurer
Acquiring a Bank?
Joseph L. Bower, Marc L.
Bertoneche, Anders Sjoman,
Sonja E. Hout
Pub. Date: August 16, 2004
Product Number: 9-305-013
Google, Inc.
Publication Date:
Jan 12, 2006
Revision Date:
Feb 21, 2006
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Thomas R. Eisenmann, Kerry
Herman
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-806-105
Language: English
Length: 34p
Teaching Note
Newell Rubbermaid:
Strategy in Transition
Cynthia A. Montgomery,
Rhonda Kaufman, Carole A.
Winkler
Pub. Date: March 23, 2004
Product Number: 9-704-491
Description
Setting:
Germany; Financial
services; 37 billion
euros revenues;
2000-2001
Mountain View, CA;
United States;
Advertising
industry; Internet
& online services
industries;
Software industry;
$6.1 billion
revenues; 5,000
employees; 2005
Subjects Covered: Acquisitions, Competition, Competitive strategy,
Corporate strategy, Finance, Mergers, Mergers & acquisitions, Strategic
planning, Strategy formulation, Strategy implementation.
Description:
The deal of the year in 2002, was the acquisition of Dresdner Bank by
Allianz. Written from the perspectives of Allianz's CEO, Henning SchulteNoelle, before and after the deal and a regional manager implementing the
concept of a full-line financial service provider. Presents the original
question facing Schulte-Noelle: "Should Allianz acquire Dresdner?"
Subjects Covered:
Acquisitions, Banking, Financial services, Implementation, Insurance,
Strategic planning.
Describes Google's history, business model, governance structure,
corporate culture, and processes for managing innovation. Reviews
Google's recent strategic initiatives and the threats they pose to Yahoo,
Microsoft, and eBay. Asks what Google should do next. One option is to
stay focused on the company's core competence, i.e., developing superior
search solutions and monetizing them through targeted advertising.
Another option is to branch into new arenas, for example, build Google
into a portal like Yahoo or MSN; extend Google's role in e-commerce
beyond search, to encompass a more active role as an intermediary (like
eBay) facilitating transactions; or challenge Microsoft's hegemony over the
PC desktop by developing software to compete with Office and Windows.
A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Setting:
United States;
Personal care
products;
Household product
industry; $7.75
billion revenues;
47,000 employees;
2001-2003
Description:
Describes the transformation of a company's corporate-level strategy.
Begins by laying out the strategy that brought the Newell Co. stunning
success for nearly three decades. The highly integrated, internally
consistent strategy was tailored for manufacturing and selling a particular
genre of products to a particular kind of customer. In the mid-1990s,
Newell encountered some shifts in its competitive environment and a
subtle erosion in profits. In 1999, the $3.5 billion company paid a 49%
premium to acquire the $2.5 billion Rubbermaid Co., in part for its product
development process and strong consumer brands. After the acquisition,
the profits of the combined enterprise deteriorated at an accelerated rate
and the CEO was replaced. In less than a year, a fundamentally new
strategy was announced, profits improved, and both Wall Street and major
retailers were encouraged. Some setbacks followed, leading to reduced
earnings and revised expectations. Exposes students to the pains and
struggles of changing a deeply ingrained and long-lived strategy. Also
forces them to confront the question of whether the new strategy is the
right one and the markers one should seek to prove the case.
Subjects Covered:
Acquisitions, Competition, Corporate strategy, Mergers, Mergers &
Acquisitions, Strategic planning, Strategy formulation, Strategy
implementation.
9. Acquisition and
Restructuring Strategies
Hewlett-Packard-Compaq:
The Merger Decision
Publication Date:
Apr 8, 2004
Revision Date:
Sep 14, 2004
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Krishna G. Palepu, Jonathan
Barnett
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-104-048
Length: 32p
The Debate Over Unbundling
General Motors: The Delphi
Divestiture and Other
Possible Transactions
Publication Date:
Nov 8, 1999
Revision Date:
Jun 12, 2002
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Malcolm S. Salter
Type: Case (Library)
Product Number: 9-800-196
Length: 18p
Marks & Spencer: The
Phoenix Rises
Publication Date: May 2,
2003
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Joseph L. Bower
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: 9-303-096
Revision Date:
Nov 17, 2005
Length: 29p
10. International Strategy
Setting
Computer industry;
$70 billion
revenues; 140,000
employees; 20012002
United States;
Automotive
industry; Fortune
500; $180 billion
revenues; 350,000
employees; 1999
Setting:
London; Retail
industry; 8 billion
pounds revenues;
70,000 employees;
2000-2002
Setting
Hewlett-Packard's proposed $24 billion acquisition of rival Compaq marked
the largest merger in the history of the computer industry. The merger
was Hewlett-Packard's response to sweeping changes impacting the
technology industry. The severity of the stock market's reaction to the
deal's announcement, coupled with a "slim but sufficient" 51.4%
shareholder approval margin, left many wondering whether the deal was
beneficial for shareholders.
Ever since General Motors (GM) announced in February 1997 its intention
to divest Delphi Automotive Systems--its upstream parts manufacturing
operations--Wall Street had called for further unbundling, and various
stakeholders competed for their claim of value represented by GM. The
case presents GM's four options for the Delphi unit and raises valuation
and governance issues regarding the remaining corporate assets. A
rewritten version of an earlier case.
Description:
The great U.K. retailer fell on hard times in 1998. In 2001, a new CEO was
recruited who appears to have succeeded in turning around this worldrenown company. This case examines the steps he took (strategic,
structural, and recruiting key people) and highlights a series of
fundamental questions that remain. Can the company regain its premium
retail brand given the new competition and given the breadth of market
segments that it addresses under one roof? Are the new approaches to
sourcing and segmentation sound? Should the firm seriously consider
reentering the international retail markets?
Subjects Covered:
Brands, Corporate strategy, Market segmentation, Teams.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available
Description
In 1998, Newell Co., a manufacturer of low-tech, high-volume consumer
goods, acquired Calphalon Corp., a high-end cookware company, and
Rubbermaid, a $2 billion manufacturer of consumer and commercial plastic
products. The case focuses on Newell’s strategy and its elaboration
throughout the organization, as well as the importance of selecting
appropriate acquisitions to grow the company. Do Calphalon and
Rubbermaid fit with the company’s long-term strategy of growth through
acquisition and superior service to volume customers? A rewritten version
of an earlier case..
Newell Co.: Corporate
Strategy
Cynthia A. Montgomery;
Elizabeth J. Gordon
©1999 22 pages (updated)
Product#: 799139
P&G Japan: The SK-II
Globalization Project
Christopher A. Bartlett
©2004, 24 pages
Product#: 303003
Description
Setting:
Japan; United
States; Consumer
products; $38
billion revenues;
110,000
employees; 1999
Subjects Covered: Acquisitions, Competitive strategy, Consumer goods,
Consumer products industry, Corporate strategy, Diversification,
Entrepreneurship, Growth strategy, Household products, Manufacturing
industry, Mergers & acquisitions, Strategic planning.
Traces changes in P&G’s international strategy and structure, culminating
in Organization 2005, a reorganization that places strategic emphasis on
product innovation rather than geographic expansion and shifts power
from local subsidiary to global business management. In the context of
these changes introduced by Durk Jager, P&G’s new CEO, Paolo de Cesare
is transferred to Japan, where he takes over the recently turned-around
beauty care business. Within the familiar Max Factor portfolio he inherits is
SK-II, a fast-growing, highly profitable skin care product developed in
Japan. Priced at over $100 a bottle, this is not a typical P&G product, but
its successful introduction in Taiwan and Hong Kong has de Cesare
thinking the brand has global potential. As the case closes, he is
questioning whether he should take a proposal to the beauty care global
business unit to expand into Mainland China and/or Europe
Setting:
Asia; Europe;
United States;
Welding; $1.1
billion revenues;
6,300 employees;
1988-1997
Lincoln Electric: Venturing
Abroad
Christopher A. Bartlett, Jamie
O'Connell
Pub. Date: January 14, 1998
Product Number: 9-398-095
Setting:
Appliance industry;
$43 million
revenues; 850
employees; 2000
Atlas Electrica:
International Strategy
Michael E. Porter, Arturo Condo
Pub. Date: November 07,
2003
Product#: 704435
Philips versus Matsushita: A
New Century, a New Round
Christopher A. Bartlett
Pub. Date: September 21,
2001
Product Number: 9-302-049
11. Corporate Governance
Vivendi: Revitalizing a
French Conglomerate (A)
Cynthia A. Montgomery, John
M. Turner
©1998 (Update 2003) 21
pages
Product#: 799019
Setting:
Global; Europe;
Japan; Electronics
industry; large;
$40 billion-$60
billion revenues;
270,000
employees; 19702001
Setting
Subjects Covered: Asia, Consumer products industry, Corporate
strategy, Cosmetics, General management, Global business, Globalization,
Innovation, Innovation & entrepreneurship, International business,
International management, International marketing, Japan, Manufacturing
industry, Marketing, Multinational corporations, Operations management,
Organization, Organizational structure, Product development, , Strategy
implementation, Subsidiaries.
Description:
Lincoln Electric, a 100-year-old manufacturer of welding equipment and
consumables based in Cleveland, Ohio, motivates its U.S. employees
through a culture of cooperation between management and labor and an
unusual compensation system based on piecework and a large bonus
based on individual contribution to the company's performance. Despite
opening a few international sales and production ventures in Canada,
Australia, and France, Lincoln remained focused on manufacturing in the
United States until 1988. At that time, the company's new CEO expanded
manufacturing through acquisitions and greenfields in 11 new countries,
attempting to transfer its unique management philosophy to each.
However, Lincoln was unable to replicate its highly productive system
abroad. Operational problems led to a major restructuring in the early
1990s, supervised by Anthony Massaro, a newcomer to the company. In
1996, Massaro was named CEO and set about expanding the company's
manufacturing base through a new strategy. The case concludes in Asia,
where Lincoln's regional president is trying to decide whether and how to
establish a manufacturing presence in Indonesia, and in particular whether
to try to transfer Lincoln's unique incentive-driven management system.
Subjects Covered:
Incentives, International business, International operations,
Manufacturing, Multinational corporations, Strategy implementation.
Description:
Atlas must decide whether to acquire La Indeca, increasing its Central
American presence, or to focus on larger Latin American markets where
higher growth is possible. In the year 2000, Jorge Rodriguez was in charge
of Atlas Electrica, the largest home appliance firm in Central America.
Although it had almost doubled its sales in the 1990s, by the end of the
decade Atlas was experiencing a declining market share in its home region
and facing increasing competition from outside the region, especially from
Mexican and Korean multinationals. At the time, Atlas' main competitor in
Central America, El Salvador-based Indeca, was up for sale. Atlas
Electrica, based in Costa Rica, served more than a dozen Latin American
countries. Since its establishment in 1961, it had served Central American
markets with different types of home appliances, later focusing on whitegoods for middle-income segments of Central American consumers. In the
mid-1990s, through a strategic alliance with Sweden's AG Electrolux, Atlas
had expanded to Latin American markets beyond Central America.
Subjects Covered:
Alliances, Competitive advantage, Developing countries, Emerging
markets, Globalization.
Description:
Describes the development of the international strategies and
organizations of two major competitors in the global consumer electronics
industry. The history of both companies is traced and their changing
strategic postures and organizational capabilities are documented.
Particular attention is given to the major restructuring each company is
forced to undertake as its competitive position is eroded. A rewritten
version of an earlier case.
Subjects Covered:
Competition, Electronics, International operations, Multinational
corporations, Organizational change, Organizational structure, Strategy
implementation.
Description
Examines corporate strategy for a diversified firm in the French business
context. Issues include corporate governance, vision, and the
management of unrelated diversification. After the company’s first loss
ever, the Vivendi board elected a new chairman who completed a financial
restructuring and articulated a new corporate strategy. His actions were in
part determined by the French business environment, which does not
easily permit staff reductions, and by the increasing importance of foreign
investors in France.
The Case for Contingent
Governance
Paul Strebel
Product Number: 9-SMR-127
The Board of Directors at
the Coca-Cola Co.
Jay W. Lorsch, Rakesh
Khurana, Sonya Sanchez
Pub. Date: August 11, 2003
Product Number: 9-404-039
12. Strategic
Entrepreneurship
Internal Entrepreneurship
at the Dow Chemical Co.
Publication Date:
Jan 1, 2003
Revision Date:
Jul 29, 2003
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Bala Chakravarthy, Hans Huber
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: IMD145
Source: IMD - International
Institute for Management
Development
Length: 13p
Teaching Note
Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA
Publication Date:
May 7, 1990
Revision Date:
Jul 22, 1996
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Christopher A. Bartlett, Ashish
Nanda
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: 9-390-132
Language: English
Length: 20p
Teaching Note
The Path to a Spin-off-Nortel Networks to
NetActive: One Form of
Corporate Entrepreneurship
Publication Date:
Jan 1, 2004
Revision Date:
Feb 9, 2004
Setting:
Atlanta, GA; Soft
drink industry; $20
billion revenues;
2002-2003
Setting
Europe; United
States; Chemical
industry; $28
billion revenues;
2000-2001
Europe; Global;
Stockholm;
Sweden; Zurich;
Furniture industry;
Retail industry;
large; $2.5 billion
revenues; 1989
Subjects Covered: Business conditions, Competitive strategy,
Conglomerates, Corporate culture, Corporate governance, Corporate
strategy, Diversification, Economic conditions, Europe, France, General
management, Leadership, Manufacturing industry, Organizational
structure, Service industry, Vision
Description:
Many corporate boards adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to governance.
Instead, they should consider that their primary role must shift depending
on various conditions, both internal and external. Boards have four main
functions--auditing, supervising, coaching, and steering--each with a
different perspective and behavior. The roles reflect two main differences
in board culture. The first type of board concerns itself mainly with
shareholder interests or shareholder plus other stakeholder interests. The
focus is on externalities. The second type of board either monitors
executives' activities or gets actively involved in the conduct of the
organization. Here the focus is on handling ineffective management. The
basic role types are not mutually exclusive; instead they reflect different
board cultures that result from different emphases on decision making and
resource allocation. During any time period, a board must determine what
its dominant role should be, given the current conditions.
Subjects Covered:
Corporate culture, Corporate governance, Corporate strategy, Leadership,
Organizational behavior, Shareholders relations.
Description:
Provides a history of the board of directors of the Coca-Cola Co. through
2003. Describes the evolution in the board's membership, practices, and
structure and the role it played in the company's governance. Questions
are raised about the relationship between the board and top management,
especially how the board is carrying out its responsibilities in the 21st
century.
Subjects Covered:
Beverages, Corporate governance.
Description
Describes how a corporate entrepreneur shapes an internal growth venture
within the company, mobilizes the resources that are needed to implement
the venture, and achieves success. Complementing his entrepreneurial
behavior, however, is the support that he receives from several senior
managers in the firm. Allows a careful examination of the challenges for
corporate entrepreneurship in a large multinational firm and the roles that
senior executives have to play to support it.
Traces the development of a Swedish furniture retailer under the
leadership of an innovative and unconventional entrepreneur whose
approaches redefine the nature and structure of the industry. Traces
IKEA's growth from a tiny mail order business to the world's largest
furniture dealership. Describes the innovative strategic and organizational
changes Kamprad made to achieve success. In particular, focuses on his
unique vision and values and the way they have become institutionalized
as IKEA's binding corporate culture. The trigger issue revolves around
whether this vital "corporate glue" can survive massive expansion into the
United States and the Eastern Bloc and Kamprad's replacement as CEO by
a "professional manager."
Describes the exploratory learning processes a new venture undergoes as
it evolves its breakthrough/radical innovation--an algorithm that makes
software rentable--within Nortel Network's Business Venture Group.
Details the challenges of managing under high uncertainty and within a
white space opportunity. Focuses on the project leader and the leader of
the Business Ventures Group as she evolves her processes for managing a
portfolio of potential breakthrough innovations. Highlights the following
key issues: exploratory marketing, business model creation, team
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Gina Colarelli O'Connor, Mark P.
Rice
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: BAB067
Language: English
Source: Babson College
Length: 14p
Guidant: Radiation Therapy
Publication Date:
Jul 25, 2000
Revision Date:
Sep 12, 2005
Availability: In Stock
Author(s):
Michael J. Roberts, Diana
Gardner
Type: Case (Field)
Product Number: 9-801-040
Length: 24p
Teaching Note
Charles Schwab in 2002
Lynda M. Applegate; F. Warren
McFarlan; Jamie Ladge
©2002, 29 pages
Product#: 803070
composition within the venture, and the venture's relationship to the
mother organization.
Indiana; Medical
equipment &
device industry;
$930 million
revenues; 1996
Setting:
United States;
Financial services;
$2 billion
revenues; 2002
Setting:
Sweden; Petroleum
industry; 19001937
Ivar Kreuger and the
Swedish Match Empire
Geoffrey G. Jones, Ingrid
Vargas
Pub. Date: November 04,
2003
Product#: 804078
13. Strategic Flexibility and
Real Options Analysis
Setting
Details the evolution of the Charles Schwab business model, from its
founding in 1975 to October 2002. The protagonist, David Pottruck, is
faced with re-inventing the firm as a full-service brokerage at a time of
tremendous industry instability as the industry reels from the effects of
deregulation, consolidation, global economic downturn, and investor lack
of confidence. Teaching Purpose: To illustrate the process of building
businesses and evolving business models.
Subjects Covered: Business models, Competitive strategy, Electronic
commerce, Entrepreneurship, Financial services, Growth strategy,
Information age, Leadership, New economy, Organizational behavior,
Service industry, Technology.
Description:
Taught in Evolution of Global Business. Globalization and corporate fraud
are the central themes of this case on the international growth of Swedish
Match in the interwar years. Between 1913 and 1932, Ivar Kreuger, known
as the "Swedish Match King," built a small, family-owned match business
into a $600 million global match empire. Despite the economic and
political disruptions of the interwar period, Swedish Match owned
manufacturing operations in 36 countries, had monopolies in 16 countries,
and controlled 40% of the world's match production. Kreuger companies
lent over $300 million dollars to governments in Europe, Latin America,
and Asia in exchange for national match monopolies. Relying on
international capital markets to finance acquisitions and monopoly deals,
by 1929 the stocks and bonds of Kreuger companies were the most widely
held securities in the United States and the world. After Kreuger's 1932
suicide, forensic auditors discovered that Kreuger had operated a giant
pyramid scheme. His accounts were ridden with fictitious assets, the truth
hidden in a maze of over 400 subsidiary companies. Swedish Match's
deficits exceeded Sweden's national debt.
Subjects Covered:
Business government relations, Business history, Cartels,
Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Fraud, Globalization, International business,
Multinational corporations.
Description
Describes the development of the international strategies and
organizations of two major competitors in the global consumer electronics
industry. The history of both companies is traced and their changing
strategic postures and organizational capabilities are documented.
Particular attention is given to the major restructuring each company is
forced to undertake as its competitive position is eroded. A rewritten
version of an earlier case.
Philips vs. Matsushita: A
New Century, a New Round
Christopher A. Bartlett
©2003, 20 pages
Product#: 302049
Massport (A): The Aftermath
of 9/11
Describes a potential new approach to treating cardiac disease--radiation
therapy. Guidant, a leading medical device maker, faces a choice about
whether to pursue this new and risky technology and, if so with what
strategy.
Setting:
Boston, MA;
Subjects Covered: Competition, Competitive strategy, Corporate
strategy, Electronics, Globalization, High technology, International
business, International operations, Manufacturing industry, Multinational
corporations, Organization, Organizational change, Organizational
structure, Strategy implementation.
Description:
This case looks at the turnaround at the Massachusetts Port Authority after
Michael A. Roberto, Erika M.
Ferlins
Product#: 304081
Transportation
industry; $180
million revenues;
1,000 employees;
2001-2004
Sampa Video, Inc.
Publication Date: Jun 13,
2001
Availability: In Stock
Author(s): Gregor Andrade
Type: Case (Gen Exp)
Product Number: 9-201-094
Revision Date:
Oct 7, 2003
Length: 3p
Setting:
2001
the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It begins with the situation during the
immediate aftermath of 9/11 and then describes how the new CEO
restructures the public agency to operate much more like a business
organization.
Subjects Covered:
Business government relations, Change management, Corporate culture,
Leadership, Organizational design, Organizational structure, Public sector,
Security, Transportation.
Description:
A video rental store is considering offering home delivery service.
Management must value the project under different financing strategies
and methods, specifically adjusted present value (APV) and weighted
average cost of capital (WACC).
Subjects Covered:
Capital budgeting, Capital investments, Cash flow, Debt management,
Financial strategy, Financing, Present value, Valuation.
Assignment Sheet and Assessment Rubric Available