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How to Penetrate the US Market
Marketing Digital ArticleAccounting for almost 30% of world GDP, the United States is the world’s largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the US, or at least with US companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much […] -
Digital Transformation Changes How Companies Create Value
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleThe new rules of the digital economy are turning the traditional firm inside out. -
How Corporate Intelligence Teams Help Businesses Manage Risk
Finance & Accounting Digital ArticleThey help leaders see around corners, mitigate threats, and make decisions. -
Executive Incentives vs. Corporate Growth
Boards Magazine ArticleBonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […] -
Why Network Neutrality Is Good for Business
Web-based technologies Digital ArticleEditor’s note: For an opposing viewpoint on this topic, see Robert E. Litan’s and Hal J. Singer’s entry “Why Business Should Oppose Net Neutrality.” In business school, where I teach, students are often predisposed to see legal concepts as impenetrable and foreign. I watch the lightbulbs go on as they see that Microsoft’s antitrust woes, […] -
Diversification via Acquisition: Creating Value
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticleDuring the past 25 years an increasing proportion of U.S. companies have seen wisdom in pursuing a strategy of diversification. Between 1950 and 1970, for example, single-business companies comprising the Fortune “500” declined from 30% to 8% of the total. Acquisition has become a standard approach to diversification. In recent years the productivity of capital […] -
Your CSR Strategy Needs to Be Goal Driven, Achievable, and Authentic
Global Business Digital ArticleSix steps to ensure you make a meaningful impact. -
Uber Is Finally Realizing HR Isn't Just for Recruiting
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleIt's not the only startup to make that mistake. -
The Toxic Handler: Organizational Hero—and Casualty
Organizational culture Magazine ArticleWhen companies cause emotional pain through nasty bosses, layoffs, and change, a certain breed of “healing” manager steps in to keep the gears moving. They are toxic handlers—unsung corporate heroes who save the day, but often pay a high price. -
Why You Should Allow Returns on Customized Products
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleThey may be harder to resell, but customers are less likely to return them anyway. -
Live Life as an Experiment
Managing yourself Digital ArticleIt was an experiment. I was returning an item to the store from which I had bought it. The item was well within the return period, but there would be a 20% restocking fee. Could I evade that fee? What would I have to do or say to persuade them not to charge it to […] -
The Risky Business of Diversification
Innovation Magazine ArticleOn the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […] -
Leaders as Decision Architects
Decision making and problem solving Magazine ArticleStructure your organization’s work to encourage wise choices. -
“Actually,” She Said, “He Works for Me.”
Consumer behavior Digital ArticleSurprised by a gender stereotype? React calmly, directly, and move on. -
Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing
Venture capital Digital Article“Alright, you caught us. We’re actually not making any money. In fact, we are really losing a lot of money.” This is the essence of Groupon’s declaration last week that it will remove the controversial accounting metric called Adjusted Consolidated Segment Operating Income (ACSOI) from its financial statements. ACSOI essentially measures Groupon’s profits before subtracting […] -
An Innovative Way to Prevent Adversarial Supplier Relationships
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleFormal relational contracts can keep suppliers and buyers from turning on each other when times get tough. -
Go Downstream: The New Profit Imperative in Manufacturing
Business models Magazine ArticleNow that providing services is more lucrative than making products, the old foundations for success in manufacturing are crumbling. Smart manufacturers are creating new business models to capture profits at the customer’s end of the value chain. -
Companyism and Do More Better
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleImagine yourself solving an arithmetic problem with the top managers of a leading Japanese automobile company. As a group, Japanese producers already export 2.3 million passenger vehicles a year to the United States. They are also building capacity for an additional 2.5 million vehicles in North America. You remind your friends across the table that […] -
Tesco's Approach to Strategy Communication
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleI recently returned from London where we held our 2008 annual European Balanced Scorecard Summit. Each of our summits features the induction of companies... -
Breakthrough Ideas for 2008
Business law Magazine ArticleOur annual snapshot of the emerging shape of business.
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Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (Abridged)
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate... -
Webuycars: Finding the key to new growth in South Africa
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The case focuses on Faan van der Walt (as protagonist), his brother Dirk, and WeBuyCars, a large second-hand car dealership in South Africa, which has... -
Elevate College Access and Success Program (Board Meeting Role-play Exercise)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details This case is a role-play exercise intended to give participants an opportunity to experience board meeting dynamics and logistics, determine how to scale... -
Netflix: Valuing a New Business Model
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In autumn 2011, Netflix was working to right the ship after publicly stumbling through a price hike and strategic shift and then retreat. The company... -
Rackspace Hosting in Late 2000
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The leadership team of Rackspace, faced with accommodation of its service offering and dwindling financial reserves, decides to make customer focus the... -
Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Describes the acquisition of Nat West by Royal Bank of Scotland. Describes the strategic rationale for the acquisition and the process by which the integration... -
To Enter or Not to Enter: Competitive Environment of Supermarkets in Hong Kong
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details This case describes a hypothetical situation faced by a fictitious international conglomerate, ICL, that intends to enter the retail grocery market in... -
Mango, Popularizing Fashion
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Mango, a clothing company with a large presence in Spain and the rest of the world, decides to enter new industry segments in order to broaden its main... -
NTT DOCOMO's Race to 5G
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The case, based on extensive interviews with NTT DOCOMO's technology leaders, focuses on the opportunities and challenges that NTT DOCOMO faces with the... -
Fast Ion Battery
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details John Davidson, a partner at Ware Street Capital (WSC) and a board member at Fast Ion Battery, had just received a phone call from Don Lerner at Bluelock... -
General Motors' Asian Alliances
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details Describes all of General Motors' major alliances with Asian firms. These include Toyota, Fanuc, Isuzu, Daewoo, Suzuki, Nissan, and Hitachi. Students can... -
V-Cola: Confidential Instructions for C.F. Oh Chief Financial Officer, Trek Beverages
Communication Case Study5.00View Details This is information for one of the six roles to be used in the V-Cola negotiation exercise. Please see V-Cola General Instructions (912043) and Teaching... -
Early-Stage Business Vignettes
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In the spring of 2007, four budding companies were in the very early phase of their development. These entrepreneurial ventures illustrate the variety... -
Home Depot and Interconnected Retail
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In November 2011, just days before the holiday shopping rush, the senior leadership team of The Home Depot, Inc., (Home Depot), the world's largest home... -
Uptown Cigarette
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details To recapture lost market share, tobacco giant R. J. Reynolds (RJR) developed Uptown, the first cigarette brand created and targeted specifically at a... -
Niantic Labs and the Professional Entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley: Google, Pokémon Go, and Beyond (C)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details The case series primarily centers on Hanke's most recent venture - San Francisco-based Niantic Labs that develops augmented reality (AR) games for use... -
CBM Pte Ltd - Industry's 'Silent Service'?
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details CBM Pte Ltd (CBM) originated as a subsidiary developed to support the facilities management (FM) needs of its property development parent, Singapore-based... -
The Scotts Company (A): Transforming the European Supply Chain
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Case (A) describes how a major player in the agricultural chemicals industry struggles to transform a fragmented group of newly acquired businesses into... -
SPAC Space
Strategy & Execution Case Study8.95View Details In 2020, over half of all initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States were special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), blank-check companies... -
Super Milk Products Private Ltd. (B): Extending Keventers into the Premium-Milk Market
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Supplement to case W19604
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How to Penetrate the US Market
Marketing Digital ArticleAccounting for almost 30% of world GDP, the United States is the world’s largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the US, or at least with US companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much […] -
Digital Transformation Changes How Companies Create Value
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleThe new rules of the digital economy are turning the traditional firm inside out. -
Manage Your Personal Finances with These Timeless Strategies
Communication AdviceYour work skills can come handy. -
How Corporate Intelligence Teams Help Businesses Manage Risk
Finance & Accounting Digital ArticleThey help leaders see around corners, mitigate threats, and make decisions. -
Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (Abridged)
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate... -
Executive Incentives vs. Corporate Growth
Boards Magazine ArticleBonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […] -
3 Smart Moves to Make with Your First Paycheck
Leadership & Managing People AdviceAllocate your money in a way that pays you dividends in the long run. -
Why Network Neutrality Is Good for Business
Web-based technologies Digital ArticleEditor’s note: For an opposing viewpoint on this topic, see Robert E. Litan’s and Hal J. Singer’s entry “Why Business Should Oppose Net Neutrality.” In business school, where I teach, students are often predisposed to see legal concepts as impenetrable and foreign. I watch the lightbulbs go on as they see that Microsoft’s antitrust woes, […] -
Webuycars: Finding the key to new growth in South Africa
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The case focuses on Faan van der Walt (as protagonist), his brother Dirk, and WeBuyCars, a large second-hand car dealership in South Africa, which has... -
Diversification via Acquisition: Creating Value
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticleDuring the past 25 years an increasing proportion of U.S. companies have seen wisdom in pursuing a strategy of diversification. Between 1950 and 1970, for example, single-business companies comprising the Fortune “500” declined from 30% to 8% of the total. Acquisition has become a standard approach to diversification. In recent years the productivity of capital […]