BGI Genomics (BGI), founded in China in 1999, covered the entire field of genomic sequencing applications. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, BGI's strategic corporate social responsibility initiative, developing coronavirus nucleic acid test kits, created shared value for BGI and society; brought revenue growth to the company; and won BGI acclamation from the government, media, and public. However, as the market competition in the COVID-19 testing business intensified, Zhao Lijian, chief executive officer of BGI, had to consider the company's next direction: Should BGI significantly increase investment in the COVID-19 testing business and shoulder greater social responsibility for fighting the pandemic? Or should it shift the focus back to its main business?
The case presents Imptek Chova, an Ecuadorian manufacturer of waterproofing solutions for residential infrastructure looking for agility and efficiency gains through digital transformation initiatives. Juan Pablo Sotomayor, Imptek's general manager, was analyzing two ideas: the first, raised by the operations manager, considered automating the asphalt membrane production line through an Internet of Things (IoT) application; the second, suggested by the commercial manager, contemplated collecting critical information about final users through a physical warranty shield with a printed QR code installed in the company's residential infrastructure to geographically identify areas with a greater or lesser presence of Imptek solutions.
In Spring 2023, SECO CEO Massimo Mauri had the ambition to grow the €200 million revenue technology company to a €1 billion company by 2030. Founded in Italy in the 1970s, the family-owned company had gone through a period of growth and internationalization, facilitated by private equity funding (in 2018) and an IPO (2021). Its corporate governance had also evolved, but Mauri was eager for even more change at the board level. He wished to create a board that would partner with him in shaping the company's strategy and in challenging himself and his team on SECO's performance. What kind of board should that be and what steps should he take to make it happen?
In late 2020, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear)’s chief executive officer, Richard Kramer, told Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper)’s chief executive officer, Bradley Hughes, that Goodyear would submit an acquisition proposal by the end of the year. Goodyear had spent the last two years enduring global weakness in the automotive industry and the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to Goodyear’s stock falling 70 per cent below its high of $35 in 2018. Kramer attributed the stock’s decline to an “industry downcycle,” and one analyst speculated that a merger could provide much needed cost and revenue synergies. Goodyear had used mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to achieve scale and fuel its growth in the past, and Kramer’s team needed to decide if a merger with Cooper could help them weather the downturn and emerge stronger. Kramer and his team identified several cost synergies, totalling $165 million per year. They also expected efficiency and tax synergies with a present value of at least $700 million as well as revenue synergies. Goodyear was considering using a combination of debt, stock, and cash to finance the transaction. To avoid earnings per share dilution from issuing too many shares as merger consideration, they were working with financial advisor J.P. Morgan to secure up to $2.314 billion of new debt financing. Kramer told Hughes that his team would work over the year-end holidays to provide “a revised proposal or other update” in January 2021.
In 2018, Christopher Hay, president and chief executive officer of Hayco, the top contract manufacturer to the brush industry globally, had been looking for a new location for some of its operations due to over a decade of rising labour costs in Hong Kong, China, where the company was based. The company accelerated its search in response to the US government’s announcement of tariffs against Chinese products in April 2018. Hayco was seeking a location closer to the US and European markets where labour costs were still low for an initial workforce of over one thousand employees and where there was no threat of tariffs. Hay’s focus was on Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Hay considered questions such as, “What is the best market to which Hayco could move its operations? Should it establish a new subsidiary on its own or locate within a special economic zone?”
The case traces the story of Jodi Huettner, a mechanical engineer, and her journey to launch Helga Wear Inc. (Helga Wear), a company that developed personal protective equipment (PPE) in the form of workwear specifically designed for women. Huettner started the venture following her own struggles working in PPE designed for men. The case outlines the various challenges she encountered in bringing her product to market and illustrates how gender bias affects not only product design but also product demand. The case also follows the “idea journey” of an innovation, outlining the founder’s bootstrapped approach and her interactions with multiple stakeholders along the way. It also demonstrates the importance of considering the role of the broader ecosystem—such as industry standards—in shaping product demand.
Paul Hardy parlayed a degree in fashion and an early-career job as a personal shopper at high-end retailer Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (Holt Renfrew) into a successful career as a Canadian luxury-goods fashion designer. He was a survivor in the industry, adapting to various exogenous shocks, most recently COVID-19. The pandemic resulted in the cancellation of events and social gatherings at places where women typically wore his designs. In addition, Hardy’s online purchasing presence was minimal. His immediate response to the pandemic-related lockdowns was to enable online purchasing and highlight clothing that could be worn at home or on more informal and local excursions. His business success had been largely based on his talent and the relationships he had fostered and nurtured over the years. Hardy personally reached out to his clients and held a COVID-compliant fashion show. Once again, he was demonstrating his resilience in the face of significant challenges, but what should come next?<br><br>After the economic crisis of 2008, Hardy had expanded his business to interior design. Should he forego high-end fashion to focus on interiors? Was there a way to further pivot his fashion design given the changes in consumer demand? How would the world come out of the pandemic, and how could Hardy position himself to thrive? Would any change threaten relations with his loyal clientele? Given that his business was almost 20 years old, what should his short- and longer-term strategic plan entail?
Tea Leaf Trust (TLT), a non-profit vocational training centre, worked to develop young students into emotionally resilient change agents within their Sri Lankan communities. TLT was proud that it equipped its students with the tools necessary to transform their surroundings in positive ways by dealing with the social issues they faced. Now, fourteen years since the company’s founding, Yadharshi Selvaraj, TLT’s co-lead, was assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the current fundraising model used at TLT and wondered what solutions she should outline moving forward. Did the company have the necessary resources and skilled management team to adequately monitor fundraising and support continued growth?
Mike Cassidy owned Maritime Bus, which provided an essential service built on efficient and effective travel and terminal-to-terminal package delivery in the Maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island (PEI), New Brunswick (NB), and Nova Scotia (NS). Headquartered in Charlottetown, PEI, the Maritime Bus company was part of the Cassidy Group, which employed over 500 people, including Cassidy’s wife and three sons, and served over 80 per cent of the busing needs of the region. The company had experienced historic profits in 2018 and finally broke even in 2019; 2020 was supposed to be its first profitable year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought instability to the industry, and ridership shrunk to nearly zero. By December 31, 2020, Cassidy had covered over $2.2 million in business losses with personal retirement savings. Despite the large personal financial cost, he was determined not to let COVID-19 destroy his company’s legacy. Canadian intercity busing was historically regional, and many prominent companies had failed without federal or provincial government bailouts. Facing surmounting financial pressures and lacking ridership as the company entered the 2021 season, Cassidy had to plan for the venture’s survival.
In late 2020, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear)'s chief executive officer, Richard Kramer, told Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper)'s chief executive officer, Bradley Hughes, that Goodyear would submit an acquisition proposal by the end of the year. Goodyear had spent the last two years enduring global weakness in the automotive industry and the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to Goodyear's stock falling 70 per cent below its high of $35 in 2018. Kramer attributed the stock's decline to an "industry downcycle," and one analyst speculated that a merger could provide much needed cost and revenue synergies. Goodyear had used mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to achieve scale and fuel its growth in the past, and Kramer's team needed to decide if a merger with Cooper could help them weather the downturn and emerge stronger. Kramer and his team identified several cost synergies, totalling $165 million per year. They also expected efficiency and tax synergies with a present value of at least $700 million as well as revenue synergies. Goodyear was considering using a combination of debt, stock, and cash to finance the transaction. To avoid earnings per share dilution from issuing too many shares as merger consideration, they were working with financial advisor J.P. Morgan to secure up to $2.314 billion of new debt financing. Kramer told Hughes that his team would work over the year-end holidays to provide "a revised proposal or other update" in January 2021.
In 2018, Christopher Hay, president and chief executive officer of Hayco, the top contract manufacturer to the brush industry globally, had been looking for a new location for some of its operations due to over a decade of rising labour costs in Hong Kong, China, where the company was based. The company accelerated its search in response to the US government's announcement of tariffs against Chinese products in April 2018. Hayco was seeking a location closer to the US and European markets where labour costs were still low for an initial workforce of over one thousand employees and where there was no threat of tariffs. Hay's focus was on Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Hay considered questions such as, "What is the best market to which Hayco could move its operations? Should it establish a new subsidiary on its own or locate within a special economic zone?"
Top Glaciers Inc. (TG) is a Montreal-based company that emerged in early 2017 from the merger of four Quebec-based ice cream and sorbet companies - Bilboquet, Solo Fruit, Hudson, and Lambert. TG operates in the high-end "artisanal" ice cream and frozen dessert segment. Part A of the case is decisional: it asks students to conduct a business assessment of the company in June 2020 to determine TG's strategy and priorities. Part B is short. It looks at the company's evolution since the end of Part A.
Top Glaciers Inc. (TG) is a Montreal-based company that emerged in early 2017 from the merger of four Quebec-based ice cream and sorbet companies - Bilboquet, Solo Fruit, Hudson, and Lambert. TG operates in the high-end "artisanal" ice cream and frozen dessert segment. Part A of the case is decisional: it asks students to conduct a business assessment of the company in June 2020 to determine TG's strategy and priorities. Part B is short. It looks at the company's evolution since the end of Part A.
In February 2023, Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply Co, the largest farm and ranch retailer in the United States reflected on the company's 70% growth between 2019 and 2022. Economists had begun to predict an economic downturn and experts were predicting softening consumer demand, which would negatively impact retail sales. Although Lawton acknowledged the prospect of short-term economic headwinds, he believed that structural trends favored Tractor Supply, particularly regarding the habits and interests of Millennials. The company had performed extremely well during the pandemic as people isolated at home, moved to less densely populated areas, and began to embrace the Out Here lifestyle. As the pandemic subsided, experts questioned whether Tractor Supply could continue its torrid pace of growth and whether it could maintain its position as the 4th highest performing stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, a position it had held since 2000.
The case focuses on Haier Europe, a branch of Haier Smart Home and part of the Chinese Haier Group, and how it applies RenDanHeYi, a unique management model that explains the group's extraordinary rate of growth amidst fierce competition, with an intense focus on the local customer and keeping costs low. The challenge is to implement the system in Europe following the acquisition of Candy, in a post-Covid environment marked by soaring inflation, conflict in Ukraine, and mounting pressure on the home appliances industry to become more environmentally sustainable.
Health equity became a hot topic during the pandemic, when health care disparities and higher mortality rates for Black and Latino patients became front-page news. New discussions about the structural determinants of health in the United States looked deeply at the impact of racial disparities and racism on health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment on health outcomes. The Unite Us technology platform was devoted to helping identify, deliver, and pay for services that affected whole-person health, with the goal of screening at-risk individuals for referrals to broader assistance from government services and community-based organizations. Could Unite Us and its partners build the coordinated care networks to provide whole-person health to populations that had long borne the brunt of racial disparities-and reduce health care costs?
This case explores the merits and drawbacks of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's proposal to bring rent control back to the city in 2023. It lays out the features, objectives, and potential unintended consequences of this policy, before highlighting the expected impact of rent control on tenants, landlords, and developers. In addition, the case looks back at Massachusetts' long history with rent control to better understand whether rent stabilization efforts enacted in the 1970s and repealed in 1994, following a narrowly decided state-wide referendum, were effective in increasing local housing supply and easing rents in the Boston area.