Case (B) is based on the China-U.S. trade war and discusses how this Chinese Internet security company with American capital raises Series C funding in the second quarter of 2018. Should the company seek dollar funding to grow in the global market, or opt for RMB funding to focus on the Chinese market? Of utmost importance is how to deal with a situation where U.S. investors are pessimistic about Chinese security companies, and RMB funds are unwilling to invest in businesses with a dollar funding structure.
Case (C) introduces the latest progress of Chasm Security as of the end of 2018. It then poses a very inspiring question to comprehensively summarize the case series: "If the founders had a second chance, how would the game play out?"
In October 2001, the co-founder and vice-president of Veritas Investment Research Corporation (Veritas), was considering his next steps as he prepared to issue a highly critical report on Bombardier Inc. (Bombardier). The vice-president believed that Bombardier had relied upon accounting innovations rather than operating innovations in order to report accounting profits. While numerous issues concerned the vice-president, one of the most critical was the way the company had managed the relationships between its various operating segments. These issues had developed over recent years and threatened to increase following the business decisions in the wake of September 11, 2001, which had dramatically affected the sale of aircraft. The vice-president's investment report would have significant consequences for numerous stakeholders and would affect both his own and Veritas's reputations. How should Veritas interpret the various issues related to Bombardier's accounting and reporting choices?
Credit Suisse, a leading Swiss banking institution in the private and investment banking sectors, had a poor performance after the financial crisis of 2008 and was trailing its global peers. The bank appointed Tidjane Thiam as new CEO of the bank in July 2015, with the mandate to turn the bank around. When Tidjane Thiam joined, Credit Suisse had a weak capital position, which prevented it from effectively competing. Additionally, the bank had some businesses which were "structural" loss makers and hence a drag to the Group's profitability and capital positions. Even more important than the underperforming businesses and weak capital position, it was apparent that Credit Suisse was lacking a clear and consistent strategy. Private banking and investment banking businesses were operating to some extent as independent operations and the bank was not taking advantage of synergistic opportunities across its businesses. The board asked the new CEO, Tidjane Thiam, to conduct a detailed strategic review, in close collaboration with the Group Board, to restructure the bank. The case is centered on this strategic review and explains the position of the bank prior to the arrival of the CEO.
Deeply disturbed by the consequences of underinvestment in critical infrastructure in the United States over the last half century, highly successful former investment banker Suneel Kamlani set out to address the problem by launching an innovative infrastructure bank model that he honed as a 2016 Harvard Advanced Leadership Fellow. To implement his social innovation, Kamlani, an unaffiliated private citizen, needed to convince states to pass new legislation permitting its establishment, despite his lack of legislative knowhow and institutional power. This case study chronicles Kamlani's development of his solution for infrastructure underinvestment and his relentless efforts to build a robust multi-stakeholder coalition using advanced leadership practices to try to pass infrastructure bank legislation in his home state of Connecticut. It shows how he worked with elected state officials and other stakeholders to champion the effort and how he tried-both successfully and unsuccessfully--to overcome entrenched interests. It provides background for an in-depth discussion regarding 1) the degree to which Kamlani's skill set, his chosen solution pathway, and his targeted societal problem aligned to tackle the infrastructure underinvestment issue, and 2) the strategies and advanced leadership skills that individuals without legislative expertise or formalized institutional power in state government can employ to build coalitions and pass new legislation. The case study opens on June 3, 2019 with Kamlani on the cusp of a major legislative victory for his Connecticut Infrastructure Bank (CIB) initiative. It concludes with the Governor's unexpected withdrawal shortly thereafter of support for the CIB bill and the CIB coalition's relaunch of the legislative effort in early 2020.
Consumer products companies were beset by changes on all sides during the 2010s. Customers were increasingly turning to ecommerce platforms rather than shopping in-store. Meanwhile, nimble, digitally-savvy competitors were gaining market share by capitalizing on the troves of newly available data on consumer preferences. Alibaba was the largest ecommerce platform company globally and operated in China, which was seen by many as an image of the future of western markets. In 2017, Alibaba launched the Tmall Innovation Center (TMIC) which provided a range of services to support innovation for companies selling through the Tmall business-to-consumer platform. These included robust consumer insights backed by data from across Alibaba and mechanisms to rapidly solicit customer feedback. Armed with the TMIC, consumer products companies were learning that effectively targeting consumer preferences required a new approach to product development which had far-reaching implications across roles, skills, and organizational structure.
In May 2020, an analyst was assessing eHealth's performance. eHealth was an online / tele-sales broker of health insurance products. The stock had recently hit all-time highs, closing at a peak of $146 on March 4, 2020. But now, May 4, 2020, eHealth traded at $103. The recent fall had wiped nearly $1.0B from the company's market capitalization because well-known short seller Carson Block had released a short-report on the company. Carson Block argued that eHealth's management had undertaken "massive stock promotion." In the report, Block said that eHealth's adoption of the new revenue recognition standard - ASC 606 - inflated revenue and masked the fact that eHealth was losing money on each new policy that it sold. Still, eHealth's valuation remained elevated at 3.3x FY2021E Revenue, 21x FY2021E adjusted net income, even assuming away accounting uncertainty. In addition, the mean consensus share price target as of May 4, 2020 was $179. Did the latest news provide a buying opportunity? Or was it best to avoid eHealth, even perhaps consider shorting the company?
In 2017, Amazon began its search for a second headquarters location. From 20 finalists, after a bidding process that lasted nearly a year, Amazon selected two locations: Long Island City in the borough of Queens, New York City; and Arlington, Virginia. There were many stakeholders with varied opinions about the location, especially in New York. Progressive politicians, led by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, argued against the New York City location, as did most City Council members. But New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo were in support of the deal, which they brokered. The case asks students to put themselves in the shoes of Amazon's director of economic development, as she and her team make a final recommendation to move forward with the New York deal or pull out.
In 2018, the chairperson of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Nissan), Carlos Ghosn, was arrested for alleged misconduct and criminal offences related to underreporting remuneration and misrepresenting annual disclosures. Detailed investigations revealed similar misrepresentations by the company's chief executive officer (CEO) Hiroto Saikawa, who was forced to resign. The actions of senior officials left a deep stain on Nissan's reputation, causing investors to question the effect of corporate governance at Nissan-and by extension, at similar companies across Japan and the world. As details of the scandal unfolded, Nissan suffered negative public repercussions. Its share-based incentive systems, excessive focus on profitability, and cost-cutting measures had caused deviations from normal risk management procedures, resulting in the production of poor-quality vehicles and thus vehicle recalls. Consumer trust in the company dropped, as did sales and profitability figures, with a continuous fall in the company's stock. The company's new CEO and board of directors were left to make amends for the company's future. They needed to determine how to strengthen the company's leadership and governance structure as they worked to make Nissan sustainable and profitable once again. Should they adopt a typical Japanese model of corporate governance, or would a model from elsewhere be more suitable?
This case describes DuPont's sustainable seaweed program, in partnership with the New England Aquarium, and discusses the changing market landscape for seaweed: an undervalued ingredient widely used in much of the world's food supplies, fertilizers, industrial gums, pharmaceuticals, biofuels, plastic, and more. Seaweed production is rapidly expanding around the globe and is projected to generate 500 million tons of dry weight by 2050, accounting for approximately 10% of the world's supply of food. Conflict over marine resources is also increasing, as multiple users and maritime industries vie for space, including offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, tourism, transportation, and shipping. After DuPont developed the first sustainable seaweed standards in 2018, the company announced its efforts to move toward a circular economic business model. The case challenges students to determine whether DuPont should lead a pre-competitive collaborative initiative to refine and share its sustainability standards with other seaweed companies. But would this threaten Dupont's competitive advantage?
This case discusses the evolution of VIKAS, from a small non-profit organisation to a cluster of non-profit as well as for-profit organisations, collectively attempting to address the issues of poverty and under-development. This case discusses the factors that influenced the evolution of VIKAS (non-profit organisation) and SAVE (for-profit organisation). The case provides an understanding about the necessity of incorporating a for-profit entity along with a non-profit entity in order to enhance the sustainability and impact of the developmental work carried out by VIKAS. The main questions this case raises are: Is the model of combining cause (developmental work carried out by VIKAS) with commerce (for-profit work done by SAVE) sustainable? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a model? Is this model of organising scalable? Why or why not?
Industrial co-creation projects are often complex and ambiguous, involving high levels of interpretive uncertainty over processes and outcomes. To boost the effectiveness of such projects, firms have increasingly adopted virtual reality (VR) technology and have experienced unique benefits by utilizing digital artifacts - interactive objects in digital environments, such as factory installation layouts or design visualizations. This article provides case evidence demonstrating how VR-enabled digital artifacts support firms to effectively implement tailor-made solutions in robotics and automation projects. The adoption of new digital co-creation practices redefines the traditional customer-provider roles in industrial co-creation, increasing engagement, reducing uncertainty, and improving project outcomes.
With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It's 2008 and lightning has struck for Shellye Archambeau once again. As CEO of MetricStream, she had spent the last seven years turning a tech startup on life support after the dot-com bust into a market leader of governance, risk, and compliance software for businesses. As a black female CEO, Archambeau is no stranger to adversity. Becoming a leader had been her goal since high school and she had achieved it through decades of hard work and skillful decision making. Now she faces her most critical leadership decision. She calls a meeting with her board chairman, Gunjan Sinha, to discuss the best path forward: Sell MetricStream while offers are on the table, or try to save it by looking for a big customer of the company's risk management software against the backdrop of the financial crisis? Both options have dire consequences. Valuations are plummeting by the day. Cash is disappearing by the minute. Archambeau and Sinha need to decide and act swiftly.
With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It's 2008 and lightning has struck for Shellye Archambeau once again. As CEO of MetricStream, she had spent the last seven years turning a tech startup on life support after the dot-com bust into a market leader of governance, risk, and compliance software for businesses. As a black female CEO, Archambeau is no stranger to adversity. Becoming a leader had been her goal since high school and she had achieved it through decades of hard work and skillful decision making. Now she faces her most critical leadership decision. She calls a meeting with her board chairman, Gunjan Sinha, to discuss the best path forward: Sell MetricStream while offers are on the table, or try to save it by looking for a big customer of the company's risk management software against the backdrop of the financial crisis? Both options have dire consequences. Valuations are plummeting by the day. Cash is disappearing by the minute. Archambeau and Sinha need to decide and act swiftly.
This case describes the situation of Tesla, Inc. (Tesla), in mid-2019. Tesla had just successfully launched the more affordable Model 3, but sales of the most expensive and profitable Models X and S were stagnant. In order to incentivize the sales of these luxury models, Tesla recently brought back free Supercharging for life for customers purchasing Models X or S. The case provides information about the history of Tesla, one customer's hesitation about buying a Tesla electric vehicle (EV), purchasing prices, different ways to procure electricity and their cost, Supercharging stations, tax credits, and the autonomous and self-driving features of the car.
On October 27, 2017, the share price of McKesson Corporation and two other major US pharmaceutical distributors dropped by 7-12 per cent over only a few days. The stock price drop was fuelled by reports that Amazon Inc. had quietly acquired wholesales pharmacy licences in 12 US states and, a short time later, formed an independent venture with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JP Morgan Chase & Co. to improve the cost and quality of health care for the US employees of all three companies. These two notable events in the US pharmaceuticals market did not go unnoticed by a group of students enrolled in a value investing class, who wondered if it was possible for Amazon Inc. to disrupt the US health care industry, or if the market was overreacting to the two reports. Was McKesson Corporation's future in the pharmaceutical distribution business in jeopardy, or was its stock suddenly in a favourable buy position?
In 2017, the general manager and head of business conglomerate Mahindra and Mahindra Limited (M&M)'s largest factory in Igatpuri, Maharashtra, faced several challenges related to the company's goal of achieving zero-waste-to-landfill certification from an environmental agency. Since the Mahindra Group's chief executive officer had decided to focus on sustainability as a key to long-term growth, M&M had to find practical ways to manage waste in the Igatpuri factory. Reducing the waste produced in the factory would require the company to deal with both production-related hazardous waste such as toxic camshaft-grinding waste and other waste such as the cotton gloves employees had previously discarded after every shift. The general manager knew that diverting a high percentage of waste from the landfill could produce material savings and cost reductions and boost M&M's image as a sustainability-focused global brand. He wondered how best to embed waste management policies into the factory's processes.
Hangzhou Kub Baby Products Co. Ltd. (Kub), an e-commerce company established in 2009, sold maternal and child products. After a decade of development, Kub had earned praise from customers for the high-value, high-quality, and cost-effective products it sold, but the company's own brand, KÜB, remained less well known. In July 2018, Kub launched a three-day brand marketing campaign, called "KÜB×Tmall Happy Day," which largely relied on new media. The event was successful with increased brand effectiveness; however, new media was increasingly fragmenting marketing and brand awareness. How could Kub maintain its brand success in that context?
In early 2020, a recent graduate from a prestigious masters of business administration program was working as a financial accountant for a renowned private equity firm in Glasgow, Scotland. For her father's retirement, she was considering a gift from Highland Malt Inc.. The company's Scotch whisky was offered in a limited quantity and promoted as an investment opportunity. Unlike ordinary bottled whiskies, Highland Malt Inc. sold this new line solely by the barrel. Collectors had to pay the full amount of CA$10,000 upfront, but could request a full refund within 180 days if unsatisfied with the product. The refund period allowed the collector to visit the distillery and inspect the purchase to ensure it met all expectations. The accountant was wondering if she should proceed with her plan to buy a barrel of Highland whisky as an investment and collector's item for her father.