To improve its profitability, NKT Photonics A/S (NKT), a small Danish company operating in the global photonics industry, was getting ready to undertake the commercialization process of its highly advanced optical fibre technology. NKT’s chief executive officer (CEO) was considering two options for accomplishing this goal: (1) establishing strategic partnerships with system integrators in order to gain access to commercial customers, or (2) repositioning NKT as a system integrator by embarking on an acquisition strategy. Turning the company into a more commercial entity would mean a complete change of culture. It might also result in the loss of some top engineering and scientific minds and perhaps even the company's reputation. The CEO wondered if there a way to effectively introduce a business mindset to the organization while still preserving its innovation-based DNA.
In May 2014, Julie Hallman was about to assume the presidency of the struggling non-profit arts organization, the Falaise Foundation, which offered a residence for small groups of artists and scholars from around the world to work on creative endeavours at its extensive property in the South of France. The foundation was suffering financially due to a combination of weak fundraising, high operating costs, an ineffective board of trustees, and a murky relationship between the founding family and the foundation. Complicating matters was Hallman’s personal situation: she was the daughter of the foundation’s founder, who had run the organization his own way for decades until health issues forced him to step down. As a documentary filmmaker with a degree in Fine Arts, Julie Hallman had no business background. She had to develop an understanding of the root causes of the foundation’s problems and identify a set of strategies and actions to effect a successful turnaround.
Online social network service provider Five One Network Development Co. Ltd. (51.com) was founded in August 2005 and entered the online game industry in 2011, when browser games became popular in China. Although it continuously invested in developing online games, it had failed to reach its goal of becoming one of the top 10 companies in China. The online game industry had seen fierce competition and was finding it difficult to retain talented employees, who were leaving to start their own businesses. This problem, referred to as a “brain drain,” was also increasing the number of emerging profitable start-ups, especially in the mobile game segment. To overcome these internal and external challenges, 51.com decided to apply a new strategic approach: launching a series of new spin-off businesses from within the company. However, competition between the spin-offs seemed unavoidable. How would 51.com manage the relationships between the new spin-off businesses?
Founded in 2006, Pacific Drilling was a fast-growing offshore drilling company. From the beginning, the company’s chief executive officer was determined to create a unique drilling company by focusing exclusively on ultra-deepwater drilling and technological innovation. By the end of 2014, the company had more than 1,600 employees and was generating US$1 billion in annual revenues. However, the company also faced several challenges, such as being overly reliant on one key customer (Chevron) and the high costs of differentiation. With oil prices plummeting, the company was struggling to acquire new customers. To what extent could the company rely on what it had successfully accomplished in the past, and to what extent would it need to create and adapt to a new strategy?
In 2011, the chief executive officer of Singh Security Systems Limited, an Indian company that designed and manufactured security systems, wanted to expand the scale of operations. He located a partner, the business leader of a construction company that specialized in security systems, in Doha, Qatar. Together, they drew a lucrative plan to execute turnkey projects in security systems in Qatar. However, the best candidate to lead the partnership in Qatar was a woman, who was keen to pursue the position, but would be the only woman in a position of authority in a 180-member organization, in a male-dominated country. The business leader of the Qatari firm was hesitant to hire a woman to run the project. Should the company reconsider assigning a woman project manager to Qatar?
<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Best Teaching Case Studies Award at the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI)</strong></p><br>In 2014, as one of the most well-known Taiwanese cuisine brands, Din Tai Fung operated more than 100 restaurants around the world. Attracted by its signature xialongbao (soup dumpling), long queues of customers at Din Tai Fung’s storefront were a common sight. Requests for partnerships for global expansion were constantly arriving. Customer feedback from overseas, however, suggested a notable gap in service quality between the overseas and Taiwanese branches. The demand for support by overseas branches had also surged significantly due to the fast pace of growth in recent years. The company’s chief executive officer had deferred his plan to open the 10th branch in Taiwan. Nevertheless, plans to open new branches in overseas markets were enthusiastically evaluated by existing partners. Two new potential partnership offers from Dubai and the Philippines were being aggressively pursued. What was the best way to cope with the increasing number of requests for support from overseas branches and to ensure high quality? Should Din Tai Fung approve the two overseas offers for partnership that seemed promising? What was the best overseas expansion strategy?
In December 2004, Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo announced its purchase of IBM's PC division. At the time, few industry observers were optimistic about the merger of these entities with seemingly opposite company cultures. How should the two entities plan to integrate?
QuintilesIMS was a leading healthcare consulting firm best known for its data and information offerings, as well as its market research and management consulting services for life science companies. By 2015, the company was expanding beyond the biopharmaceutical industry, offering analytical services to healthcare systems, like the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK). In June, 2015, QuintilesIMS published a study highlighting inconsistencies in the care of RA patients in England. In particular, the company considered the current use of biologic medications to treat RA in England, as well how the introduction of biosimilar medications might affect costs to the NHS and medication access for patients. Students must use epidemiology, cost, and market share information given in the case to estimate potential cost savings one year after the introduction of biosimilars. The case also explores qualitative questions around the appropriate communication with patients and the role of QuintilesIMS.
In the summer of 2016, PepsiCo Beverages Canada faced a choice: whether to launch its new product, organic Gatorade, in Canada. Only a few months previously, PepsiCo North America Beverages' chief executive officer had announced a company-wide initiative that was designed to offer consumers a greater variety of healthier products. Would such a product ultimately make PepsiCo more competitive in the Canadian market in light of recent trends that emphasized healthy options? Did Canadian consumers want organic Gatorade? PepsiCo also had to keep in mind its long-standing competition with The Coca-Cola Company, and decide how that would affect its strategic choices.
Supplement to case W16600. This case is a supplement to Nintendo: Game On! Released in July 2016, Pokemon GO was a location-based virtual reality mobile game in which players needed to locate and capture virtual creatures from the Pokemon family. Although it was a revolutionary concept, would its release mark a change in Nintendo's recent history of continuous decline in revenues and profits?
Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the hospital. Having piloted the program at an urban hospital in Massachusetts, they're ready to disseminate the software to other accountable care organizations and bundled-payment hospitals. The case explores the issues the two entrepreneurs consider as they pursue the funding, clients, and business strategy that will allow them to scale their company and cut waste in Medicare spending.
In November 2015, Square, Inc. launched its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO had an offering price of $9 per share, lower than the $11 to $13 estimate that had been outlined in the preliminary prospectus and 42% below the $15.50 share price in its most recent financing less than a year before. The lower than anticipated pricing of Square's IPO, and the implied valuation, had left investors and market observers wondering if this was an indication of a valuation bubble, or a shift in the market. The case provides an overview of the IPO process, and examines U.S. IPO trends from the 1980s to mid-2010s. It explores the rationales behind an increasing number of $billion + private valuations, known as 'unicorns', and explores who the winners and losers are when such firms go public at lower valuations.
As of 2016, Mathias Döpfner, chief executive officer (CEO) of Axel Springer SE, had successfully transitioned the German publishing house through a major digital transformation in the world of journalism. Given the massive disruption that had occurred over the previous two decades with how people consumed news, this was no small feat. During this time, many newspapers, magazines, and journals failed to keep up with the rapidly changing industry. Historically, print advertising constituted the majority of revenue for large publishers. But the digital revolution in journalism meant that print advertising revenues dropped precipitously. This downward trend in print advertising revenues happened around the globe, with traditional publishers cutting thousands of jobs. Many publishers were forced to declare bankruptcy during this period. In spite of these industry headwinds, Axel Springer was thriving. Döpfner had transformed Axel Springer through a two-stage digital transformation strategy process. Starting in 2006, Axel Springer first focused on organic growth and late-stage digital acquisitions, which infused digitization into Axel Springer's corporate culture. In 2013, the second stage centered around Döpfner's mission to become "The Leading Digital Publisher"; Axel Springer would be defined not by its distribution channels, but by its (content) brands and services. Having successfully transformed Axel Springer from a print-only company to a thriving print and digital media conglomerate, Döpfner wanted to accelerate Axel Springer's growth even further. He believed that Axel Springer was well positioned to succeed not only in their core German market, but also more broadly on the world stage. Yet he knew this path to becoming a global media powerhouse would not be straightforward, especially given the rapid changes occurring within the media and publishing realm. In a world in which people were consuming content from a variety of sources-traditional print
Saksham Wealth Solutions P. Ltd. (Saksham), founded in 2005, was an investment company that survived the challenges of the Indian wealth management industry and the ups and downs of the financial market. Saksham’s success was due in part to a strategy of building trust with clients and educating them about the nuances of creating wealth through various financial instruments. Transparency, assistance, timely advice, and a goal-oriented approach were considered the company’s essential services. In 2008, the company turned down a purchase proposal from top international bankers who valued Saksham at three times its annual profit. Ten years later, Saksham was four times bigger. If a similar offer were made, should Saksham take it?
Shree Balaji Alumnicast Pvt. Ltd. (SBA) was a successful Indian metal recycling company and a pioneer in creating sustainable customer value through its closed-loop supply chain. In 2009, its biggest customer demanded a 15 per cent price reduction on alloys and threatened to withdraw its entire business if SBA failed to meet its demand within a given time frame. This customer contributed a significant share of SBA’s revenue and was thus indispensable. SBA could not simultaneously offer a price discount and retain its margins, which were already declining, through its current business and manufacturing practices. The company needed to rethink its strategy in order to maintain its growth trajectory, and find a better way of managing costs.
The chief executive officer of Network for Information & Computer Technology (NICT), an information and communications technology implementation firm, had to consider a proposal from India Post in which the latter would leverage NICT’s franchisee-based last-mile customer service kiosks to offer banking solutions to rural areas in India. With the deal, the Post Bank of India would emerge as India’s largest commercial bank. NICT’s network of customer service kiosks was already used in a limited capacity by public-sector banks (the Bank of India and the State Bank of India). The India Post offer could stabilize the financial health of NICT and enable it to venture into new domains. However, its current partners might object to the relationship with India Post and withdraw from their partnership. While NICT had the competencies to serve its current clients, it would need to build new ones for India Post. The CEO had to choose between this emerging, possibly highly profitable opportunity and the existing but less profitable partners.
LifeCell International, a stem cell banking service in India, reduced its subscription pricing in 2013. The managing director and chief executive officer was considering the effects of this price differentiation strategy on his efforts to make regenerative health care affordable in India. He needed to address several critical issues, including improving awareness of regenerative therapies, disseminating product information, increasing market penetration, evaluating the new price structure, and continuing to support technological advancements.
The founders of Mark43, an early-stage startup that provides software for law enforcement agencies, must decide whether to bid on a request for proposals (RFP) from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). On the one hand, LAPD would be a second large and influential customer for a startup that has just successfully deployed software for its first customer, the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. On the other hand, pursuing the LAPD RFP could consume most of Mark43's engineering resources for the coming year, pushing other business development opportunities off their roadmap, in particular, plans to target small and medium-sized police departments.
Psaltry International Limited was an agricultural processing company located in rural Nigeria. The company refined cassava into high-quality food-grade starch, which was used in many consumer products. As of 2016, Psaltry had 300 employees and operated two production lines. The company was growing rapidly, but its founder, Ms Yemisi Iranloye, faced key strategic decisions about whether to expand production, and how to source two water and electricity for the company's factory. These inputs were difficult to obtain because of the lack of government-supplied infrastructure in rural Nigeria. Indeed, although many outsiders considered the Nigerian business environment to be challenging due to problems like corruption and the threat of violence, from Ms. Iranloye's perspective the challenge of obtaining power and water was every bit as important. One possible solution was for Psaltry to increase its own power generation and water supply capacity. This approach would require substantial up-front investment. It also carried a risk, as local communities could not rely on government-operated infrastructure, and might expect Psaltry to provide them with power and water. Although Ms. Iranloye was proud of Psaltry's track record of promoting community development, she was acutely aware that Psaltry was not in a position to fully satisfy local communities' needs for power and water. For water, Ms Iranloye considered three main options: drilling deeper wells, building a dam, or building a supply pipe to source water from a government dam. For power, her three main options were to build a biogas plant, rely on costly diesel generators, or increase the company's use of government-supplied electricity.