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Provides an epilogue to the problem posed in the companion case: what to do in the face of potential liquidation?

The wind turbine manufacturer Vestas launched the industry's first highly localized and customized new product launch campaigns which used also new tools such as web 2.0 platforms. Used to operate in a market where demand exceeded supply, Vestas had lost contact with its customer base and had a limited marketing budget, mainly used to finance global media advertisement campaigns. The world economic downturn which followed the U.S. credit crunch crisis of 2008 and the increased competition in the wind turbine market had brought about a sudden drop in Vestas orders of new turbines. Vestas thus decided to focus more on marketing and developed a new department, Global Marketing and Customer Insights. Morten Albaek was hired to manage and develop the department and to transform Vestas into the undisputed most customer focused company in the industry by 2012 and among the most customer centric B2B brand by 2015. He tested his new approach for the first time with the launch of their new V112 turbine for which he developed 72 customized campaigns targeting its main existing and potential customers and major stakeholders. Yet, had the campaign been effective in bringing Vestas closer to its customer base? Were they using the right tools?

Per the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which President Obama signed in 2010, states would be required to create state-wide health insurance marketplaces - the Health Benefit Exchanges (HBEs) - in which individuals and small employers could choose from a set of easy-to-compare, tightly regulated health plans. This case explores how Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey would have to decide whether and how to compete in New Jersey's HBEs.

This case depicts how executives who are holding power in an organization can create chaos due to interpersonal conflict. Rao and Naik, two senior executives at TKC Consulting in India, scapegoated an innocent subordinate during the course of their rivalry. Their actions, not befitting the positions they held, created confusion and misunderstanding in the organization. The chairman of the company understood that their selfish, power-hungry actions could not be explicitly pointed out, as this would merely result in a cycle of blame. Yet he also knew that if the conflict was not addressed immediately, it would cause more discord within the organization.

Micro-blogs (e.g., Twitter, Jaiku, Plurk, Tumblr) are starting to become an established category within the general group of social media. Yet, while they rapidly gain interest among consumers and companies alike, there is no evidence to explain why anybody should be interested in an application that is limited to the exchange of short, 140-character text messages. To this end, our article intends to provide some insight. First, we demonstrate that the success of micro-blogs is due to the specific set of characteristics they possess: the creation of ambient awareness; a unique form of push-push-pull communication; and the ability to serve as a platform for virtual exhibitionism and voyeurism. We then discuss how applications such as Twitter can generate value for companies along all three stages of the marketing process: pre-purchase (i.e., marketing research); purchase (i.e., marketing communications); and post-purchase (i.e., customer services). Finally, we present a set of rules-The Three Rs of Micro-Blogging: Relevance; Respect; Return-which companies should consider when relying on this type of application.

Today's business leaders are pressed to achieve ecological (eco) sustainable enterprise, but must do so with fewer resources. Given a protracted global recession, our concern is that the motivation for eco-sustainability may not be as strong as hoped for, nor as swift or durable as expected. To create a more explicit discourse on eco-sustainability activities during a recession, we set forth a framework to help business leaders examine their strategic perspective based on their organization's identity. We describe how this may influence how leaders broach change within their organizations, taking a surface or deep approach to achieve eco-sustainability. The intent is to highlight the importance of honestly assessing the firm's purpose and to work toward a more relational orientation in the new economy. To establish eco-sustainability during this recessionary period, we believe a middle path is needed, adopting a blended perspective. To this end, we offer three practical steps to begin this effort: reflection on the firm's values, development of relationships, and cultivation of different forms of change.

Information technology is reshaping relationships between companies and customers, often bringing benefits to both. The unfettered use of technology, however, can erode customer care. For a company to care for customers, its managers and front-line employees must listen empathetically to what they have to say. But a rash of 'innovations' aimed primarily at reducing costs has made many companies opaque to their customers, who are-as a consequence-inadequately served and increasingly frustrated. Equally damaging is the resulting estrangement of employees from customers, a separation that dampens the empathy upon which true care for customers depends. As a number of innovative companies have shown, though, technology need not necessarily sour relations between businesses and those they serve. Indeed, technology can actually enrich them if senior managers (1) affirm their commitment to active, empathetic involvement with customers; (2) understand the ways in which current procedures and systems mediate interactions with customers; and (3) promote the deployment of social networks and other technologies to help customers tell their stories, and to enable workers and managers alike to hear them. Only when employees can step into their customers' shoes can companies add authenticity to the claim: "We care for you."

Man-made and natural disasters are becoming increasingly common in today's world. Among other entities, companies should be concerned because these impact organizational survival, disrupting the lives and functioning of employees, suppliers, customers, and organizational infrastructure. If the present trend continues, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on track to declare 30% more disasters in 2010 than in 2009. Organizational disasters are crises in the extreme. While the crisis management literature provides a useful foundation for planning for internal organizational threats, it does not adequately address larger external threats brought about by disasters. With this gap in mind, we herein present a framework for planning for man-made or natural disasters: continuity of operations planning (COOP). Continuity of operations planning is a tool that aids organizations in staying in business under extreme circumstances. Although continuity of operations planning is not an entirely new practice, many small and medium-sized firms are reluctant to engage in this type of planning. To highlight the value of the process, this article provides examples of organizational disasters, alongside a simplified method for developing an effective continuity of operations plan.

Entrepreneurs make numerous business decisions each day, many of which have significant legal implications. Due to a lack of time and knowledge, however, these entrepreneurs too often make quick decisions regarding important matters-both current and future-based on a few primary factors, one of which is cost. Entrepreneurs appear to make decisions based on concrete, but frequently inappropriate, factors such as comparison of bottom-line dollar value or relatively small fees; in this scenario, short-term decisions are made that do not take into account intricate legal and strategic implications that may arise down the road. As such, we would suggest a different approach whereby entrepreneurs take the time to learn about and understand the implications of these decisions on long-term sustainability, liability protection, and growth potential. Herein, we discuss how using cost to compare and make decisions has an impact on three issues with legal implications that occur early in the start-up process, and which pose major implications for the entrepreneur if he or she does not deal with them properly. Toward this end, we propose some solutions to help prevent this from happening.

Innovations stemming from research conducted on university campuses are a growing source for the ideas and core technologies that drive entrepreneurial endeavors. This trend has led to development of the term academic entrepreneurship, which refers to the efforts and activities that universities and their industry partners undertake in hopes of commercializing the outcomes of faculty research. Because it is a relatively new phenomenon, the process of academic entrepreneurship has not been as well articulated as one might hope. As such, the objective of this article is to draw on a range of academic entrepreneurship literature to develop a multi-stage process model of academic entrepreneurship. This model is intended to guide potential stakeholders through the application of academic entrepreneurship, with a focus on improving the odds of success. The advantage of this approach is identification of the activities, actors, and key success factors associated with each stage of the academic entrepreneurship process. We conclude our discussion by highlighting the benefits of engaging in academic entrepreneurship for a variety of potential stakeholders.

A financial system engaged in active transition from central planning to free market may be dubbed a transition economy. On today's global landscape, there are several important transition economies, all at various stages of transition and with differing degrees of success. Yet, much is not known about this important sector of the world economy. As outside enterprises seek alliances with firms from transition economies, it is important to know what these firms want from alliance partners. To learn more, we conducted a study interviewing managers of private firms from the two largest and most strategically important transition economies: China and Russia. We found that while Chinese and Russian firms often hope for some of the same things as their counterparts in mature economies as regards alliances, they are also interested in other things not normally associated with alliances: political influence, relief from paying bribes, and protection from extortion or even violence. Moreover, we discovered that because of differing institutional conditions in the two countries, Chinese firms are not always looking for the same things from alliances as are Russian firms-in spite of surface similarities between the two economies. Based on these findings, we provide guidelines for firms seeking alliance partners in transition economies, to assist them in determining if an alliance is right for them and planning accordingly.

The case describes the ability of Hocol to understand and transform multiple contextual forces, adverse and convergent, to develop internal capacities and to apply its business competencies to achieve positive results in the economic, social and environmental realms. Hocol designed a business model under the following principle: "the success of the company is founded on the success of the people and groups that surround it." While the company claimed "not to have a model," it was clear that it was one of learning, experimentation and incremental and permanent adaptation to the demands of its external context. The conception of a business model with these characteristics redirected the development of Hocol´s activities, in particular the work of the Government and Community Affairs and Industrial Protection team, and shaped the activities of the Foundation wherever it operated. Hocol maintained that to achieve better economic and social results it needed to understand and manage a variety of pressures that stemmed from the environment in which it worked. At the same time, it needed to build internal resources and abilities that would allow it to convert threats into opportunities and to respond to the expectations of shareholders, sub-contractors, surrounding communities and other stakeholders. In sum, Hocol sought to understand the evolution of needs in the society of which it was a part and to help satisfy these needs through strengthening community-based organizations and governmental institutions.

Mitalio is a software developer with a solid presence in the enterprise business software. Its installed base includes European and American global corporations and its products are also gaining traction with Asian customers. Mitalio, a specialized vendor, competes in a crowded field with many highly regarded technology brands (e.g., IBM, SAP), that cover a much broader spectrum of business applications. While IBM, SAP, BEA, Tibco and other major competitors have embraced social media tools almost from the beginning, and showed willingness to learn through trial and error, Mitalio has lacked the internal leadership and vision to build its internal capabilities in Social Media. They need now to play catch up in Social Media, and try to gain parity in a short period of time.

The owner of Finchco plans to sell his company. The purpose of the case is to utilize several valuation methods and to suggest the possible deal structure. The case is made somewhat more complicated by the fact that Finchco has a real estate subsidiary, which must be valued and the company has a great opportunity to land a major new customer whose value must be included in the analysis.

An equity analyst uses a variety of methods to value Walmart shares, with a view to making a buy/sell or hold recommendation for the stock.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W11058.

This note focuses on the valuation of late-stage companies with a particular emphasis on leveraged buyouts (LBOs). In addition to LBOs, late-stage investments can arise in situations involving growth equity, turnarounds, mezzanine investments, and distressed debt. In contrast to venture capital, where firms are typically at an early stage of development, late-stage investments involve more established businesses that have an ability to take on higher levels of leverage to augment investor returns. While in practice there are several approaches to valuation, the approach chosen often comes down to which provides the most accurate representation of the situation and perspectives of the parties involved. This note takes the perspective of a PE investor and assumes some basic familiarity with the structure of PE investing. It provides a basic overview of the primary sources of financing and the metrics used to gauge LBO capital structures and a step-by-step example of an LBO analysis.

Jane Barrow, CEO of Caprica Energy, must recommend to the board which of three potential "unconventional" natural gas development sites in different parts of the United States the company should pursue. The case takes place in January 2011, when the "low-hanging fruit" of natural gas production in the United States had essentially been picked. All three of the potential sites (shale, coal bed methane, and tight sands) would require hydraulic fracturing, a process of removing gas that was formerly considered inaccessible by injecting water and chemicals into the ground. Because of emerging concerns about the potential harm "fracking" can do to drinking water, Barrow must not only analyze which site might be most profitable but also what the potential risks to the environment and area residents might be.

To decide whether to initiate a position in gold, the protagonist must assess its features as a strategic component in any portfolio as well as whether the time is right for an opportunistic tactical allocation. Factors that must be considered include how supply and demand for gold will be affected by the paths of real interest rates, inflation expectations, the euro zone debt crisis (and other financial stresses), and the international value of the U.S. dollar, among other factors.

The protagonist's task today, as oil prices approached $125/barrel, was to decide whether her pension fund should allocate some funds to oil, and if so, how much? At this point-February 2012-there were many reasons to think about adding oil to her fund. To decide whether to initiate a position in oil, the protagonist must assess its features as a strategic component in any portfolio as well as whether the time is right for an opportunistic tactical allocation. Factors that must be considered include how supply and demand for oil will be affected by global economic policy, geopolitical concerns, and rising demand from emerging markets, among other factors.