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When he created Shanghai Tang in 1994, Hong Kong businessman David Tang intended to launch China's first bona-fide luxury brand. In the first few years, Tang's flamboyant, cross-cultural style and ties to celebrities fueled the buzz surrounding the brand. But the brand was unable to establish its core customer outside its home market of Hong Kong, and the company struggled to find a niche among successful, established global luxury brands. In 2005, under new leadership and revised creative direction, Shanghai Tang expanded into several regional markets worldwide, with a particular focus in Asia. But was the company on track to become the first global Chinese luxury brand?

As organizations continue to pursue more global strategies, the need to be able to understand consumers in far away places is increasing. Marketing research is the primary mechanism through which companies understand their current, as well as potential, customers. As companies contemplate the global marketplace, they must consider how domestic market research differs when conducted in international markets. In an effort to help internal client side marketing, research managers design and implement improved international research studies. Briefly discusses the context for international market research and provides a framework for conducting international market research projects. Additionally, presents several factors that should be considered by marketers who engage in global market research studies. These factors represent the variety of challenges that must be addressed in order to conduct research across national borders. Particular attention is paid to the nuances related to primary data collection and questionnaire construction.

In recent years, academics and practitioners have recognized that sponsorship relationships operate as strategic alliances. Additionally, they have emphasized the lack of analytical approaches which allow an understanding of the developmental process of such alliances. In an attempt to fill this gap, examines how key sponsorship characteristics change over different stages of the life cycle (formation, operation, and outcome) to determine the success or failure of the relationship. Specifically, proposes a life cycle model that articulates general paths in sponsorship relationship developmental stages and the behavior pattern of sponsorship characteristics. Throughout this framework, illustrates the reasoning with examples drawn from the UBS/Team Alinghi sponsorship relationship.

Taka Haneda, a proprietary trader at the Tokyo office of Goldman Sachs, has just learned that the Nikkei 225 will undergo a significant redefinition over the coming week. He faces several billion dollars of customer orders, as well as the opportunity to commit the firm's capital to provide liquidity for the event. He must decide what positions to establish, and at what price he is willing to get out.

The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America of developing products appropriate to the sector and acceptable to risk carriers, and minimizing distribution and administration costs by going through Opportunity International (OI) partner microfinance institutions (MFIs), MIA must now define the strategy for its future growth. Facing both the need to achieve scale and profitability as quickly as possible, and increasing competition from international and local providers with few barriers to entry, MIA must grapple with a series of strategic choices: geographic expansion, continued product innovation, serving MFIs outside of the OI network, and new distribution mechanisms to reach market segments beyond MFIs. Wholly owned by faith-based nonprofit OI, MIA must also factor in OI's desired mission impact with commercial viability. Illustrates the challenges and tradeoffs inherent in pioneering efforts at the edge of microfinance, the emerging industry to serve the financial needs of low-income sectors in the developing world.

PRG-Schultz will run out of cash within a couple of months unless the new CEO can reduce costs and restructure the company's debt. PRG was the dominant market leader in the audit recovery industry. The industry consisted of firms which employed accounting professionals to audit purchasing transactions to discover and collect funds owed to their clients. PRG had historically been profitable, and clients were satisfied with their service. In recent years, however, the industry overall and PRG's sales, had been in decline. This left PRG with a cost base that was no longer sustainable. The CEO must decide where to cut costs and how to convince creditors to give the company the time it needs to turn around. A bankruptcy reorganization is one option open to the company. Describes the audit recovery industry, the company's history, the CEO, the financial problems the company faced, and the first steps taken by the CEO to save the company.

This is a short case (2 pages), which can be distributed and discussed in class as an update through 2006 of the Nike case series. It follows Nike, Inc.: Entering the Millennium (Case #299-084).

A vice-president of Ventures West, a leading Canadian venture capital firm, must decide what due diligence to conduct in order to recommend an investment in AudienceView, a company that provides software and services for the sports and entertainment ticketing markets. While the case is focused on due diligence, there is sufficient information to allow for a full venture capital investment analysis, including valuation and deal terms.

The chief financial officer (CFO) of Workbrain Corporation (Workbrain) must prepare a memo for the upcoming board of directors meeting. Workbrain, a venture-backed company, has grown substantially since its founding in November 1999. Now the CFO must communicate to the board whether it is time to consider an initial public offering (IPO) and, if so, in which exchange market the stock should be offered. The company must also consider what financing alternatives are available (including maintaining the current venture financing arrangement) and whether the company needs to raise money at all. The CFO is thinking about the memo, knowing that his words will have considerable impact on the company.

The collapse of Procomp Informatics Ltd, a major Taiwanese chipmaker, has been regarded by Taiwan's market watchdogs as similar to the scandal of the U.S. energy giant Enron in 2001. In June 2004, Procomp defaulted on a bond payment and structured for bankruptcy, despite a huge cash balance recorded in its books. It was discovered that the company's executives and its overseas sales agents had colluded in overstating sales revenue, manipulating stock prices, illegally leveraging assets, and arranging bonds through paper companies. The incident left thousands of company shareholders with massive financial losses. Raises concerns about corporate governance and risk management of public companies in Taiwan, and calls into question the credibility of the financial reporting process, companies' internal controls, and corporate ethics in the Asian context.

In February 1994, top officials from China and Singapore signed a landmark partnership agreement to develop a massive new industrial park and residential community in the city of Suzhou in China. The ambitious project, modeled after Singapore's highly successful industrial-residential parks, would provide not only jobs for hundreds of thousands of people, but homes and community facilities as well. The agreement between the partners also called for a "software transfer," in which Singapore would share its highly-touted expertise in managing economic development with its Chinese partners. The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CS-SIP) enjoyed the support of the highest levels of government in both nations. But the joint venture soon foundered, as CS-SIP ran into problems and fell short of its goals. The harmonious partnership between likeminded nations that their leaders envisioned did not materialize. Singaporeans accused local authorities of undermining the project, while Suzhou officials criticized the Singaporeans for taking their complaints to Beijing instead of dealing directly with them. After five years of disappointing results, Singapore pulled back from CS-SIP, dramatically reducing its share in the partnership. This case tells the story of CS-SIP in two parts: Part A describes the project and outlines the hopes both nations invested in it, as well as the potential snags that could derail it; Part B details the problems that led to a falling out between the partners. Both parts can be assigned together, or Part B can serve as a sequel to be read after classroom discussion of Part A. The case is suited for discussion of international development issues, in particular, the difficulties of doing institutional transfers across national boundaries. HKS Case Number 1859.0

In February 1994, top officials from China and Singapore signed a landmark partnership agreement to develop a massive new industrial park and residential community in the city of Suzhou in China. The ambitious project, modeled after Singapore's highly successful industrial-residential parks, would provide not only jobs for hundreds of thousands of people, but homes and community facilities as well. The agreement between the partners also called for a "software transfer," in which Singapore would share its highly-touted expertise in managing economic development with its Chinese partners. The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CS-SIP) enjoyed the support of the highest levels of government in both nations. But the joint venture soon foundered, as CS-SIP ran into problems and fell short of its goals. The harmonious partnership between likeminded nations that their leaders envisioned did not materialize. Singaporeans accused local authorities of undermining the project, while Suzhou officials criticized the Singaporeans for taking their complaints to Beijing instead of dealing directly with them. After five years of disappointing results, Singapore pulled back from CS-SIP, dramatically reducing its share in the partnership. This case tells the story of CS-SIP in two parts: Part A describes the project and outlines the hopes both nations invested in it, as well as the potential snags that could derail it; Part B details the problems that led to a falling out between the partners. Both parts can be assigned together, or Part B can serve as a sequel to be read after classroom discussion of Part A. The case is suited for discussion of international development issues, in particular, the difficulties of doing institutional transfers across national boundaries. HKS Case Number 1860.0

This case was written as an exam case for first-year course, Global Economies and Markets. It is written as a comprehensive case that examine the policy choices facing a small open economy in an increasingly globalizing world. It can be used in a course on open economy macroeconomics or on international finance. Late in the day on December 18, 2006, the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the country's central bank, announced that effective the next day it would impose a 30% unremunerated reserve requirement (URR) on short-term capital inflows. The capital control measure required financial institutions to withhold in reserve accounts 30% of capital inflows that exceeded USD20,000 for a period of one year. The restriction on capital inflows represented a significant escalation of Thailand's battle to stop the appreciation of its official currency, the baht (THB). On December 19, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index dropped by a record 14.84%, wiping out THB800 billion or USD22 billion of market capitalization. The sell-off affected regional stock markets as well, with Jakarta (Indonesia) down 2.85%; Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) down 2%; and Singapore down 2.23%. In the foreign exchange market, the baht lost 2% of its value against the U.S. dollar to settle at about THB36 to the dollar. The large foreign capital inflows and the resulting appreciation of the Thai baht had culminated in the decision by the interim government to impose capital controls. The dramatic reactions in the financial markets, however, had prompted Thai policymakers to reevaluate the situation and to consider policy options for 2007.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 207105

Splash Corporation has been dubbed "the next Unilever"--not bad for a consumer packaged goods company that was started in a garage in the Philippines no more than 20 years ago. As one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies in the Philippines, it is now considering international expansion options. Should the company tackle the nearby markets of Indonesia and Malaysia, or should it look farther afield at the lucrative markets of Europe and North America? The company is not short of ambition but resources are scarce.

Dr. Jack Perry, a sole practitioner dentist in a small town in Ontario, had a meeting with one of his employees who suggested that there were several problems in the office. These include: low morale, lack of motivation to grow the business, fill cancellations, follow up on collections, and engage in cross-sell procedures. He had noticed these problems previously but felt unsure about his personnel and business management skills. Using his notes from a presentation made by a business consultant at a dental conference, he must decide how to act in order to address these problems.

As the smallest of 4 partners in a unique wireless telephony venture in Bangladesh that he initiated and helped grow, Iqbal Quadir is trying to acquire a larger stake in the venture when one of the partners wants to sell his shares. However, Quadir faces stiff resistance from the other two partners, who also want to acquire the shares.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, American Colonial Heritage, Inc. (ACH) was a top 10 U.S. furniture manufacturer focused on the upper end of the indoor home furniture market. The head of the International Division had just asked Alexandra Jones to join the International Expansion Team. Jones had joined ACH almost a year earlier after graduating from a top business school. She worked in the International Business Division on several projects related to the company's limited sales abroad, primarily to Canada. During those first months at headquarters, she learned the basics of ACH's operations, both in the U.S. and its limited business abroad. She followed the company's initial discussions about international expansion and expressed her interest in getting involved in the project as soon as it started. Details what Jones needed to consider and how she approached her first assignment--to recommend the country into which ACH should expand first. (Note: The company, characters, and quotations, unless otherwise stated, are fictional and were created by its authors. No reference is intended to any person.)

Gives a thorough overview of the furniture market, focusing primarily on the American market; provides a general background, starting with market size, industry organization, and trends; and discusses manufacturers, production and value chain, and sales and distribution. Concludes with a future outlook and small sections on the European and Asian furniture markets.