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It had been almost a decade since the first article surfaced in the media alleging that factories subcontracted by Nike in China and Indonesia were forcing workers to work long hours for low pay and for physically and verbally abusive managers. The article was the seed of a media campaign that created a public relations nightmare for the company. A financial crisis in Asia and intense competition in the domestic market contributed to a decline in Nike's revenue and market share after three years of record performance. Though no direct correlation could be proven between the consumer's negative perceptions of Nike and the company's decline in market share and stock, it certainly did not help in its efforts to establish itself as the global leader in a hotly competitive industry.

This case illustrates an industry that is experiencing intensifying competition and regulation. The Chinese fireworks industry thrived after China adopted the "open door policy" in the late 1970s and grew to make up 90% of the world's fireworks export sales. However, starting from the mid-1990s, safety concerns led governments both in China and abroad to set up stricter regulations. At the same time, there was rapid growth in the number of small, family-run fireworks workshops, whose relentless price cutting drove down profit margins.

Monsanto, a biotechnology giant highly committed to sustainable development efforts, needs to assess the attractiveness of the drinking water treatment industry before deciding its entry to it. Four dimensions of the global water treatment industry are described: types of products and services, applications, end users, and geographical markets. The drinking water treatment segment, which is classified into municipal drinking water treatment and residential drinking water treatment, is examined in depth. Players in these two categories produce the chemicals and equipment necessary to purify tap water supplied to consumers and residential water purification devices. The bottled water industry is considered a substitute of the drinking water treatment segment. Teaching purpose: To answer the question "Is the industry attractive?" and to introduce students to industry analysis and industry segmentation.

The CEO of Wilson Industries, a U.S. firm, is concerned about the performance of a joint venture between Wilson Industries and a Japanese firm, Morota Manufacturing. He wants the joint venture president to make some changes to improve financial performance. However, the president is unsure of what action to take because the Japanese partner, Morota, is satisfied with the performance and is considering expansion plans.

The concept of "benchmarking" as applied to the public sector, seeks to use quantitative measures and comparison over time to encourage progress toward social and efficiency goals. This case describes the origin and implementation of one of the most ambitious benchmarking efforts in the U.S. It follows the program from a period of initial enthusiasm to legislative disillusion--and the efforts of a new program director to redirect and re-energize the effort. Broadly, it raises the question of what sorts of public goals are well-suited to the benchmarking process and how public agencies respond to it. Pair with the case sequel (HKS846). HKS Case Number 1554.0.

The concept of "benchmarking" as applied to the public sector, seeks to use quantitative measures and comparison over time to encourage progress toward social and efficiency goals. This case describes the origin and implementation of one of the most ambitious benchmarking efforts in the U.S. It follows the program from a period of initial enthusiasm to legislative disillusion--and the efforts of a new program director to redirect and re-energize the effort. Broadly, it raises the question of what sorts of public goals are well-suited to the benchmarking process and how public agencies respond to it. Pair with the case study (HKS845). HKS Case Number 1554.1.

Toyplace Production (Hong Kong) Ltd. was producing toys on an OEM basis, while other toy manufacturers were creating their own brand names, a trend that was changing the structure of the toy industry. Should Toyplace move into the branded toy market? Written for use in International Business courses that focus on the Pacific Rim. Designed as part of a module that introduces students to the varying forms of international production practiced by multinational corporations. The module contrasts internal and external modes of production using Toyplace to examine the latter in detail.

In 1993, the cabin crew of Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong's flag carrier, went on a large-scale strike, which damaged crew morale. Peter Buecking was appointed general manager of inflight services in 1995. With his inflight service strategy, he restored the morale of cabin crew and improved the quality of inflight services. With the onset of the Asian economic crisis in 1997, Cathay Pacific's revenues dwindled and profits declined. Inflight Services Department (ISD) was under tremendous pressure to cut costs. At the same time, Buecking received a promotion and left ISD. How would his successor in ISD go about cutting costs while maintaining the cabin crew's morale and the quality of inflight services?

In May 1998, China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) launched its online market gateway, www.chinamarket.com. One month later, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) announced a strategic venture with IBM to develop the central e-commerce platform for the country. With the central government promoting e-commerce as a means around domestic infrastructural bottlenecks such as transportation and distribution, the two initiatives were racing to become the gateway through which international e-commerce was "funnelled" into China. Given the open standards and the open access, which are a defining aspect of the growth of e-commerce, could China seriously expect to control the flow of e-commerce to such an extent?

In 1993, China's version of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) was launched, an "informatization" policy office was initiated, and actual implementation of the "information superhighway" begun. These actions distinguished China from much of the rest of the world, both developed and developing. The initiative was to be developed in three stages with the first stage to be completed by the year 2000, at which time the basics of the NII would be in place. By that time, the government expected to have established a high-speed communications platform covering the entire country. The platform would primarily support the "Golden series," a national economic information network, which included a variety of specific information service systems. Why and how was China able to develop and coordinate an NII initiative? Where would it encounter problems?

The Asian miracle turned into a nightmare in 1997. Thailand triggered the region's free-fall when the baht was delinked from the U.S. dollar in July. This sent other Asian currencies tumbling as speculators took advantage of profit opportunities. Hong Kong was not immune to the regional woes. The first attack on the Hong Kong dollar began in earnest in October 1997. As the crisis in Asia worsened, the impact on the HKSAR deepened. Hong Kong's stock market took a pounding as speculators mounted three more attacks in 1998. Faced with this scenario and the prospect of a worsening economy, on August 14, 1998, the government changed from being a passive regulator to an active market participant by accumulating large positions in local blue-chip stocks.

In September 1994, Sino Land, the best-known second-tier property developer in Hong Kong, was studying the possibility of a spinoff of its hotels and hospitality division into a separately listed firm. Under the proposed de-merger, the new holding vehicle, Sino Hotels (Holdings), would inherit equity interests in a number of hotels and restaurants. It was also scheduled to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after elevation of Sino Land to a blue-chip Hang Seng Index constituent stock on February 28, 1998. The case looks at the rationale and the timing of the spinoff and investigates whether the event resulted in an increase in Sino Land's stock market value and improvements in its business.

Mercantile Bank of Australia, together with six other Australian banks, acquired a license to issue Smartex, a smart-card-based electronic cash system, in Australia. Australia had been a popular country for conducting smart-card trials because it possessed a sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure and a highly urbanized population that had demonstrated keenness toward adopting new technologies. The case examines the process used by Smartex licensees to develop and launch Smartex in Australia. Also, the second-generation Smartex chip, which has a multifunctional capability, will soon be available. How should the Smartex licensees promote this new chip to make use of its enhanced capability without confusing consumers?

In the 1990s, freight forwarding had become a rapidly changing and dynamic industry. Vertical integration up the supply chain meant that third-party logistics providers could provide a "one-stop-shop" concept to customers and achieve generally higher margins per transaction volume. Still in the grip of the Asian economic crisis, Kuehne & Nagel management consider a future strategy for their Asia-Pacific operations. Covers several concepts relating to competitive strategy, corporate structure, and core competence. The principal objective is to highlight the juxtaposition of business management theoretical concepts with their application.

In 1997, retail sales begain to slump for the Dairy Farm Group of Companies (DFG), a major food retailer based in Hong Kong with operations in many major cities in Asia Pacific. The Asian economic crisis of 1997 was one cause. However, another major cause was increasing competition from aggressive European and U.S. retail chains that were preparing to gain a foothold in the growing Asian market. DFG realized that to combat competition and retain its dominant position in Asia Pacific, it had to change its business strategy from that of "buying and selling" to "sensing and responding." The case investigates DFG's existing business systems and processes and looks at the possibilities of gaining competitive advantage, either by acquiring state of the art systems and technical infrastructure or through radical redesign of its critical business processes supported by technology.

Highlights the issues involved in the launch of an infertility product and procedure that allows women to become pregnant without having to undergo unpleasant hormone stimulation or experience dangerous side effects. In bringing its product to market, Medi-Cult, a small biotechnology company, must deal with regulatory constraints, larger competitors, and the challenges of introducing a new product into the local and global marketplace. Questions raised are: Should the product be priced according to its perceived value? Should Medi-Cult pursue a penetration or market skimming strategy in pricing the new product? How will the contribution margin be affected if a global, regional, or multinational pricing strategy is chosen? What are the ethical issues in pricing pharmaceuticals?

Provides an inside view on how the former Daimler-Benz and Chrysler companies organized their integration efforts following their May 1998 merger, the first truly transatlantic merger in history and, at the time, the largest ever. As such, this merger presents an unusually broad array of management issues that were both unprecedented in scope and rather unique, ranging from cross-cultural management and global strategy and implementation to international M&A alliances and change management. Describes a journey that started during the early 1980s, until the events that preceded the Daimler-Chrysler merger, outlining the key strategic, organizational, and execution challenges facing both companies.

Provides an inside view of how the former Daimler-Benz and Chrysler companies organized their integration efforts following their May 1998 merger, the first truly transatlantic merger in history and, at the time, the largest ever. As such, this merger presents an unusually broad array of management issues that were both unprecedented in scope and rather unique, ranging from cross-cultural management and global strategy and implementation to international M&A alliances and change management. Describes how DaimlerChrysler actually organized and moved to implement the post-merger integration process, raising a set of issues around structural risks, cultural aspects, and execution skills in a high-stakes, global context of a major post-merger integration effort.

In 1999, Richard Branson's Virgin group is contemplating entering the mobile communications market. The market is highly attractive with high profitability, high-growth rates, and a large number of confused and dissatisfied customers. Virgin's challenge is to bring something unique and truly innovative to the market. A 2001 EFMD award winner.

Provides an overview of current trends in the global automotive industry and a description of Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. prior to the merger. Describes this first transatlantic merger, raising the issues of strategic positioning, potential tradeoffs, and competitive moves.