The case focuses on the growth of electric vehicle (EV) market in China and the emergence of BYD as a major player aspiring to gain a significant foothold in global EV markets. The case traces the growth of the industry in China, identifying factors that have contributed to the rise of Chinese companies in this industry. In doing so, it offers a rich portrait of the industry landscape encompassing contextual factors, including the role of government and governmental subsidies to the industry, the intensity of competitive rivalry shaping the race for Chinese market share, and the nature of buyers and how their demands have forced Chinese companies to hone their skills in design and value engineering, which can be used to mount an assault in global markets. After providing a broad discussion of the industry, the case delves deeper into the strategic choices made by BYD as it rose to the top ranks of global players in units produced. The case closes with broad questions about the directions that BYD could pursue as it seeks to conquer advanced country markets from its China homebase. In doing so, the case sets the stage for debate on issues relating to transferability of home-grown advantages, the entry barriers that they will confront in markets such as the United States, and ways in which the barriers can be overcome.
The case focuses on the competitive dynamics of the fast fashion industry and the strategic approaches adopted by major competitors within the domain of ultra-fast fashion. Set against the backdrop of major events that are reshaping fashion retailing, the case explores the business model adopted by Shein, the world's largest online fashion retailer, which in October 2022 was rumored to be on the cusp of an IPO. In 2021, Shein had sales of more than USD 15 billion, shipped clothing to more than 150 countries, and was one of the most famous clothing brands in the world. In addition, its shopping app was the world's most used, reaching roughly 17.5 million screens, more than twice the downloads for e-commerce giant Amazon.
In May 2015, ExxonMobil announced the discovery of oil off the coast of the small South American country of Guyana. In the years following, more discoveries were made by ExxonMobil and other oil companies. It looked certain that Guyana would receive billions of dollars in oil earnings, possibly making it the largest oil producing country in the world on a per capita basis. The earnings and the growth of the oil industry would have dramatic impacts on Guyana, one of the poorest countries in South America. The standard of living in Guyana could improve but would the country become a victim of the oil curse? Guyana's cultural demon, the baccoo, was indeed out of the bottle.
In 2022, food prices around the world were rising rapidly, and the war in Ukraine was threatening supplies of fertilizer and grain. In addition to this looming food crisis, in 2019 the EU had passed the European Green Deal with the objective of transforming the EU into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. The Green Deal included the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, which aimed to make food systems healthy and environmentally friendly. The objectives of the F2F strategy included reduced dependence on pesticides, antimicrobials, and fertilizers; increased organic farming; improved animal welfare; and a reversal of biodiversity loss. The F2F strategy was expected to significantly reduce European grain production and increase prices. It was also expected to lead to more locally produced protein crops in Europe and reduced imports of protein crops (mainly soybeans) from South America.
Pawan Munjal, the CEO of Hero Honda, started a media briefing in December 2010 with the statement: "This is the most important announcement I have made in the last 25 years." The announcement by Pawan Munjal referred to the destiny of Hero Honda, the joint venture (JV) between India's Hero Group (Hero) and Japan's Honda Motor Company (Honda). At the time, the JV was the longest serving strategic alliance in the stable of Honda's overseas ventures and among the very few surviving JVs that were set up in India's automobile market in the 1980s. This was now coming to an end. When Hero Honda ended, many analysts and industry experts predicted a tough road ahead for the newly christened Hero MotoCorp. Some wrote the obituary for Hero's two-wheeler business. However, during the subsequent decade, Hero enjoyed many successes and was looking forward to the Future of Mobility (outlined in its tagline) as it entered a new era in 2022 with Harley-Davidson and other strategic partners to take on the emerging challenges.
In March 2021, the Chinese government blocked access to H&M on leading e-commerce, ride-hailing, daily-deals, and map sites. The online blocking and calls for customer boycotts were in response to H&M's September 2020 statement that it would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang because of concerns about forced labor. At the time, H&M operated more than 500 stores in China, and it was the company's fourth largest country market. How will the boycott impact the H&M brand in China? How will H&M's decision impact its brand in other markets, such as the U.S., Germany, and the UK? Should H&M change its sourcing stance in China? Which stakeholders should H&M target in its messaging? Should H&M issue new supply chain statements?
Semiconductors are the brains of modern electronics. They are used in medical devices, communications, computing, defense, transportation, energy, and technologies of the future such as artificial intelligence, data science, and advanced wireless networks. This case examines the global semiconductor industry and its structure. The case raises several important questions: Is Intel falling behind competitors in the race to make ever more powerful processors? Apple, Amazon, Facebook and other tech firms are designing their own chips - how will this impact the industry? Is the fabless model based on contract manufacturing superior to Intel's model of designing and making its own branded products? Will Chinese companies close the technology gap with firms like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel?
This case provides insights into the job of a manager of a large retail store. John Hernandez is the store manager of a 200,000 square foot Walmart store with 300 associates. As the day progresses John must deal with various issues, including an open door meeting with an employee, shrink and theft protection, change management, and the store's financial performance.
Emsad, a company in the oil and gas industry, needs to improve its safety record. The company has safety systems and safety professionals but has not established safety as a core value. Safety is based on compliance and enforcement and production is often seen as more important than safety. The company is seeking a major new client and undergoes a safety audit as part of the client's qualification process. The audit reveals various issues and now Emsad must decide what needs to change to improve safety performance.
Supplement to case TB0551 The 2014 Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) audit by Smith Overland provided an impetus for change. At the time, Emsad's various clients would often try to get Emsadto adopt new safety programs for their specific contracts. Abdulatif Al Numairy, Emsad's CEO, explained the thinking at that time: We decided that we would not do something just for one client. I do not agree if the enhancement or the program is only for the client because we will never get the maximum return. If every client wants it done their way, we will not be successful. We decided that we should try to bring the whole company and even the whole industry to a higher level of performance. Success willbreed success.... Smith Overland agreed and supported a company-wide program. They encouraged us to get other clients on board.
Statoil ASA, the Norwegian government-controlled oil and gas company, was widely acknowledged as one of the best performing National Oil Companies (NOCs). Statoil was founded in 1972 after oil was discovered on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The government of Norway owned 67% of Statoil, and the company was listed on the Oslo and New York Stock exchanges. In 2014, Statoil was faced with some serious challenges. The company's oil and gas production was not growing, and international performance lagged behind Norwegian results. The company had recently announced it was going to back off its 2020 production targets and cut back on capital expenditure.
For many years, GE has been held up as the exception to two arguments: (1) that related diversification strategies outperform unrelated diversification strategies, and (2) that conglomerates are no longer a viable organizational form in an era of outsourcing, focus, and shareholder value maximization. Whereas many formerly diversified firms have become narrower and more focused with their corporate strategies, GE continues to buy and sell businesses and operates an extremely complex set of businesses. This case provides a vehicle for examining the strategic rationale behind GE's corporate strategy and complex diversification. The core arguments for and against unrelated diversification can be linked to the GE strategy.
In 2013, Third Point LLC, a hedge fund based in New York, became the largest owner of Sony Corporation (Sony) shares. In May 2013, Daniel Loeb, CEO of Third Point, sent a letter to Sony President and CEO Kazuo Hirai with a proposal for restructuring Sony. The proposal included two main items: (1) Take public a 15-20% stake in Sony Entertainment, and (2) Focus on industry-leading businesses to bring growth to Sony Electronics. Sony replied that it was not interested in selling the entertainment division. According to a Sony spokesperson, "The entertainment businesses are important contributors to Sony's growth and are not for sale. We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with our shareholders as we pursue our strategy."
In 2010, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. (Geely Holding) acquired Volvo from Ford Motor Company. In early 2011, various questions remained about Volvo's strategy and the long-term integration plan for the acquisition. With the acquisition of Volvo, Geely Holding gained access to a global dealership network, sophisticated automotive technology, and management know-how. A successful integration of Volvo could help Geely Holding improve its own line of cars for global markets and position Geely as a unique brand in the fiercely competitive Chinese automobile industry. Volvo's new management announced that its goal was to more than double global sales to by 2020, with half of the volume coming from sales in China. The company was also intent on expanding Volvo manufacturing in China and developing a new luxury car for the China market. To implement the plan for growth, Volvo would have to address various issues, such as the future of the Volvo brand, the integration between the European and Chinese organizations, and the relationship between the China-based Geely automobile business and the global Volvo Company.
After more than 45 years of service, the company was facing some major challenges. Legacy carriers in the United States had become more efficient, and the recent mega-mergers involving Delta/Northwest and Continental/United were shaking up the industry. Smaller companies like JetBlue and Allegiant were pressuring Southwest's cost-advantage and low-fare focus. A major internal challenge for Southwest would be managing its acquisition of AirTran. To make the acquisition a success, the company would have to integrate a workforce of more than 8,000 and new markets that included non-U.S. destinations. In addition, high fuel prices were a continuing challenge, and Southwest's salaries were among the highest in the industry.
On November 2012, a fire in a garment factory near the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka killed 112 people and injured several hundred. The factory was owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a subsidiary of The Tuba Group, a large Bangladeshi garment exporter whose clients included Wal-Mart, Carrefour, C&A, Kmart, and Li & Fung. The factory opened in May 2010, employed about 1,500 workers, and had sales of $35 million a year from the production of clothing such as T-shirts, polo shirts, and fleece jackets. In the aftermath of the fire, questions were raised about accountability. Some people argued that the factory owners and the regulators who establish Bangladesh fire safety standards were responsible. Others said that Western clothing companies and retailers who rely on low-cost clothing manufacturing in Bangladesh should ensure that their suppliers have safe factories or take their business elsewhere. Some assigned the blame to Western consumers' desire for cheap clothing that forced retailers to constantly look for low-cost manufacturing locations.
In April 2012, Delta Airlines was evaluating the potential purchase of the Trainer Refinery in Philadelphia. Delta had been seriously negotiating and pursuing the purchase of Trainer, owned by Phillips 66, for nearly a year. Although Delta's management team believed that owning Trainer would allow Delta to manage its rising fuel costs, particularly in the Northeast Corridor of the United States, the analysts, markets, and press had categorically criticized the potential purchase. Delta needed to decide quickly.
The Tengiz Field in Kazakhstan was discovered by Soviet geologists in 1979 but largely ignored for years as the Soviets focused their oil development efforts elsewhere. When Chevron formed a joint venture with the Kazakh government in 1992, development of Tengiz started. By the spring of 2011, although producing 700,000 barrels of oil per day (bbls/d), Tengiz was yielding only half the oil expected. Chevron was under increasing pressure from its partners, including the Kazakh government, to bring the joint venture to its productive promise.
This case describes a series of events over an eight-year period involving a power plant project in the Caribbean. An executive from the project developer, PowerGen, is looking back over the period and thinking about what can be learned from the experience. The project experienced issues with site selection, the joint venture partnership, construction and equipment contractors, community relations, project financing, a nearby hotel, and project management. Going forward, what could be done differently in other projects to prevent similar problems from occurring?