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Generali was one of Italy's largest companies and one of Europe's largest insurers and had for decades been at the center of the web of cross-shareholding that has characterized the opaque brand of old Italian capitalism. This bred sub-par returns while serving to strengthen a small group of shareholders. Under new CEO Mario Greco and his vision of a "revolution of simplicity, discipline and focus" the company underwent a successful turnaround. One of Greco's most urgent tasks was to remove uncertainty surrounding the company's majority stake in a joint venture in Central and Eastern Europe, which it had used as a vehicle for expansion in the region.

Petrom was privatized by the Romanian state in 2004 and acquired by Austrian oil company OMV, with the state retaining a 20.6% stake in the company. The situation was particularly challenging for the foreign investor since the sector in which the company operated was strategic, was regulated by the Romanian state and the company was a key employer and tax payer in a country that was undergoing major structural change. Under OMV and CEO Mariana Gheorghe's leadership, OMV Petrom saw its net profit and sales almost double since 2005, while headcount was reduced by 50%. Gheorghe had negotiated challenges stemming from Petrom's legacy as a state owned company, such as lack of investment, aged assets, operational inefficiency, and bureaucracy while successfully managing the triangular partnership between the acquirer OMV, acquiree OMV Petrom and the Romanian government.

In spite of the world's move to digital photography, in 2013 Lomography continues to design and offer analog (film) cameras to a loyal following of artistic photographers. Now it must decide whether to stick to its traditional offerings, expand into artistic lenses for both digital and analog cameras, and/or to expand into film and film developing. In the process, it has to decide what kind of company it wants to be.

Credem, an Italian regional bank, grants loans to Parmigiano-Reggiano producers and holds the cheese as collateral in its own warehouse during the maturation process, essentially replacing part of the operations for the cheese producers and gaining deep operations expertise.

A Danish bakery chain that was acquired by a private equity firm in 2008, and has grown from 3 to 31 stores, plans to address reoccurring operational and organizational issues before growing further.

The La Ribera case studies depict an innovative low cost/high quality privately financed hospital model struggling to achieve alignment with the Six Factors. It is reimbursed by the public sector in a Spanish environment whose Consumers, Structure, and Public Policy favor public health care. But the Accountability factor shows it to be the highest quality hospital in the region with 25% lower costs and Spain's Financing is weak. The A case (9-315-006) asks: What Business Model elements enabled La Ribera to achieve this level of value? How can it improve on its 1% profit margin and better align itself with the Six Factors? The hospital hired a consulting firm that presented four new options that could potentially increase returns. Which, if any, best fit with the ten elements of its Business Model? The B case (9-318-134) contains the dénouement for La Ribera.

Describes sustainability efforts at Siemens since arrival of Chief Sustainability Officer, Barbara Kux, in 2008. Asks students to evaluate success of those efforts and outline what the company should do going forward.