At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Boeing and Airbus, the leading manufacturers of large commercial aircraft, were locked in a battle for market share that drove down prices for their new planes. At about the same time, the two industry heavyweights began developing new aircraft families to address their projected future market needs. Large commercial aircraft (generally defined as those carrying more than 100 passengers) were among the world's most complex and expensive manufactured products. A wide-body jet comprising millions of parts and nearly 200 miles of wires and tubing could be priced at $300 million or more. Design and manufacturing took up to ten years, from initial research to a finished product. The process required large numbers of highly trained and specialized workers. It also took large amounts of capital; recent aircraft programs were estimated to cost more than $13 billion. Manufacturers had to invest in extensive and highly specialized facilities and equipment and commit to high attendant fixed costs. To maximize their development investment, manufacturers created aircraft "families" that used the same airframe or body as a platform for multiple models. Within each family were aircraft that varied in numerous dimensions, the most important of which were passenger capacity and flight range--critical determinants of the airline's strategy. In October 2007, the Airbus superjumbo A380 made its first flight. The A380 carried more passengers than any other plane in history and had as a solution to increased congestion at global mega-hub airports. Four years later, the Boeing 787, a smaller long-range aircraft, was launched to serve secondary cities in a point-to-point network. When these planes made their inaugural flights, the global environment had significantly changed from when they were first planned. China and other emerging Asian economies were growing rapidly, spawning immediate and long-term demand for more aircraft. At the same time, changes to the market for air travel had created opportunities for new products. These opportunities had not gone unnoticed by potential new entrants, which were positioning themselves to compete against the market leaders. The case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the profit potential of the global aircraft manufacturing industry in 2002 and 2011. Students can also identify the actions of participants that weakened or intensified the pressure on profits within the industry.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Boeing and Airbus, the leading manufacturers of large aircraft, were locked in a battle for market share that drove down prices for their new planes. At about the same time, the two industry heavyweights began developing new aircraft families to address the future market needs they each projected. Aircraft take many years to develop, so by the time the new planes made their inaugural flights, significant changes had occurred in the global environment. First, emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere were growing rapidly, spawning immediate and long-term demand for more aircraft. At the same time, changes to the market for air travel had created opportunities for new products. These opportunities had not gone unnoticed by potential new entrants, which were positioning themselves to compete against the market leaders. In October 2007, the Airbus superjumbo A380 made its first flight. The A380 carried more passengers than any other plane in history and had been touted as a solution to increased congestion at global mega-hub airports. Four years later the Boeing 787, a smaller long-range aircraft, was launched to service secondary cities in a point-to-point network. The case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the profit potential of the global aircraft manufacturing industry in 2002 and in 2011. Students can also identify the actions of participants that weakened or intensified the pressure on profits within the industry.

Founded in 1971 and acquired by CEO Howard Schultz in 1987, Starbucks was an American success story. In forty years it grew from a single-location coffee roaster in Seattle, Washington to a multibillion-dollar global enterprise that operated more than 17,000 retail coffee shops in fifty countries and sold coffee beans, instant coffee, tea, and ready-to-drink beverages in tens of thousands of grocery and mass merchandise stores. However, as Starbucks moved into new market contexts as part of its aggressive growth strategy, the assets and activities central to its competitive advantage in its retail coffee shops were altered or weakened, which made it more vulnerable to competitive threats from both higher and lower quality entrants. The company also had to make decisions on vertical integration related to its expansion into consumer packaged goods.

Online markets have dramatically altered the retail landscape. By eliminating barriers associated with geography as well as the physical costs of maintaining a storefront, online markets have created a "democracy" of buyers and sellers. However, the fluidity of this marketplace and the relative anonymity of transactions has made the problem of maintaining trust critically important. Solving the "trust problem" represents a key competitive advantage for many of the successful players in the online space. For instance, much of the remarkable success of eBay has stemmed from its ability to create valuable and informative reputations for its users through its feedback system. The lock-in associated with a user's reputation on eBay helped it to stave off challenges by Amazon and Yahoo. Describes how eBay's solution to the "trust problem," has led to the creation of a "market for feedback" whose sole purpose is the "manufacture" of reputation for eBay users. Presents a study and statistical analysis of this market in order to show that its maintenance represents a crucial challenge to eBay's future competitive advantage and, more generally, to solving the "trust problem" in other online markets.