This note describes the exponential growth of semiconductor technology over the last 40 years, as well as the evolution of the semiconductor value chain. Semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) are essential to all modern electronic equipment and are used in virtually every industry, including consumer electronics, office equipment, appliances, and automobiles. Semiconductor complexity and processing power has increased exponentially, resulting in commensurate increases in the sophistication of and upfront costs associated with fabrication processes. The industry has evolved from a vertically integrated model of integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) to a disaggregated model of "fabless" technology companies that focus on research and design and rely on off-shore pure-play semiconductor foundries for production. An entire generation of US-based fabless semiconductor manufacturers, such as Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Cirrus Logic, have blossomed and thrived by taking advantage of high-quality, low-cost foundry services provided by the likes of TSMC, Samsung, and GlobalFoundries. The recent COVID-19 crisis and escalating US-China trade tensions have exposed the fragility of this ecosystem, and US technology companies must learn to manage an emerging set of risks. The note highlights how the natural evolution of an industry, in response to competitive and market pressures, may result in highly efficient but fragile value chains.

This case describes the growth of the Asian ports industry between 2015 and 2020 and the impact of escalating US-China trade tensions and rising Chinese direct investments on regional port competition. Throughout the 2000s, the volume of Asian shipping steadily increased on the back of an expanding Chinese economy. The case focuses on how the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and new Chinese-funded mega-ports like the Malacca Gateway Port would affect the competitive dynamic between the Port of Singapore (PSA) and regional competitors such as Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP). The PSA has been the dominant transshipment hub in the region but has been ceding market share and has lost its position as the busiest port in the world to the Port of Shanghai. In planning for the future, the PSA has to work within Singapore's diplomatic framework of balancing Eastern and Western interests on the geopolitical chessboard of the South China Sea region. The case provides an example of how national interests and international relations have to be considered when making business decisions.

This case describes the thoughts and reflections of five MBA alumni on their way back to their alma mater for a 20-year reunion event. As invited speakers, they will advise the upcoming graduating class on what to expect after graduation. The case provides a brief background on the career trajectories and family circumstances of each of the five protagonists as well as their personal reflections on their accomplishments and their regrets. The case is an excellent starting point for thought and discussion on the goals and motivations of MBA students, and what they expected to achieve and how they would measure success over the medium to long term. This case would be appropriate either alone or in conjunction with the technical note "Are You Ready? Devising a Personal Strategy for Life after Business School" (UVA-S-0342) as an effective reinforcement exercise.

This case is appropriate for strategy courses and courses that focus on competitive dynamics. It follows FedEx from when it was the only international express-freight-delivery company with direct flights into such key Chinese cities as Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen and a virtual monopoly over South China's international express delivery market up to the competitive events that had taken some of the shine off FedEx operations in China. Leadership in the fast-growing, highly competitive Chinese express delivery market was key to FedEx's international strategy. Some of the issues students must decide are what these agreements and joint ventures could mean to FedEx's business in China and how it should respond to the increasingly crowded market.

This note provides a guide for exploring interfirm rivalry through the dyadic lens and for predicting competitive responses using the awareness-motivation-capability perspective, with the goal of expanding strategists' understanding and management of competitive engagements at the most basic level. Competitive dynamics is the analysis of competition at the action and response level to predict how a firm will act or react against opponents. Understanding engagements at this level is essential because this is where firms enact their strategies, test their opponents' mettle and capabilities, defend their reputations, and signal their toughness--that is, where business rivalry occurs. The dyadic or pair-wise approach of competitive dynamics makes possible focused analysis that complements Michael Porter's conventional industry structure and its extension, the strategic groups approach.

This case from a three-case series that includes S-0110 and S-0111 explores competitive strategies in a mature industry within the context of the Asia-Pacific region and is appropriate for use in competitive dynamics, international business, or business strategy courses. The state-owned Port of Singapore Authority wanted to become the World's Port of Call. The port of Singapore was one the world's busiest and a model of efficiency and operational excellence. But, by the end of 2001, it had lost two key customers to an emerging competitor, the port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), in neighboring Malaysia. In 2002, the Chinese shipper COSCO Pacific was considering a shift to PTP. By 2003, the port of Singapore had laid off staff and tried to explain the reasons behind the layoffs.

Rakesh Gupta sits in his new office at Nariman Point, Mumbai contemplating the future of OceanCove, which in the last two years has grown from a single seafood restaurant to a chain of five restaurants. Aware that aggressive expansion is planned in 2002 and worried about the recent proliferation of moderately expensive restaurants serving international cuisine in India, Gunta must consider a proposal to increase the size of the existing restaurants from 120 seats to 160 seats. His immediate concern is whether accepting this proposal will necessitate changing OceanCove's operating processes.

This case can be used in management of international business courses to illustrate the analysis of market attractiveness, the importance of fit between firm capabilities and market requirements, and the effects of multimarket competition. It describes the international expansion challenges facing EAC Nutrition, the infant formula division of a Danish conglomerate, in early 2002. Growth in EAC's core markets of Thailand and Malaysia has stagnated and EAC is contemplating three expansion options: entry into India, geographic expansion within China, and product line expansion in existing markets.