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This case is a supplement to Imprimis (Case A) and Imprimis (Case B). Set in 2015, it first describes Imprimis's decision to introduce its own line of compounded eye drop medication called LessDrops. The case then examines the moral dilemma faced by CEO Mark Baum, who was struck by the problem of high drug prices in the United States. Recent, drastic price hikes on pharmaceutical drugs, such as those initiated by Turing Pharmaceuticals under CEO Martin Shkreli, had recently brought media attention to this issue. Baum believed it would be relatively easy for Imprimis to create compounded versions of many of the affected drugs, which could increase competition in the pharmaceutical industry and lessen the strain both on patients and the healthcare system as a whole. However, doing so would require the company to raise capital, strengthen its sales force, and increase its manufacturing capabilities. The decision was further complicated by the relatively low barrier to entry, and by the ubiquitous nature of the drug pricing problem. Baum had to decide whether Imprimis should stick with its already-successful ophthalmology business, or begin the endeavor of combatting high drug prices, going up against powerful competitors in the drug industry.

This case is a supplement to Imprimis (Case A), Imprimis (Case B), and Imprimis (Case C). It describes Imprimis's 2015 decision to develop a $1 per pill compounded alternative to Daraprim, the branded drug that had recently undergone an extreme price hike, raising its price to $750/pill. Imprimis also created compounded alternatives to several other branded drugs, and made investments to increase its manufacturing capabilities. The company now had to decide where to focus its efforts in the future. In developing innovative compounded formulations, should it base its decisions on market size, either by population or dollar size? Should it concentrate instead on the level of exploitation by the branded drug manufacturers--how much they had raised prices by, in what amount of time? Or should it decide instead based on the life-threatening nature of the disease, regardless of how many people were afflicted? The company had to balance these choices with the expansion of its core ophthalmology business while continuing to raise funds from investors.

This case describes the origins of the traditional circus, including its rise to popularity in the United States in the 1800s, and examines the factors that led to its decline in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Nearly all environmental organizations have a similar aim: to stop the degradation of the natural environment. However, the strategies which environmental organizations choose to employ are sometimes starkly different. This case compares the models of two dissimilar environmental powerhouses: Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Active in 100 countries, WWF works with governments, businesses, other NGOs, and communities to set up conservation programs to preserve natural habitat. In contrast, Greenpeace works to campaign for environmental change against governments and corporations and accepts funding only through individuals and foundation grants. Explores the detailed history and business models of both organizations.

Looks at the development of the competitive actions between Airbus and Boeing from 1992 to 2006. Begins with the question of whether Airbus and Boeing should collaborate on the development of a VLCT (Very Large Commercial Transport) or whether Airbus should develop their own. The case series moves through to the events thereafter of Airbus' decision to pursue the A380 and Boeing's decision relating to developing a stretch 747.

This Reading examines the competitive and cooperative interactions and interdependencies among firms in a competitive game, particularly in regard to how these firms attempt to create and capture value. It also provides a framework for understanding, predicting, and influencing the actions and reactions of other firms, and it considers how the perspectives and incentives of other firms can influence the nature of the game being played. This discussion provides the foundation for an introduction to game theory, which provides a rigorous way to analyze economic payoffs for players under various scenarios.

Bharti Infratel, a telecom tower company provides shared telecom infrastructure to mobile operators in India. It is a spin off from Bharti Airtel, India's largest leading mobile services operator. Bharti Infratel partnered with its rivals, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, to form a joint venture, Indus Towers, to pool and share the three companies' tower assets. The managing director of Bharti Infratel's parent group, Bharti Enterprises must decide if he should merge Bharti Infratel with Indus Towers.

"Setting Aspirations-Mission, Vision, and Values" introduces students to the concepts of organizational aspirations and the links between mission, vision, and values with strategy. The main Reading presents a framework for analyzing aspirations. It also discusses the differences between mission and vision, and it uses industry examples to explore how mission and vision form a firm's strategy and contribute to its strategy process. In addition, it addresses general misconceptions about organizational aspirations and the perils of misusing aspirations. A supplemental Reading.

Patagonia produces high-quality environmentally friendly garments that command significant price premiums. In Spring 2010, Patagonia rolled out a new, radical environmental initiative called "Product Lifecycle Initiative" (PLI), which was committed to lengthening the lifecycle of each product and reducing landfill waste. This case provides an update on Patagonia's PLI as well as on other company environmental and social commitments.

"Introduction to Strategy" provides a comprehensive overview of the strategy discipline and introduces the building blocks of strategy by providing overviews of fundamental conceptual frameworks. Readers will learn how firms decide where to compete by exploring the business landscape and the structural forces that shape competition. This Reading will also present alternative perspectives on strategy.

"Industry Analysis" is intended to familiarize readers and executives with the core concepts in industry analysis. Readers learn why the Porter forces framework is a valuable tool for understanding industry structure and how to perform one. This Reading will also address criticisms and limitations of the framework.

The business of surrogacy, a boutique practice with client costs upwards of $100,000, allowed couples and individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and sexual orientations to build families. This case examines Circle Surrogacy (CS), one of the premier surrogacy agencies in the world, as its president and founder, John Weltman, was about to share an executive presentation with his core management team where he would recommend an option to outsource its surrogacy services. While the changing cultural and regulatory environment had made surrogacy possible for more people, it remained cost-prohibitive for the majority of its eligible audience. Weltman's proposal, if enacted, would create a new opportunity for CS, increasingly faced with competition from other agencies, to offer lower cost surrogacies to intended parents. However, the launch of an outsourced surrogacy service would threaten the company's core value proposition and challenge its prevailing high-touch, premium strategy. How should Weltman and CS best proceed?

By providing free and open-access online courses at a large scale, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms seek to innovate the business models of the traditional higher education industry. In a little over a year, Coursera had grown at a rapid rate to emerge as a leader of the MOOCs in terms of the number of student enrollments, courses, and partners. The case examines two aspects of these developments in the industry: (1) What choices did Coursera make that enabled it to grow so quickly? (2) In what ways did Coursera's success impact the success of its competitors, Udacity and edX? Would one player naturally come to dominate the industry, and if so, what choices should Coursera make to retain its market positioning?

This case has been designed to explore strategic interactions among organizations with different business models. The case considers how a competitor successfully challenged the incumbent in a platform market defined by strong network effects and high switching costs. The case allows students to assess the advantages and disadvantages of eBay's platform business model in comparison to Amazon's retail business model; to evaluate business model performance when value loops of two industry players interact; to analyze how Amazon expanded its business model and overcame barriers to entry in a platform market that generates winner-take-all effects for first movers; discuss how eBay can respond to the new competitive dynamic, exploring both tactical and strategic interactions; and assess the strategic implications of eBay's 2011 acquisition of GSI Commerce.

A decade after BusinessWeek declared the competitive battle between eBay, Inc., and Amazon.com "a defining moment for e-commerce," Amazon established itself as the leader. eBay must decide what strategy to use in order to regain the upper hand: maintain its current platform business model or make a radical change by transforming itself into a services provider.

Trying to operate two business models at once often causes strategic failure. Yet LAN Airlines, a Chilean carrier, runs three models successfully. Casadesus-Masanell, of Harvard Business School, and Tarzijan, of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, explore how LAN has integrated a full-service international passenger model with a premium air-cargo business model while separately operating a no-frills passenger model for domestic flights. LAN's multimodel success comes from recognizing the complementarity of its two high-end services and the distinct, or substitute, nature of its no-frills offering. LAN came to that insight by analyzing the major assets that the models share and the compatibility of the models' operational resources and capabilities. It recognized that the more the models have in common, the more likely they are to generate greater value together than apart; the less they share, the more likely they are to be best executed separately. Nevertheless, managing multiple models is a tall order. LAN has had to face greater complexity, broaden its organizational skills, increase the flexibility of its workforce, and make other investments. But by mastering three models, the company has built formidable advantages that are difficult for competitors to overcome. Its example has shown how, properly applied, the implementation of multiple business models is not a risk but rather a new tool for strategists.

In 2011, HUGE, Inc. is the fastest growing digital agency in the U.S. Its CEO, Aaron Shapiro, is considering a set of novel growth strategies to take his firm to the next level. However, the digital strategy industry in which HUGE has made a name for itself is highly fluid and constantly evolving-the options facing Shapiro and HUGE must be considered in light of an industry structure that blurs the lines across competitors, complements, and clients and could easily shift for or against digital agencies such as HUGE in the near future. Using HUGE as a focal point, students are asked to evaluate competitive dynamics in the digital strategy industry and predict the evolution of the market. They are also asked to use the unique dynamics of the digital strategy industry as a backdrop for assessing HUGE's best growth option going forward.

After booming in 2007 and early 2008, the offshore drilling industry slumps in 2009. Lower oil prices lead oil companies to reduce drilling budgets, and rig utilization falls from essentially 100% to 70% in some markets. Day rates--the prices paid for a rig's services--fall by as much as 68%. The case illustrates how supply and demand work together to determine prices and utilization in the short run, as well as how long-run supply is determined in an industry where capacity additions take several years. Also describes how advances in deep-water drilling technology are changing industry structure.