ASML Holding NV (ASML) was a leading technology company headquartered in the Netherlands that specialized in the design and production of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. It had a global presence, with operations in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its unique chip manufacturing technology was essential for the development of technology products from military equipment and laundry machines to the smartphones in peoples’ pockets. ASML produced complex and consequential products that were the foundations of the modern economy. Because of this, ASML played a significant role in global geopolitics and found itself in the middle of the West’s increasing efforts to control exports of semiconductor technology to China. In December 2022, a couple of months after the US government unilaterally restricted exports of chip technology to China, ASML faced a strategic crossroads: should it maximize company profits and ignore Western policy by engaging China, or should it weigh the pitfalls of ignoring the West’s political decision to block China from essential technology and disengage from its business with the People’s Republic of China?
<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Family Business Category at European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>Established in 1988, Cee Dee Vacuum Pvt. Ltd. was a family-owned engineering products manufacturer located in the industrial hub of Pune, India. In the three decades since inception, the company established itself as a leading supplier of engineered equipment used in the manufacturing and maintenance of electrical transformers. Its achievements included the design, manufacture, installation, and commissioning of some of the largest engineered equipment for their clients’ electrical transformer-manufacturing sites in Asia. The founders wanted to plan for the company’s growth over the coming decade. Central to the evaluation and choice of strategy was the consideration for a high growth rate while leveraging Cee Dee Vacuum Pvt. Ltd.’s leadership position in the industry. Assuming that the owner family’s next generation was not interested in taking over the business, the founders had to find the most suitable growth strategy and prepare the business for sale.
Luigi Lavazza SpA (Lavazza) was the largest coffee maker in Italy and the seventh-largest coffee roaster in the world. Despite its success in global markets, Lavazza was finding it difficult to make its mark in the United States. After establishing its North American subsidiary in 1989, Lavazza entered the US market in the 1990s with strategic partnerships with restaurants and hotels to cater to US consumers. But even as a strong global brand with thirty years of experience in the US market, Lavazza continued to struggle. As competition in the global coffee industry intensified, Lavazza could no longer afford to be complacent with its performance in the US markets, and it sought to increase its market share. However, Lavazza faced a key strategic decision: should it try to introduce US consumers to the “Italian way” of drinking espresso coffee, or should it create a new brand identity and a new portfolio of products that were more aligned with the tastes of US consumers?
Founded in 1984, United Safety & Survivability Corporation (USSC) was an American company headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, that began in a garage with just a few products and a dream to develop better and safer transportation solutions. Like most firms, as COVID-19 started to spread in the United States and around the globe, USSC found itself in uncharted waters. The transportation sector, in which USSC operated, was among the most affected by the pandemic as people stopped using public transportation or were confined to their homes. The uncertainty regarding the transportation industry’s future was as substantial as the drop in demand caused by the pandemic. USSC’s chief executive officer found himself in a difficult situation, as the company would soon run out of money. At the same time, there were no clear answers yet to fundamental questions about the industry’s future. USSC's leadership team had to quickly decide on both short-term (tactical) responses to COVID-19 and long-term (strategic) decisions, including decisions about its product portfolio and research and development strategy.
La Colombe Coffee Roasters was founded in 1994 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the notion that “America deserves better coffee.” The company provided attractive cafés and an online coffee subscription program to its customers. It supported ethical trade in the sourcing of its products and coffee innovation, which had led to the Draft Latte cold coffee, a ready-to-drink product available both at La Colombe Coffee Roasters cafés and in a variety of retail outlets. The company hired a customer experience consulting firm to design its virtual presence and provide a seamless experience for consumers both through its cafés and online. It operated in a high-margin competitive industry with a high rate of company shutdowns, making customer interface and product innovation essential. With new equity invested by a highly-successful venture capitalist, the company had to now decide whether to scale up into a mass market company or continue to serve a niche segment through its artisanal cafés.