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This case discusses the situation of Chateau Pontet-Canet in early 2000. Alfred Tesseron was the director and son of the owner of Chateau Pontet-Canet, a red wine producing estate in Pauillac (Bordeaux, France) and member of the fifth class of the ancient grand cru classification of the Medoc of 1855. International competition was mounting and revenues were declining even though Chateau Pontet-Canet delivered higher quality than equally classed peers. Moreover, despite receiving praise for its recent quality efforts, the chateau received criticism from the world's leading critic for being old-fashioned. Alfred Tesseron wondered whether he produced the right level of quality, whether he should follow his young winemaker's unconventional ideas for the work in the vineyard, whether he should modernize Pontet-Canet's style, and whether the institutions of Bordeaux were helping Pontet-Canet or holding it back. Consequently, Alfred Tesseron wondered how to best align his choices along these dimensions and secure Pontet-Canet's prosperity in the new millennium.

In February 2014, Facebook announced the acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion. WhatsApp, founded in 2009, was a relatively young company that employed only 50 people and earned merely $10 million in revenue in 2013. It was one of many mobile messaging services that allowed users to contact each other without paying costly text message fees. However, its popularity and growth potential enticed Facebook, a company facing many challenges and looking for opportunities to expand its user base. Facebook, the social networking website that allowed users to share information with friends, believed WhatsApp was a logical next step that would help it achieve its mission of "making the world more open and connected." When Facebook announced the acquisition, it vowed to keep WhatsApp operating independently, letting the founders control the direction of the company and allowing WhatsApp to stay true to its mission. Yet, many debated the logic behind paying so much for such a small company with limited revenue streams. Was Facebook correct to purchase WhatsApp? Even at $22 billion? How could it create value if it did not integrate WhatsApp with Facebook?

The general manager of Damaí Lovina Villas, a boutique hotel located in northern Bali, wants to strengthen the hotel's competitive position by increasing utilization rates beyond the hotel's 65% occupancy. The central question that the case poses is whether leveraging an organization's sustainability activities, and participating in a voluntary environmental program (VEP) that promotes standardization and certification, is a reasonable vehicle to do so. This case considers what sustainability means in the context of a specific company, including issues related to value creation stemming from efficiency and productivity, reputation and legitimacy, innovation and repositioning, and strategic visioning opportunity framing. It presents an assessment framework (1) to evaluate a firm's environmental and social activities, (2) to assess the sustainability activities of various VEPs, and (3) compare the two to determine whether and how a company's sustainability programs align with the choices of VEPs under consideration. The framework creates a foundation to assess whether VEPs can offer strategic competitive advantage, and at what cost. The case is intended for an MBA or advanced undergraduate course to explore issues around strategic differentiation and standardization and strategy-environment fit, as well as courses dealing with topics related to sustainable enterprise, corporate social responsibility, international management, hospitality or hotel management, and eco-tourism.

In early February 2009, executives from a U.S. wine importer, W. J. Deutsch & Sons (Deutsch), met in White Plains, New York, to try and reach a consensus on how to respond to changes in the marketplace. Wine consumers had begun purchasing less expensive wines, or "trading down," amidst a global recession in 2008-2009, reversing a five-year "trading up" trend. Inventories ballooned in the wine industry supply chain. Some producers and importers, unable to sell stocks, went into default. After an initial failure in the late 1990s to create an import brand with Casella Wines in Australia, Deutsch found success with the [ yellow tail ] brand - the number one Australian wine export and U.S. import from 2003-2008. John Casella, Managing Director of Casella Wines, suggested repositioning the [ yellow tail ] brand, priced at $4.99 - $5.99 per 750ml bottle, while Deutsch's founder, Bill Deutsch, and his son, Peter (CEO), could not agree on a strategy.

Upon becoming General Manager of Artesanías de Colombia (AC) in January 2007, Paola Muñoz faced the challenge of redefining the organization's strategy. The mission of AC, a mainly government organization with a 3 % private ownership, was to foster, promote, and market Colombian handicrafts, thus creating economic development opportunities for artisans, a low-income, mainly indigenous population. In early 2007, soon after assuming her role as General Manager, Paola evaluated the strategy, achievements, and limitations of her predecessor's 16-year-long management tenure, in order to craft her own strategy for the organization. Whereas the previous strategy focused on crafts-with a strong emphasis on the promotion of design and the positioning of crafts as very differentiated products among high-income clients-Paola wanted to discuss with her staff the pros and cons of reorienting the AC's strategy toward the artisans, through increased training, support, and capacity building especially in administrative, economic and organizational areas. The case is based on an organization that is primarily a public/ government organization with a social mission. Governments and government agencies still represent in most OECD countries between 40% and 50% of the economy. This case invites students to (1) strategy formulation in not-for-profit or governmental contexts (specifically in this case a hybrid organization with (a) a dual mandate -social and business orientations (b) in a sector in which the small focal organization promotes value creation with a vast number of producers -over 350,000 artisans in the country) and to (2) highlight the relevance and limitations of strategic management concepts and tools in such contexts. Besides a strategic management course, this case can be used in a corporate social responsibility course to illustrate the challenges of a hybrid organization, in which profit-making and social mission are complementary objectives.

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers - typically the slightly edgy 18-24 year old. The company had grown since that time into a multi-category retailer, expanding into third party clothing, accessories and its own private label. Its explosive growth was one of the biggest stories in e-commerce, especially when the retailer attracted $50m in investment from Index Ventures, a top VC firm that funded other successful retailers such as Net-a-Porter and Etsy, in 2013. Yet, with a cash infusion, plans for a brick and mortar store, an ever-growing e-commerce site, and fierce competition, Amoruso wondered what opportunity to tackle next. Should she concentrate on product line expansion into lingerie, swimwear, cosmetics and fragrances? How would a brick and mortar store impact the focus of the company or its ability to develop customized web sites for overseas markets? How would she maintain the detail and attention she had put into so many aspects of the company as Nasty Gal grew? As Sophia's time was limited and management resources were already spread thin to sustain the existing site's growth, what was the best way forward?

In November of 2010, the board of Stanford Hospital and Clinics announced that Amir Dan Rubin, at the time chief operating officer of the UCLA Hospital System, would become the next CEO at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Although by 2010 Stanford hospital had largely recovered from a failed merger with the hospital of the University of California, San Francisco, and was financially stable, Rubin would lead an organization that still faced significant challenges. These included creating a focus on patient care and improving operational performance, especially in the wake of an increasingly competitive health system landscape. Rubin's success depended on obtaining the support of a large existing internal staff as well as the medical center faculty. The faculty reported to the dean of the medical school, not to Rubin. The case describes what Rubin did to transform the culture and operations of Stanford Health Care and, specifically, what he did to build support among the various constituencies so critical to his being successful: the medical school physicians, the board of the hospital, and the colleagues already at Stanford. The case also looks at the next steps that Rubin planned in 2014 for continuing to move the hospital forward and the challenges with which he would need to grapple. The case is useful in classes on leadership, organizational culture and culture change, and in classes on power and influence where outside succession and the task of building internal support is a topic.

In 2012, Syngenta, one of the world's largest agricultural input company, committed to build a $1 billion business in Africa over the next 10 years. In mid-2014, CEO Michael Mack and Africa Venture Team head Dimitri Pauwels are reviewing progress. Was the company's committment to Africa still relevant and achievable?

Argentina-based Cresud managed 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land in South America. For 20 years, the publicly traded company's strategy had been to acquire underutilized properties and turn them into productive farmland for cattle and crops. In 2014, Cresud's CEO wondered if the strategy was still correct in the face of falling commodity prices, more powerful input companies, and potentially positive changes in Argentina's political environment.

On the evening of June 10, 2011, the first European tour of Korean idol groups was held in Paris. With European fans demanding tickets and organizing a flashmob rally in front of the Louvre Museum, SM Entertainment, the producers, immediately set up an additional European concert. The success of the Paris concert elevated the status of K-pop and showed that it held potential in the global market. Behind the development of K-pop was the unique production system created by Soo-man Lee of SM Entertainment. When he established SM Entertainment in 1995, Lee introduced a systematic production system that integrated the functions of record distribution, agency, and management and enabled the company to make long-term investments in talented artists. The adoption of a sustainable growth model led SM to emerge as the leader in the Korean entertainment industry. This case explores in depth SM Entertainment's talent development process. It also traces the successes and failures that SM experienced, primarily in China, Japan, and Korea and discusses Lee's vision of building a "virtual nation." Lee believed that "the world's biggest star would come from the largest market," thus explaining his focus on succeeding in the Chinese market and grooming Chinese talent. The case concludes by examining a number of strategies that SM Entertainment used to develop a presence in the global music market.

The protagonists of the case are CEO Kenneth Frazier and Roger Perlmutter, president of research, as they contemplate Merck's future in light of a difficult external environment and multiple internal challenges. Overall, the pharmaceutical industry faces the threat of patent expirations, diminishing new drug breakthroughs, adverse regulatory laws, increasing competition, and a harsh economic climate. With its new drug pipeline running dry, Merck accepted that the biotech industry is too complicated for it to navigate alone. As it stood, it was producing only 1 percent of the biomedical research in the world. Thousands of new ideas were emerging around the world, both inside and outside of the company. While Merck had been moving toward an open innovation strategy, its stellar history of internal research and development had created a culture resilient to working externally. Should Merck pursue an open innovation strategy? If so, how? Another issue that the case deals with is executing corporate strategy via acquisitions of smaller biotech companies such as Merck's recent acquisition of Idenix.

If we want to create a future in which humanity thrives, we must re-frame our approach to life and the way in which we see the world. The author, an innovation strategist, describes seven cultural and economic shifts that are taking place within what he calls 'The Age of Opportunity'. These include a shift 'from mechanical to organic' and 'from data to patterns'. The social and business landscapes are ripe for opportunities to re-frame our world, he says, and embracing these shifts is the first step on the road to innovation.

In the past, society has counted on government bodies and institutions like the World Bank to address global issues like climate change, youth unemployment and income inequality. But in recent years, the author argues, another kind of institution has become uniquely placed to address these challenges: global corporations. The catch, she explains, is that before a corporation can take a wider world view, it first has to reach inside of itself to build inner resilience. She describes three spheres of corporate influence and how to build resilience within each in order to proceed to the third and final sphere: contributing to global resilience.

A publisher with a history of aiming at ignored or underserved markets is about to launch a series of micro e-books whose central character, El Diablo, is a gangster with a flamboyant lifestyle. The target audience is young men of the inner city. A prominent member of the Institute for African-Americans in the Media objects--loudly. The publisher's head of marketing and new product development must decide whether projected profits from the series outweigh the likely backlash and possible risk to the company's reputation. Expert commentary comes from John Morayniss, CEO of Entertainment One Television, and Michelle Rice, executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing at TV One.

A publisher with a history of aiming at ignored or underserved markets is about to launch a series of micro e-books whose central character, El Diablo, is a gangster with a flamboyant lifestyle. The target audience is young men of the inner city. A prominent member of the Institute for African-Americans in the Media objects--loudly. The publisher's head of marketing and new product development must decide whether projected profits from the series outweigh the likely backlash and possible risk to the company's reputation. Expert commentary comes from John Morayniss, CEO of Entertainment One Television, and Michelle Rice, executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing at TV One.

A publisher with a history of aiming at ignored or underserved markets is about to launch a series of micro e-books whose central character, El Diablo, is a gangster with a flamboyant lifestyle. The target audience is young men of the inner city. A prominent member of the Institute for African-Americans in the Media objects--loudly. The publisher's head of marketing and new product development must decide whether projected profits from the series outweigh the likely backlash and possible risk to the company's reputation. Expert commentary comes from John Morayniss, CEO of Entertainment One Television, and Michelle Rice, executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing at TV One.

Good strategic thinking and decision making often require a shift in perspective, particularly in environments characterized by significant uncertainty and change. What worked before may not apply in the future. The authors acknowledge that asking "what if"questions about the future may create discomfort. Asking such questions forces people to step back and challenge current assumptions. In the authors'view, the questions leaders pose can prevent them from solving the right problem or seeing more innovative solutions. Leaders are often too narrow or overly protective of the current business or assume that the old habits, business models and regulations will remain intact. This article builds on the authors'new book, Winning the Long Game: How Strategic Leaders Shape the Future. It encourages leaders to examine their businesses from multiple perspectives: to think "outside in"; to explore future scenarios; to be contrarian; to look for patterns; to create new options; and to learn from failure. Drawing on examples from companies including Google, Tesla Motors, Pixar, Netflix and DuPont, the authors discuss six questions: How well do you understand the implications of broad market trends and less visible undercurrents for your business and for upcoming strategic choices? How thoroughly have you analyzed major external uncertainties and future scenarios that could significantly impact your business decisions? Do you regularly seek out diverse views to see multiple sides of complex issues, and do you purposely explore important problems from several angles? Do you deploy multiple lenses to connect dots from diverse sources and stakeholders, and do you delve deep to see important connections that others miss? Do you generate and evaluate multiple options when making a strategic decision, and do you consider the risks of each, including unintended consequences? Do you encourage experiments and "failing fast"as a source of innovation and quick learning?

Two groups of orthopedic surgeons form a joint venture with a community hospital to establish Hoag Orthopedic Institute, a for-profit hospital and two ambulatory service centers. By controlling and integrating all aspects of the patients' medical treatment, the physicians deliver superior outcomes, which they communicate with an annual public outcomes report. They also introduce bundled payment contracts with three insurers for orthopedic surgeries, and join a multi-hospital study for applying time-driven activity-based costing to identify process improvement and cost reduction opportunities. The case concludes with HOI leaders examining several options for expansion and growth.