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The note on Social Media in Health Care describes different educational and collaborative social media firms that affect 1) consumers, 2) physicians, 3) medical centers, 4) life science firms, and 5) employers and their employees.

Supplements case 709-413.

This note is designed to provide strategists with tools to perform two critical customer-related analyses: determining willingness to pay - the estimation of how much a given customer would be willing to pay for a particular product or service; and demand estimation - predicting the overall size of the market or segment which a company chooses to serve.

After its founding in the late 1980s, Cree Inc. quickly grew into a major player in the emerging LED market. By 2007, technological improvements in LEDs had made them suitable for TV, computer, and mobile "backlighting"; and concerns over global warning led to calls to shift to more energy-efficient sources of general lighting (which favored LEDs, as they were far more efficient than the traditionally-dominant incandescents). In this context, Cree faced a strategic conundrum: Should it focus on its historical expertise in manufacturing LED "chips" and components for use in other manufacturers' applications and screens, where LEDs now had established usage? Or should it instead attempt the risky venture of manufacturing its own LED light-bulbs for direct sale to consumers for general lighting? This case presents the history of Cree and information on the LED and general-lighting markets, as background for a debate on Cree's strategic choice.

An update to "Cree Inc.: Which Bright Future?"

Companies spend more than $2 trillion on acquisitions every year, yet the M&A failure rate is between 70% and 90%. Executives can dramatically increase their odds of success, the authors argue, if they understand how to select targets, how much to pay for them, and whether and how to integrate them. The most common reasons for making an acquisition include holding on to a premium position or cutting costs. But to realize those benefits, the acquirer needs to achieve economies of scale by absorbing the target's resources into its operations. CEOs, who are often unrealistic about the performance boost from such acquisitions, must be sure not to pay too much for them. A less-familiar reason for making an acquisition is to fundamentally change a company's growth trajectory. In those deals, the acquirer uses the target's business model as a platform for growth. Because the business models with the most transformative potential are often disruptive, they can be difficult to evaluate, and CEOs often believe that such acquisitions are overpriced. In fact, however, those are the ones that can pay off spectacularly.

As the current financial crisis and the Great Recession begin to ease, executives may be tempted to heave a sigh of relief and return to the comfort of business as usual. But doing so would constitute a serious mistake for their companies-and a grave disservice to capitalism itself, argues Barton, the global managing director of McKinsey & Company. Rising income inequality, high unemployment, and spiraling budget deficits are fueling public distrust of business, while the shifting balance of power between East and West exacerbates these tensions. But perhaps the biggest danger is that short-term approaches to investing in and managing companies-the "quarterly capitalism" that led to the financial meltdown-still persist. The time is ripe, Barton says, to restore capitalism's founding principles so that it can deliver the sustainable growth the world needs. Business leaders have a choice: They can initiate the necessary reforms, or they can let the system be reformed for them. They should consider three concrete steps in particular: changing their organization's structure and incentives to focus on the long term; disseminating the perspective that serving the interests of all major stakeholders is compatible with the goal of maximizing corporate value; and putting together more effective boards, ones with the knowledge and heft to govern like owners. None of these steps will be easy, Barton acknowledges, but they are all necessary to make capitalism stronger, more resilient, more innovative, and more equitable-a system once again worthy of the public's trust.

Roger Martin on a new challenge facing business schools: how to teach managers to look beyond the data and use factors such as empathy and trust when making important decisions.

Where and how do strategists find growth opportunities? Sometimes by literally drawing a map, using software that performs semantic-clustering analysis. By analyzing the text in millions of digital corporate documents, the software identifies individual companies' key phrases, or n-grams, and then links firms with similar n-grams on a map. The result reveals intriguing connections between industry sectors, as well as white spaces that offer untapped opportunities.

No abstract available.

This profile chronicles McDonald's rise over 40 years, its sudden descent in the early 1990s, and then its return in the early 2000s. Students are encouraged to think about what happened, why, and the lessons that can be learned. This profile was written for an undergraduate business course. This case is included in Module 2 of the course Business Thought & Action.

Ross Walker had come a long way. A child of modest upbringing in Marin County just north of San Francisco, Walker had earned both undergraduate and MBA degrees from Stanford. He had been chosen to serve a five-year term as the youngest alumni representative on the Stanford University Board of Trustees and had a great job at Wolff Urban Development in the industries he loved, hospitality and real estate. Most importantly, Walker was well-known and well-liked by a very large number of people, with an extensive network that went far beyond hospitality and real estate and a great reputation among administrators at Stanford and with his GSB classmates. But like all successful people, Ross Walker faced a potential challenge. As his career unfolded, he would inevitably face more intense competition as he moved on to even bigger platforms and more responsibility. Walker had been able to build numerous relationships by the qualities that had thus far served him so well-incredible generosity with his time and advice, modesty, hard work, self-awareness, and by not being flashy and thus, on occasion, being underestimated by others, including rivals. Some observers wondered, however, if those qualities would continue to serve him just as well in the future as they had in the past.

The iPierian case profiles a startup biotechnology company leveraging the recent development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-adult stem cells that have been reprogrammed to a "pluripotent" state whereby they can differentiate into approximately 200 different cell types in the body. The science in this field is in the nascent stages, but the pace of change is rapid as new discoveries are made and as companies devise applications for the technology. iPierian has established itself as an early leader in the space by creating a consistent way to create high volumes of high quality iPSCs and subsequently differentiate those cells into motor neurons. The company must decide between three major directions-tools, drug development of therapeutics-in which it can steer the business and continue to develop its technology. iPierian must also make this decision in the context of the role of large pharmaceutical players in the industry with whom they can either partner or potentially compete against in the race to find successful applications for iPSC technology.

Atari, a maker of video games, went through several owners over the years winding up controlled by Infogrames, a French publisher of video games. Infogrames later sold Atari shares in a secondary public offering, eventually reducing the parent's share to 51.6 percent by September 2005 creating a complicated two-tier ownership structure. Two levels of management made it difficult to get things done. The financial structure was a problem for Infogrames because the French company had to consolidate 100 percent of Atari's results even though it only owned 51 percent of the company. Atari was generating substantial losses, had defaulted on its debt, and was faced with the possibility of filing for bankruptcy without more working capital. The independent directors of Atari, when confronted with an unsolicited Infogrames buyout offer, had several options: (1) agree to the $1.68 offer (take the money and run); (2) pursue a white knight (a buyout from another investor of company that would be willing to pay a higher price and invest working capital); (3) file a lawsuit to stop the takeover to buy time or perhaps force Infogrames to increase its offer.

An update to Vodafone cases A and B, describing Softbank's acquisition of Vodafone and its performance in Japan.

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (© 2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 1 introduces the authors' approach by systematically laying out an elementary 3-circle model that illustrates gaps between the values customers seek, the values they receive from existing products, and the values a firm's new product must deliver. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the underlying framework that begins with the customer perspective. The authors introduce the basic concepts and several case examples illustrating the principles that underlie the development of effective growth strategy. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (© 2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 3 explains a frame for capturing in language the goal of a growth strategy. The goal combines the statement of a particular company unit (product, service, brand, product/service line, etc.), the customer segment, and the competitor: "My goal is to grow COMPANY UNIT by creating more value for CUSTOMER SEGMENT than COMPETITOR does." The authors illustrate their concept of context with numerous company and product examples. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 4 is an in-depth study of customers, exploring the value customers seek and the means by which existing competitors get credit for the value they create. Following a review of concepts and background ideas, the authors present six basic lessons regarding customer-value dynamics and competition. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps

In their book Grow By Focusing on What Matters (2010 Business Expert Press), Professors Urbany and Davis start from the premise that growth and competitive advantage are about effective positioning. Through nine chapters they explain how to build positioning using a "3-circle model" that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on the most critical strategy concepts in a demanding and uncertain competitive environment. Chapter 5 examines customer value in terms of response to the attributes of a product or product idea, then goes on to enumerate seven kinds of customer evaluation when confronting competing product concepts: better than competitor, same as competitor, worse than competitor, both below expectations, etc. The authors embed these ideas in the 3-circle model that dominates the book. At the end of chapter 5, the authors present a value map as a means of determining where a specific offering lies in a value space, defined by price on one axis and perceived benefits on the other. The book's outline: Chapter 1 The Challenges of Growth Chapter 2 Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis Chapter 3 Defining the Context Chapter 4 The Meaning of Value Chapter 5 Sorting Value Chapter 6 Growth Strategy Chapter 7 Implementation: An Inside View of the Organization Chapter 8 The Dynamics of Customer Value and Competitive Advantage Chapter 9 Summary: Growth Strategy in 10 Steps