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Describes the legal battles faced by Napster, the popular Web site for finding and downloading music files through the Internet. Traces the evolution of copyright law as it has been interpreted in recent cases on digital music. Focuses on the recent suit against Napster by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and involves the RIAA's arguments alleging that Napster constitutes illegal infringement and Napster's response that it does not.

Several investment firms and mutual funds position themselves as providers or facilitators of opportunities for socially responsible investment. This case addresses the impact of these firms on publicly traded companies. Focuses on managers at ABB, a large multinational based in Switzerland that has tried to be a leader in integrating principles of sustainable development into its business strategies. ABB's managers now need to decide what sorts of relationships they would like to have with the firms in the socially responsible investment community and the extent to which they ought to take the preferences of these firms into account in tailoring their business strategies.

A large urban medical center implements the Balanced Scorecard management tool. Elaine Brennan, senior VP of operations, has reorganized a highly functional health care organization into decentralized patient care centers and support units. Having recently endured the pain of a major downsizing, she wants the various constituents--senior managers, physicians, nurses, technicians, and the work force--to explore implementing a new strategy focused on growth and patient care. But the existing measurement and management system reports only on costs and financial results. She introduces the Balanced Scorecard as a mechanism to increase attention to and accountability for quality, service, work environment, and employee outcomes, as well as revenues and costs.

Describes the challenges former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky faced while negotiating a trade agreement with China to improve its domestic intellectual property rights enforcement. After briefly describing Barshefsky's past experience with trade negotiations, this case discusses the history of U.S.-China trade relations and analyzes Ambassador Barshefsky's strategy in coalition-building in the United States and abroad.

Explores various aspects of corruption in international business, in two sections. The first section provides a broad discussion of the ethical, business, and legal aspects of corruption. The second section provides a series of "caselets" that are designed to promote discussion of how students would act in particular situations, as well as the potential costs and benefits of these actions.

Since the late 1980s, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company has maintained a strong position in the nonstandard auto-insurance market (auto insurance for high-risk drivers). Progressive's goals in the 1990s are to expand its insurance coverage to include standard and preferred customers (drivers with clean driving records and no accidents). The company never advertised before 1994; as a result, consumer awareness has been very low. Progressive faces strong competition in a varied insurance industry. Companies like Allstate, the nation's largest underwriter of nonstandard auto insurance, and State Farm, with 21.1% total market share, present a challenge to Progressive as the company strives to make its products available to all drivers. The case focuses on building the company's brand through advertising and enhancing product differentiation through technology.

A U.S. automotive supplier follows a major customer to Asia, and forms a joint venture with a Thai company to build and operate a new manufacturing plant. Key parts are also sourced from the Thai partner's existing plant. The Asian currency crisis causes devaluation of the Thai currency as well as problems for the joint venture, requiring the restructuring of the joint venture and the resourcing of parts from another company. Issues in the case include the recovery of tooling and equipment from the joint-venture partner and cost analysis to determine the best sourcing alternative. An optional Excel template is available for use with this case.

Syncra Systems makes Internet-based software that allows supply chain partners to compare disparate forecasts and production plans, to uncover any discrepancies among them, and to address these issues. However, many potential Syncra customers perceive that they will pay for the software that will benefit others, making Syncra's products a questionable investment. Syncra must find effective ways to address this concern during the sales process. In addition, the company must decide how to best position its products for the marketplace, where they can potentially add great value.

In a seven-year process, Cisco built its strategic I-Net. Beginning in 1994, Cisco completely replaced its back-office legacy systems. At that time, the company standardized Internet protocols. In addition, the company shifted strategic focus from IT back-office applications to front-office applications. After ERP (enterprise resource planning), the company spent the next two years electronically connecting with customers. A rewritten version of two earlier cases. A consolidated version of the Cisco Systems ERP and Cisco Systems Web-enablement cases. Designed to be taught in one class session (if two class sessions are available, it is recommended that Cisco ERP Systems be used for one session followed by Cisco Systems Web-enablement).

PSI Net, one of the world's leading internet companies, is contemplating the acquisition of Metamor Worldwide, an IT consulting firm of equal size. PSI has grown at breakneck speed via 71 acquisitions in three years, mostly through the acquisition of small ISPs. Post-merger integration was mostly a matter of hooking up to existing networks and customer bases. By contrast, Metamor is a "human capital" firm, itself the product of many acquisitions. The purpose of the case is (1) to illustrate the evolution of corporate strategy (via M&A) in a high velocity environment and (2) to address issues of merging with a same-size firm that is totally different from previous acquisitions. Students are asked to prepare their due diligence for the acquisition. PSI Net (B) provides the story of the one-year follow-on disaster

In just seven days, the Ritz-Carlton transforms newly hired employees into "Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen." The case details a new hotel launch, focusing on the unique blend of leadership, quality processes, and values of self-respect and dignity, to create award-winning service.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and HOLDRS (Holding Company Depositary Receipts) represent recent and highly successful capital market innovations. HOLDRS closely approximates a buy-and-hold strategy, and Merrill Lynch believes the product has significantly lower taxes and other costs than ETFs. The firm is considering broadening the market for HOLDRS by introducing a new 50-stock basket, "Market 2000+ HOLDRS," that would hold 50 of the world's top-capitalized stocks.

Focuses on AT&T's 2000 restructuring, in which the company broke itself into four units: business services, consumer services, broadband, and wireless. Examines the strategy of the company during this time: (1) to deliver information in any form (voice, video, data) over any distance to any place in the world; (2) its numerous acquisitions to implement its strategy; and, (3) the reasons underlying the breakup. Describes the benefits of restructuring and how the company planned to maintain relationships among the units through contractual arrangements.

In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. After building the company for 20 years, CEO Richard Auhll takes a defensive stand that includes inviting an old HBS friend (George Cloutier) to join the fight as a director of Circon. A "poison pill" and a staggered board serve as primary defense measures, leading to the longest-running takeover battle in U.S. corporate history. Issues of loyalty to a friend, executive incentives, executive entrenchment, and duty to shareholders collide as Cloutier realizes crucial corporate governance decisions have to be made.

DPSC created and marketed a range of compliance software to banks. Nine months after DPSC was purchased by Netzee, Netzee was in financial trouble. Since Netzee had purchased DPSC, DPSC's founder felt that Netzee had not fully utilized the potential of DPSC. He wanted to share his assessment of the merger and thoughts on future strategy with the new Netzee chief executive officer.

Yvette Hyater-Adams, senior VP of CoreStates Bank, and CEO Terry Larsen reflect on their five-year mentor-protege relationship. They describe how building a relationship across both race and gender was challenging and ultimately highly rewarding. Their relationship develops in the context of a major culture change that Hyater-Adams and Larsen were leading the organization through. This case discusses the impact their relationship had on the organization and the change process.

Describes negotiation impasse between Time Warner, Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. over the retransmission of the ABC Network over Time Warner's cable systems. More broadly, the case depicts the shifting balance of power between content creators and distributors in the broadband era.

&Samhoud, a small service management consulting firm in the Netherlands, grapples with the dilemma of firing its largest client while introducing Heskett's theory of the service profit chain.

In the summer of 1999, Adecco SA, one of the world's leading staffing companies, was in the midst of attempting to acquire the staffing operations of Olsten Corp., a U.S. firm. This case analyzes the economics of the staffing industry, basic valuation, cross-border issues including tax arbitrage, valuation of minority interest, and the importance of financial health in merger negotiations.

A very successful entrepreneur who has built a factoring business in Atlanta is trying to decide how to sell this business. The issues are how to value the company and the strategy of selling.