個案總覽

The case details the challenges faced by Lisa Thomas of LaMont Engineering after the company is acquired by Munday Consultants, Inc. Thomas, who supported the acquisition, was asked to chair a team charged with implementing the changes necessary to make the acquisition a success. This case illustrates the ever-present challenge of finding professionals who can serve in more strategic roles, and provides an opportunity to diagnose, analyze, and suggest an action plan to address Thomas's situation. This case also illustrates the challenges of post-acquisition integration in the acquired firm while retaining the elements that made the firm a desirable target.

The founders of Flytenow, Inc. (Flytenow), a tech start-up dubbed the "Uber of the skies," faced a crisis when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration determined that Flytenow's customers, namely private pilots, would be violating "holding out" regulations if they used the service. Flytenow had just completed a three-month mentorship program at Y Combinator, the most prestigious Silicon Valley-based new venture accelerator, which had already helped start Airbnb Inc., Reddit, and Dropbox. The news came on the eve of the company's most important funding round. Should the founders go ahead with their planned funding pitch, or develop a new strategy to address the sudden regulatory barriers?

In early 2018, the KP board had expressed enthusiasm for creating a grants initiative in India. However, as KP Portfolio Director Cindy Chen and her team started doing diligence on organizations in India, they found a number of challenges when it came to the pipeline of potential grantees. Indeed, the vast majority of organizations were small, working in only a few communities across just one or two of India's 29 states and 7 union territories. Equally problematic, few of the organizations they looked at in India had a demonstrated capacity to scale across the country, or even interventions that were scalable. This mattered because KP, for reasons both practical and philosophical, focused on organizations that could scale their impact. Additional concerns from the KP board regarded the extent of corruption in India, and the impact this might have on philanthropic endeavors. There were also some questions as to need. India, at that moment in time, had more people living in extreme poverty than any other country in the world. But this number was declining rapidly even as the number of extreme poor in sub-Saharan Africa rose. These discussions were crucial for a highly intentional, mission-driven philanthropy. But they also created something of a quandary for Chen, who had joined KP as a consultant in 2016 and become portfolio director in September 2017. The choice she faced seemed to be two-fold. She could recommend that KP forego investing in India and instead expand its investment in Africa, or she could continue the search for high-impact, scalable organizations in India. This case tracks Chen's thought processes as she reflected on KP, its mission, and its existing portfolio; considered the options; and decided which option to recommend to the KP board when it met to make this critical funding decision that could impact the lives of millions of people.

As a result of Mexico's pension industry deregulation, pension funds were able to invest in energy and infrastructure projects through a variety of financial instruments, particularly through Capital Development Certificates (CKDs), an asset class that served as a vehicle for investing in unlisted companies. By the end of 2017, pension funds had invested more than $16 billion in infrastructure, with CKDs as the primary investment vehicle for this sector. Motivated by increased domestic liquidity and opportunities for investment, Rodrigo Jair launched Jair Infrastructure Investments, a specialized fund with the majority of its capital raised from pension funds. Jair was approached by Felipe Duarte, head of Banorte´s Infrastructure and Energy Group, who offered him a short-term credit line to increase the fund´s liquidity during its investment phase. Jair had to decide whether he should deploy this line or rely exclusively on capital calls from his investors to fund his pipeline. Was it worth paying the commitment fees to achieve increased liquidity? What risks should he consider when making this decision? What are the upsides and downsides of relying on equity or debt for a fund like Jair Infrastructure Investments? Will techniques like this bring significantly more capital into infrastructure investing?

In April 2003, entrepreneur and MBA student Christy Jones was planning a new venture to help women preserve their fertility. Her company, Extend Fertility, would commercialize a technique known as egg freezing, in which a woman's eggs were extracted and stored at low temperatures until she was ready to become a mother. To date, the emerging technology had mostly been used to preserve the fertility of cancer patients whose treatment course could damage their eggs. Jones's business would target a massively broader population: healthy women wishing to postpone motherhood. Before Jones could launch Extend Fertility, she needed to answer two pressing questions. What, exactly, would an egg-freezing service be selling? And to whom?

The case provides a strategic overview of one of the UK's fastest-growing household goods companies, Dyson Ltd. Starting out in the early 1990s as sole vendor of bagless vacuum cleaners in the UK market, Dyson would ultimately become the market leader before its competitors finally woke up. The case tracks founder James Dyson's global ambitions over an 18-year period until his entry into the electric vehicle market, and a move of corporate headquarters to Singapore (2019), with Asia now accounting for the majority of revenues. It offers insights into the multi-faceted vision of the founder, who combines inventiveness and a love of engineering and design with a rigid respect for lawful business practice.

Scortex, a young start-up based in Paris, has developed an applied artificial intelligent (AI) solution for an industrial setting, combining hardware and machine learning. Its CEO is wondering how best to deploy the €1.8 million C-round financing it has raised. While the market is potentially huge, he is aware that IBM - with which he has collaborated in the past - has just launched a direct competitive offering.

On December 1, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Leader Xi Jinping faced each other across a dinner table during a G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After what Trump called an "amazing and productive meeting," the two leaders announced a truce in the ongoing trade war between their countries, following months of accusations, tariffs, and mounting retaliation. The U.S. agreed to postpone for 90 days an increase from 10% to 25% in tariffs applied to a large number of Chinese goods, which had been initially scheduled for January 1, 2019. In exchange, the White House announced that China would purchase a "very substantial" amount of agricultural and other products from the United States, adding that it expected the two nations "to immediately begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services, and agriculture." The Chinese government simply stated that it was "willing to expand imports according to the needs of the domestic market" and that it hoped to "reach a concrete agreement on mutual benefit and win-win as soon as possible." Despite Trump's assurances that China was sending "very strong signals" after the meeting, the outcome of the negotiations was highly uncertain. Would China provide enough concessions to satisfy the demands of the U.S.? Would the U.S. back down? Or would the trade war escalate, causing unprecedented disruptions-and opportunities-in global trade patterns?

The 1984 Bhopal gas leak tragedy remains unprecedented in any corporate history. The judgement in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Warren Anderson & Ors. rendered in 2010 laid down standards which remain relevant even today for determining the liability of directors arising out of criminal negligence in cases of accidents in hazardous industries.

This case examines the founding story of machine learning-enabled lending platform Mines and CEO Ekechi Nwokah. The case focuses on Nwokah's exploration and initial analysis of the different potential verticals and geographies his team could target to solve business problems using its proprietary cloud-based data platform. Students will be confronted with numerous entrepreneurial issues including founder partnership, fundraising, initial industry analysis, vertical-agnostic vs. vertical specific go-to-market strategies, developing products and operations in emerging markets, and hiring engineering talent.

Dr. Varda Shalev bridges technology and medicine through Maccabitech, a "research and innovation wing" of Israel's Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS) that partners with research institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and startups. Shalev hopes to scale Maccabitech's efforts through the creation of a platform that will enable external researchers to access MHS data. Yet it is unclear how best to structure the platform and its policies. How can Maccabitech maximize impact while still creating value for MHS? And what risks does Maccabitech need to manage?

Indus Valley Telecom Ltd. (IVTL) wanted to set up an optical fibre cable plant at its subsidiary, Cosmic Equipment Company Ltd. The general manager of IVTL had hired an outside consulting agency that determined that the project was technically viable. Next, in January 2016, the general manager needed to conduct a comprehensive economic viability study of the project before presenting the proposal to IVTL management for approval. The decision of whether to proceed now depended on the outcome of the economic assessment.

The chief executive officer of Dalian Zhangzidao Chuo Cold Logistics Co., Ltd., a Chinese company that specialized in cold chain storage and logistics services for imported frozen aquatic products supply chain, faced a series of urgent decisions. Since beginning operations in 2014, the company's business volume had increased faster than other enterprises in the industry. However, in 2017, the company still faced the typical dilemma of enterprises in its industry-a lower net profit margin. As a middle link in this supply chain, the company was in fierce competition with upstream suppliers, downstream buyers, and horizontal competitors. The chief executive officer faced some tough choices: Was the company capable of implementing a vertical integration strategy to enhance its competitive advantages? If so, should the company pursue forward integration or backward integration? And how could the company achieve vertical integration, given its current circumstances?

On December 5, 2018 The Oak View Group (OVG) broke ground on the Seattle Center Arena (SCA) project. The cost of the project was not insignificant-and it continued to rise. Originally projected to cost $564 million, at groundbreaking the price tag stood at $850 million. Seattle sports fans were thrilled with the project. The city of Seattle had been without a winter sports team since 2008 when the Seattle SuperSonics, a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, left the city for Oklahoma. The SCA would be home to a new National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, and the hope was that, sooner rather than later, the NBA would return to Seattle. Tim Leiweke, cofounder and CEO of OVG, was ultimately responsible for the success of the project. A sports industry veteran with experience building sports facilities and developing event and sponsorship revenue for sports facilities, Leiweke believed music and live entertainment were critical to making the finances work. Leiweke would need to walk a fine line between promoting the SCA as venue for music and live entertainment, while at the same time, maintaining the trust and support of Seattle's sports fans.

In 2017, the solar panel industry was in choppy seas due to a sudden drop in panel prices, and many large companies started to report bankruptcy. Steve O'Neil, the CEO of Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), was worried about the future of the solar industry and began reassessing REC's market strategy in the face of the downturn. REC was established as a hand-washed solar wafer manufacturing unit in Norway in 1996. Over the years the company grew to become a leading integrated solar panel manufacturing company and the largest European supplier of solar panels. It was able to build a market niche for itself and a reputation of being a quality-focused and technology-oriented manufacturer. By 2017, the company had installed more than 30 million solar panels worldwide. REC had shifted its focus to Asia in 2010 and moved its operational headquarters to Singapore. REC was a mid-scale manufacturer and focussed on residential and commercial customers. The key focus markets for the company were the U.S., Asia Pacific, and Europe with almost half of its revenues coming from the U.S. The solar industry globally was going through a downturn after several solar companies reported bankruptcy and began selling their products at significantly reduced prices. What ensued was a price war among companies, further fuelling the impact of the downturn. Companies who did not have scale had to shut down, and those that were plagued with overcapacity faced losses and became insolvent. REC had been more stable due to its niche market focus but was also beginning to experience the pressure. The company had so far focused on investing in the latest technology to ensure that its products were competitive. Could O'Neil and the management team at REC protect the company from the crisis? What could be their business strategy in the crisis?

This case is set January 2019. Song Jianping is senior advisor to Chinese pharmaceutical firm Artepharm, which has been engaging in malaria elimination in Africa since 2003. With a deep understanding of the African market, the company has developed an innovative approach to malaria elimination, stemming from traditional Chinese medicine. It created a combination drug marketed as Artequick and put forward an innovative programme called Fast Elimination of Malaria by Source Eradication (FEMSE). Despite the success of the FEMSE programme, which had been tested in the Comoros and eliminated about 95% of the malaria cases there, Artepharm had been facing a lot of challenges in commercialising its innovative and effective solution. These challenges include a lack of presence in the public market which was dominated by multinational corporations such as Novartis and generic pharmaceutical companies from India. Artepharm recognises that it has realised only a small fraction of the potential sales of antimalarial drugs on the African continent. Song is thinking about the next steps to increase Artequick sales, so that the company can become profitable and not rely on funding from its parent company and the Chinese government.

In 2018, Mustafa Koita, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based organic milk company Koita has to decide whether or not to pursue an investment from a potential competitor who is coming into his local market.