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By 2009, Crucell had become the largest biopharma company in the Netherlands and a symbol of national pride. The case traces the evolution of the company from a University spin-off into a fully-integrated company. Crucell's success, particularly in the vaccine space, had begun to attract the attention of much larger pharmaceutical companies. While there was much appeal to working with these companies, these relationships could also challenge Crucell's independence. This issue is highlighted by the decision whether to partner with companies that wanted ownership of 10-20% of Crucell as part of the business development deals.

Longbow Capital Partners is a value-oriented long/short hedge fund focused on stocks in the energy sector. In January 2011, Longbow invested in NiSource, a Fortune 500 company that owns a diverse portfolio of regulated energy businesses. In late 2014, Longbow was deciding whether or not to maintain its position in NiSource. To make this decision, students must perform a discounted dividend analysis to determine the fundamental value of NiSource's stock. Students are also asked to perform a sum-of-the-parts analysis to assess the implications of NiSource's recent proposal to pursue a tax-advantaged spin-off its pipeline business.

Max Ventilla and his team launches in 2013 AltSchool, a new network of tech-savvy independent K-8 "micro-schools." AltSchool is born out of Ventilla's frustration with the education options available for his young daughter. During his search, Ventilla comes to the conclusion that American schools are not adequately preparing students for the future. Ventilla leverages his network and his expertise in personalization developed during his time as a serial entrepreneur and a founding team member of Google+; he sets about recruiting engineers, educators, VC investors, and families to set in motion his mission to provide high-quality personalized education that will change the way parents, students, and educators experience the school day. Ventilla focuses on three aspects: 1) using technology to reduce operational costs of the traditional school, 2) intense focus on customer service and reframing school as a service for parents, teachers, and students, and 3) using technology and data in the classroom to create a continuous improvement cycle. As Max and the AltSchool team wrap up their first year in operation, they reflect on lessons learned from their iterative process; they reflect on the best ways for the team to grow their network of schools, to demonstrate success to their investors, and to have an impact on changing education in America. The case gives students the opportunity to explore how an education technology company can build new education technology tools, and alter school structures and funding models to set the stage for a new model for the education sector.

Case traces the design and development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Emphasis is on executive leadership and firm strategy in coordinating across a global network of partners in the production of a new aircraft.

In early 2014, Ferio Pugliese looked back on his turbulent first year as president of WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s new regional air service Encore. Encore represented the company's most significant organizational change in its 18 years of dramatic growth. Expanding the airline's fleet to include smaller, short-haul aircraft that could service smaller destinations throughout Western Canada had not been without growing pains. For example, a number of employees reportedly felt they were losing their sense of belonging in the company that prided itself on employee satisfaction. Pugliese wondered how he should proceed in putting Encore on a successful path.

Mibanco, a microfinance icon, is for sale and Edyficar, owned by BCP, Peru's largest bank, is evaluating its acquisition. Until recently, such a transaction would have been fanciful given Mibanco's pre-eminent role in Peruvian microfinance which has made it the country's fifth largest bank. The case examines why Mibanco is on the block, while also relating the evolution of Edyficar and its own acquisition by BCP (Banco del Credito) several years earlier. Percy Urteaga, Edyficar's CEO, and Gianfranco Ferrari, the chair of his board and senior BCP executive, must decide whether to go forward and, if so, at what price.

Quincy Apparel designs, manufactures and sells work apparel for young professional women that offers the fit and feel of high-end brands at a lower price. In late 2012, Quincy's cofounders are debating how to approach a crucial board meeting. Their seed-stage startup is running low on cash; to survive, they will need more capital, probably in the form of a bridge loan from existing investors, who will attend the board meeting. Quincy's sales have been strong, but due to the company's novel sizing scheme, which provides more measurement dimensions than typical women's clothing, inventory is high and operations are complex. Operational challenges have made it difficult to consistently deliver better fit, and merchandise return rates are high. With more time and capital, the cofounders are confident they can resolve operational problems. But will they be able to persuade investors to provide more capital?

This case investigates the issues involved in a private equity (PE) firm's decision to invest in the debt of a distressed leveraged buyout. The analysis has been purposefully simplified to involve only two classes of outstanding debt, senior debt and junior debt, so that students do not need to have detailed knowledge of the bankruptcy process to complete the analysis. The main analytical task requires students to compute the expected internal rate of return for two debt-investment strategies. This case has been successfully taught in a second-year elective course covering entrepreneurial finance and PE, and in an undergraduate course on PE. The case is appropriate for use in classes on PE, debt restructuring, advanced corporate finance, or deal valuation.

India had long suffered floods during the monsoons, droughts during the dry seasons, and periodic death causing famines during multi-year droughts. The old canal-based irrigation system developed by the British had crumbled from neglect and wealthier famers had turned to wells. Water shortages were compounded by the rapid population growth in India and water pollution. Dinesh Shindey had been asked by the prime minister to chair a task force to study the social, environmental, technical, and economic aspects of the proposed River Linking Project. It was a massive federal government project that required the construction of 34 new dams, 94 tunnels, and 12,500 kilometers of new canals. Proponents believed it would greatly increase the supply of water, but opponents believed it would never work as designed. Many simply believed that it was impossible to complete such a massive project in corruption plagued India. A former Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources of India named S. Kannan believed that the solution to the water crisis in India lay instead in a decentralized approach based on conservation, the completion of numerous small, decentralized regional and local projects, and in managing the demand for water. After meeting with S. Kannan, Shindey's task force would write their recommendations in a report that would become a basis for how India would respond. This case presents a complex multicriteria decision problem that requires students to examine the relevant political, economic, cultural, environmental, and legal aspects as related to a wide-ranging mix of stakeholders. Students can assign probabilities and do a decision tree analysis before looking at the situation through the rational, incremental, and garbage can models of decision making. The case illustrates both how carefully humans need to manage natural resources in the face of rapidly growing demand and also how incredibly complex it is to manage such resources in a democratic system.

This case examines Communauto, North America's first carsharing organization, which is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The case focuses primarily on Communauto's CEO, Benoit Robert, as he builds on his success and ponders how to make carsharing even more widespread and environmentally impactful. Unlike many sustainability oriented cases which focus on translating a 'concept' into a viable enterprise or offering, this case focuses on an organization that is already established, is financially sound, and is attaining its environmental objectives. Students examine how the founder can address the inevitable tension between growing the business and pursuing his ambitious goal of meaningfully reducing the environmental impact of personal transportation. It illustrates a for-profit model of social entrepreneurship in a North American context, providing a contrasting focal point to the multitude of cases that depict not-for-profit social entrepreneurship initiatives in less developed countries.

In January 2013, Mike Johnson, CEO of Headwaters Software, was weighing the opportunity to diversify into a new but related market. Despite being a small company, Fisdap, as everyone called it, was the leading provider of software solutions and content to students and educators in the field of emergency medical services (EMS). Since its inception, Fisdap had played a key role in facilitating new ways to track and manage clinical internships of EMS students. Now, it appeared that educational programs for other healthcare occupations were likely to adopt methods similar to those now used in EMS. Johnson had recently returned from a visit to a community college using Fisdap's EMS software, which had requested Fisdap to consider developing solutions for their nursing program as well. Nursing education was a large market, offering substantial growth potential for Fisdap. However, entering the market involved a number of risks, and meant that the company would move away from its existing strategy and direction. Johnson was concerned about whether the company could manage growth while maintaining its company culture and conservative approach to financing. Furthermore, the size of the nursing education market might entice larger competitors than Fisdap had encountered to date. Johnson felt that the nursing education software tools market might develop rapidly, so if he was going to enter, he had better do it now.

This case describes the circumstances that led the City Council of Denver, Colorado to consider outdoor advertising restrictions on the medical marijuana industry in 2012. It is written from the perspective of Michael Elliott, executive director for the Medical Marijuana Industry Group (MMIG), a trade association representing over fifty Colorado businesses. The MMIG was founded in 2010 "to help protect and promote the Colorado medical marijuana regulatory framework, serve as a responsible resource for policy makers, and protect the rights of medical marijuana patients." The decision facing Elliott and the MMIG was whether to support the Council's proposed motion (banning outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, and daycares), oppose the motion, or come up with an alternative proposal for regulating outdoor advertising in Denver.

Roger Cosgrove had to make a decision on what to do with his employee, Jennifer Johnson, whom he learned had allegedly stolen $120,000 from his former business associate, Michael Libretti. He was conflicted by the ethical dilemmas this issue raised. In April 2011, Cosgrove had a chance meeting with Libretti at Libretti's place of business, Starbright Jewelers. Cosgrove and Libretti once operated Starbright in a joint operation but, because of changing economic conditions, dissolved their joint operation amicably in 2008. Johnson, who had worked for both men at Starbright, elected, at Cosgrove's request, to follow him to his new business venture, Silver Shine. She continued to work part time on Saturdays for Libretti at Starbright, to supplement her income. Cosgrove and Libretti had remained friends, and occasionally met to catch up on news. It was at one of these get-togethers that Cosgrove heard from Libretti the accusation of theft. Johnson had left her part-time job at Starbright in 2010 on her own accord. When Libretti subsequently hired a replacement for Johnson, he discovered through the replacement's efforts that Johnson stole about $120,000 from him from 2004 through 2010. After Libretti shared with Cosgrove this story, he asked Cosgrove what he, Cosgrove, was going to do, in Libretti's words, "with the thief who is working for you now." Cosgrove had to balance the competing needs of the many persons who had an interest in his decision. He wanted to protect his business, his reputation, and his customers from exposure to a potential thief. He wanted to protect his family's well-being and also to be supportive to his business associate, Libretti. Even so, he felt that taking action on Johnson was assuming she was guilty already, without benefit of any investigation. He sought advice from several sources, and was frustrated that there was no clear direction to follow.

Founded in 1889 in Kyoto, Japan, Nintendo has always operated in the entertainment business, beginning with playing cards and, in the 1970s, entering the electronics and video game industry with a small handheld console. By investing in innovation to ensure continuing delivery of new recreational experiences, Nintendo was dominant until the mid-1990s when the two multinational giants, Sony and Microsoft, entered the market with large investment capital and promotional campaigns. Nintendo competed with these new challengers, but its Wii U and 3DS systems, launched in November 2012, met with little success. In 2014, the company faces many questions as it looks to move forward. Has it lost its innovative edge? Were its strengths in human resources and research and development not being leveraged to their full potential? Can the new strategic directions - to revitalize existing products, take advantage of smart devices, actively utilize existing character IPs and expand into other new markets and other new business areas - successfully revive the traditional dominant position of Nintendo in the game industry? Should it pursue strategic alliances or mergers and acquisitions to acquire required resources and competencies from outside to invest in product and market diversification?

The head of marketing and sales at National Dairy, a quasi-government co-operative enterprise in the Indian state of Odisha, is hounded by the threat from private milk marketing firms that are attempting to overtake the monopoly position enjoyed by National Dairy for close to three decades. The title company's field salesforce provides intelligence reports from the market, indicating that National Dairy's authorized retailers and bulk customers (e.g., tea stall owners and restaurants) were slowly switching to competing brands, lured by attractive schemes and better earnings. National Dairy faced the dilemma of wanting to defend its leadership position and build a sustainable competitive advantage while at the same time continuing to uphold its social obligations towards the farming community in Odisha.

Extreme drought conditions in California have significant impacts on the ability of the San Diego County Water Authority to provide adequate water for current users. Water shortfalls also could curtail the economic development of one of the fastest growing regions in America. Seawater desalination is expensive and energy intensive, but it could be a partial solution. Brian Brady and other members of the Authority need to vote for or against a financing and construction plan that includes a 30-year water purchase agreement with Poseidon Resources (Channelside) LP, a private company. In the early years the cost of water would be almost double the average unit cost the Authority pays at the time of the decision. Is this proposal good policy in the long run to lock in supply and price for 7% of the region's water needs? Is the private finance and provision of public infrastructure appropriate for a basic good like water? The case also investigates the allocation of water supply and usage in California and the environmental impacts of running this plant on electricity drawn from the local utility, which in San Diego County is about 65% from fossil sources. The case is intended to be used as an introduction to water policy, seawater desalination, bond finance and cash flow waterfalls, infrastructure as a foundation for economic development, and risk allocation in public-private partnerships.

Credem, an Italian regional bank, grants loans to Parmigiano-Reggiano producers and holds the cheese as collateral in its own warehouse during the maturation process, essentially replacing part of the operations for the cheese producers and gaining deep operations expertise.

This case tells a series of schedule delay issues that CBMI Construction Co., Ltd., encountered during the implementation of the NOC project of transnational cooperation. Under triple pressures including industry winter, group merger and industry chain continuation, CBMI signed the cement plant construction project in the Republic of Benin with demanding schedule through active exploration of overseas markets and EPC project management model. As the first cement plant construction project carried out in the Republic of Benin and the first project signed after a year of zero project signing, CBMI has attached great importance and coordinated all departments' resources to be fully engaged in the operation of the project. However, the factors including harsh natural environment, complexity of project management organization, resource conflicts and differences between Chinese and Western cultures have seriously affected the smooth progress of the project, making the NOC project schedule fall into the dilemma. This case demonstrates the methods and measures to crack the NOC project progress puzzle with the use of critical chain technique through in-depth analysis of influencing factors on project progress.