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iBasis examines the development of a long-term relationship between equipment manufacturer Cisco and start-up iBasis, a voice-over-internet wholesaler. Questions arise for iBasis founders as to how best to build a beneficial relationship with the much larger partner. How aggressive should they be in their pursuit of specialized equipment designs from Cisco? How should they protect their own intellectual property? After several years of market success, and several relationship defining mechanisms (from informal to a memorandum of understanding to specific equipment contracts), the partnership is tested with the dot-com bubble bursting. Not only is the relationship at risk, but iBasis' very survival is in question.

Pay Zone Consulting is a small, highly-specialized, global consulting group providing information management solutions for the exploration and production sector of the oil and gas industry. The company operates entirely virtually with consultants and software developers in different parts of the world. The principals are considering growth options but are intent on preserving the quality of life benefits provided by their virtual business model. The case examines the communication technologies employed by the principals in support of their virtual teamwork and describes the administrative information technology (IT) infrastructure that enables the firm to operate with no administrative staff or office. The case also discusses the organizational and personal factors underlying the company's ability to operate successfully virtually.

Club Atletico Boca Juniors is the most popular soccer club in Argentina and one of the most decorated clubs in the world. Throughout its storied history, the club has recruited and developed dozens of star players. In his eleven years at Boca Juniors, president Mauricio Macri has significantly increased the club's net worth and annual revenues. However, he faces a constant challenge to remain competitive on and off the field. In November 2006, Macri is approached by Spanish and Italian soccer powerhouses, seeking to purchase the players Fernando Gago and Rodrigo Palacio. Should Macri enter negotiations with the clubs interested in buying the star players? If so, how should they approach the talks? Allows for an in-depth examination of Boca Junior's business model, and how it differs from that of the richer soccer clubs in Western Europe. Also enables an assessment of successful talent and brand management strategies in the context of a sports franchise with a worldwide reach.

This case has been developed to facilitate a negotiation exercise related to the formation of partnership deals in the healthcare industry. It is based on actual information, but reflects a hypothetical situation involving two companies and a product that have all been disguised. The scenario described within the case involves Pharmac, a large pharmaceutical company, and Respire, a small medical start-up. Pharmac and Respire began negotiating a partnership to develop and eventually market an inhaled form of parathyroid hormone (PTH) to treat osteoporosis. If successful, this product would improve the available options for the treatment of osteoporosis. It was also expected to produce "blockbuster" sales since it would make PTH, an already extremely effective treatment option, more convenient and appealing to a large segment of untreated patients who were injection-averse (injection was the standard delivery mechanism for this drug). Development of the product was highly speculative and was expected to take six to seven years due to early stage development of the inhalable delivery system and the multi-year Phase III fracture trials required for approval. Pharmac had released the first man-made, injectable form of parathyroid hormone, called Strocal, in 2002. However, no one had yet developed a non-injectable version of PTH, despite efforts by Pharmac and other companies that spanned more than a decade. Respire's goal was to be the first company to solve this problem by developing an inhaled formulation and a device to deliver Strocal through the lungs in a safe, effective, and reproducible manner. Enough information is provided within the case to enable students to negotiate terms for royalties, milestones, exclusivity provisions, and an equity investment. At the end of OIT-81A, information known to Pharmac (but not to Respire) is provided. In OIT-81B, information known to Respire (but not to Pharmac) is given.

This case explores events surrounding the development of the Sydney Cross City Tunnel, an innovative infrastructure project developed by the New South Wales government in Australia in conjunction with Cheung Kong Infrastructure, Cheung Kong's Hong Kong infrastructure investment arm. The tunnel opened for traffic in 2005. This case analyzes three matters: the political and institutional background that led to the decision to develop the Cross City Tunnel; the general economic assumptions upon which the venture had been based; and the build-operate-transfer project finance arrangements put into place to develop and finance the tunnel venture. The case explains the project finance arrangements surrounding a typical road transport infrastructure which seems to have failed, and raises questions about estimates of demand for the tunnel and traffic management arrangements surrounding access to the tunnel.

In 2006, SK-II, a skin care brand, was close to becoming a billion-dollar brand for Procter and Gamble ("P&G') and China was seen as a key source of future growth and is soon to be the largest market in the world. On 14 September 2006, Chinese authorities banned the sale of some of P&G's skin care products in the SK-II line. P&G feared that public protests against these products could spread and infect the brand equity of its other products in the country. Everything that P&G tried to resolve the scandal failed, leaving the media, consumers and government feeling enraged. P&G pronounced confidence in its SK-II products in China, saying it would work with government agencies to resolve the problems, but repeatedly botched public relations and was accused of "arrogance" toward consumers. Although P&G had experience in defending its SK-II products in court due to a lawsuit the previous year, the company seemed to have learned nothing about preparing for a future crisis. P&G, one of the most trusted corporate brands in the world, was close to losing Chinese consumers' faith in SK-II and perhaps in P&G as well just by the poor way it handled the crisis. Many analysts claim that doing business in China is significantly different from doing business in developed markets. When it comes to public relations, how can the rules be so different that even experienced country managers repeatedly get it wrong? The case allows for discussion on how to respond to a public relations crisis, salvage brand equity after a disastrous incident, react to a situation and pre-empt damaging information in the media.

Vivek Khuller has built Smartix by attracting classmates to co-found it with him, learning how to pitch it to top VC firms and potential strategic partners, and honing the concept and business model by testing it in smaller venues. Now, he is facing the implications of the choices he has made in each of these areas and has to decide how to manage those implications.

Management of a diversified chemicals company faces two financial decisions: whether to finance a major investment in new production facilities for its rapidly expanding Environmental Products Division, and whether to sell a more slowly growing non-specialty chemicals division. the latter decision has implications for how the new investment, if it is undertaken, should be financed. Financing options available to the firm include bank borrowing, issuing convertible debt, and selling new common stock in the public market.

Uria Menendez, the pre-eminent law firm in Iberia, is at a critical point in its long and distinguished history. Its newly appointed second generation co-managing Partners are facing some critical strategic decisions concerning how the firm should position itself in Iberia, geographical expansion to serve the needs of its clients, and its "Best Friends Network" with leading law firms in other countries. The firm must also address critical issues regarding the hiring, development per in work/life balance, and compensation of the top law school graduates the firm needs to maintain its position and reputation.

Cape Wind is an extreme example of NIMBY--not in my backyard syndrome. This is the first offshore wind project planned for the United States, in Nantucket Sound, just south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Initially proposed six years ago, in 2001, the wind farm would be visible from Hyannis port and Osterville, two affluent communities. The coastal residents of those towns have led a campaign in Massachusetts and in Congress to thwart the efforts of Cape Wind. This case introduces the global wind industry, the rationale for wind, and then carefully reviews the various issues associated with the project.

The senior vice-president of Corporate Store Sales, Sears Canada (Sears), was reviewing a new retailing initiative scheduled to launch within a month in all full-line Sears department stores across Canada. For the holiday season, Sears would offer the services of an elf, the equivalent of a personal shopper, to its customers. Although personal shoppers were common in upscale department stores, especially in the United States, this concept had not been tried in Sears stores. Taylor wondered how customers would respond to this novel concept in Canadian retailing.

Delphi Corporation, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a plan of reorganization with the court, under which a consortium of hedge funds led by Appaloosa Management will invest up to $2.6 billion in new equity. Also participating in the plan is General Motors, which as the former parent of Delphi, has agreed to fund a portion of the massive pension and retiree health care liabilities that Delphi incurred when it separated from GM in a prior spin-off. The company has also had to seek significant financial concessions from the United Auto Workers, without which it may not survive as a going concern. Greatly complicating the negotiations is the significant uncertainty surrounding the value of Delphi's business and the complexity of its capital structure.

This case examines a hard fought litigation over a patent that originated at Bell Labs. It illustrates the challenges that technology companies face today innovating in a complex intellectual property environment in fields where there is a high amount of cumulativeness. The case highlights the leverage that good strategic thinking can bring to influencing the outcome.

Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, faced a complex situation in the fall of 2007. An economic recovery had allowed the central bank to abandon its zero interest rate policy, which had been in place for years, and raise rates to 0.5%. The Bank of Japan was eager to increase them to more 'normal' levels to exert effective monetary policy. Yet the appropriate timing and approach was a controversial issue, especially as the government did not want a rate hike that could potentially hinder economic growth and increase its already large fiscal debt burden.

An entrepreneur is looking for business opportunities since she immigrated to London, Ontario. She has come across a franchising opportunity with Williams Coffee Pub (WCP). The promotional material for WCP indicates that annual sales for a typical restaurant can be up to $1,700,000 with a profit margin of 17.5 per cent. This business opportunity seems very attractive, however, she must do some additional investigation. The purpose of this case is for students to build a spreadsheet-based cash flow model and to use the model to perform basic sensitivity or "What if?" analysis.

Parks Capital acquired a Children's Apparel Manufacturer, American Child Clothing Manufacturers, Inc. (ACCM), in 2001. Two years later ACCM's largest retail, customer, U.S. Retail, Inc., decided to evaluate strategic alternatives due to financial difficulties. Parks Capital must now decide whether to acquire U.S. Retail, to fund ACCM so it acquires U.S. Retail, or to sit on the sidelines.

New metrics have been introduced to a software technical support call center operation. These metrics have revealed a wide range of performance between employees both for time taken to answer customers' questions and the customer's perceived quality of service. The call center manager is wondering how to make use of these metrics. He is inclined to "go public" with them, whereas the head of human resources believes that this could be damaging to employee morale and will also make it more difficult for the company to recruit in a market experiencing labor shortages.

Wall Street's darling, Google Inc., offered more than a pretty financial picture. Poverty, communicable diseases and climate change - some of the world's largest problems - were also key interests of Google's cofounders. By applying innovation and significant resources, Google's cofounders hoped that their efforts in these areas would one day eclipse Google itself in worldwide impact. On February 22, 2006, Google Inc. announced the appointment of an executive director of the newly created Google.org. With one per cent of Google Inc.'s equity and profit as seed money, Google.org's mandate was to address climate change, global public health, economic development and poverty. Although charity by successful entrepreneurs was not unusual, this press release signaled a new organizational form, a for-profit philanthropic company. The new executive director's task ahead was unprecedented. How could he leverage the company's for-profit status to make the biggest impact possible with the resources trusted to Google.org? What decision-making criteria should be used for strategic investments? How would he measure Google.org's success?

The case provides insight into a business leader whose cognizance of contextual forces (social, economic, and political) allowed him to drive significant change in an industry and Japanese society in the second half of the twentieth century.

In late November 2006, Jorge Redmond, CEO of Chocolates El Rey, called a meeting with senior management to discuss the company's growth strategy. A relatively small firm with sales of around $14 million, El Rey produced top quality chocolate made with single origin Venezuelan cocoa beans. The firm sold its chocolates in four different segments--food services, industry, retail and beverages--and exported 17% of its production, mostly to the United States, Europe, and Japan. El Rey needed to grow, but Redmond wondered how to achieve growth and how to market the "El Rey" brand to its different target segments and international markets. With only 0.5% of the cocoa's world production, was it worth the effort to try and establish a country-of-origin image for Venezuelan chocolate? If so, how could El Rey go about it?