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GOME, founded by Wong Kwongyu, had grown from merely a 100-square-metre store in Beijing in 1987 to the industry leader in electrical and home appliance retailing in China, with 259 traditional stores and 4 digital stores by 2006. Its success stemmed from its low-margin, high-volume strategy, which was complemented by its striving for service quality and innovation. In 2006, GOME faced the new challenge of tuangou, or group purchase. In order to amass bargaining power to demand discounts from retailers, consumers with similar needs in China united through the Internet and showed up en masse at retailers at pre-arranged times and dates. They would put relentless pressure on retailers and would press for greater discounts. This emerging consumer behavior had spread like wildfire in China and retailers had different reactions. Some yielded to the pressure and offered greater discounts, some only entertained tuangou that had been pre-arranged and/or pre-registered, while others refused to give in and maintained a fixed-price policy. It was up to GOME to determine how best it could deal with this new phenomenon.

Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company represents a new business model in the retail financial services industry, and since Zopa is not technically a bank and does not lend money itself, the capital requirements to run the business are relatively small. Compared to a traditional full service bank Zopa concentrates on only a few steps of the value chain. This case study provides an overview of the financial service industry, especially banks, in the UK in 2006 and how Zopa, a value innovator, has developed a unique position in the market through an innovative business model. Rich data especially on banking trends are given. Additional data on key players in the industry are supplied. This data will enable students to develop a good understanding of the elements of a value innovation and how technologies have the potential to shake up an established industry structure and its key players. A focus is on the concept of value innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. The case can also be used to address the topic of how incumbent firms should respond to innovative new business models.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service provider, Tecnovate eSolutions Pvt. Ltd, was set up in India as a captive to provide contact center services, BPO services, and IT services to its parent company in the travel services sector. Outsourcing is a complex phenomenon and involves formal evaluation and planning before companies can take the leap. Can be used as a vehicle for understanding the risks and challenges involved in a real life outsourcing scenario. Focuses on the critical transition sub-phase of the outsourcing lifecycle and the evolving growth strategies of business process outsourcing.

The managing partners of two private equity firms are hoping to forestall a third bidding round for a target company, the European beverage division of Cadbury Schweppes. As they wait to meet with the CEO, they revisit their assumptions on the deal and review the insights that informed their valuation.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, founders of Microsoft and Apple respectively, have revolutionized the relationship between the individual and computer technology. Once the exclusive domain of academia and research facilities, computers can now be found in every area of business, government, and personal entertainment. Gates and Jobs facilitated this revolution, introducing a generation to the practice of personal computing and laying the foundation for the Information Age. Gates and Jobs turned their curiosity about electronics into a multi-billion dollar industry. From early experiments like the Apple II and DOS to the X-box and the iPod, Gates and Jobs have been committed to pioneering all avenues of technology and distributing them to wide audiences. The journey wasn't without its trials for both CEOs. Gates' antitrust lawsuit of the mid-90s and Jobs' separation from Apple in the late 80s provided challenges to both companies. However, both leaders used these periods of uncertainty as motivation to innovate, taking digital technology into new territory. Pixar Studios, MSNBC, the Xbox, and the phenomena of "infotainment" all arose from the ashes of the corporate controversies. The stories of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are ultimately one story--it is the story of the personal computer, its software, and its impact upon society. From two college drop-outs based on the West Coast came a revolution which fundamentally influenced the global practice of business.

Multinationals often make judgmental errors regarding cross-cultural issues and the business environments prevailing in foreign countries. Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd. (HMSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Limited, Japan, established its plant in India in 1999 and made mistakes in handling people-management issues. It wanted to pursue a non-union model but failed to devise and implement an appropriate human resource management (HRM) strategy. Management was caught unaware when accumulated grievances led workers to turn hostile and form a union with the help of the trade union wing of a political party that was a partner in the ruling coalition at the federal level. The management failed to break workers' unity either by soliciting help from the state agencies or by using the legal system to their advantage. The subsequent power struggle led to violent clashes between the workers and the police, who had been called in for protection by HMSI management. The extensive media coverage not only tarnished the company's image, but also pressured the federal government to come to the rescue of the workers. This incompetent handling of HR issues by the company led to a long strike by the workers. The strike, besides causing substantial financial losses, also led to the emergence of a very strong union. In addition, production targets that were achieved on a daily basis before the union came into existence were seldom achieved after the conciliation came into effect. Provides insights into building and implementing a commitment model of HRM strategy, shows how employers should safeguard their interest by managing the countervailing power of workers in the Indian context, and discusses the dynamics of state power in Indian industrial relations and who can benefit from it in different contexts.

In the four years since Rob Miranda became CEO of Growing Places, a provider of on-site child care for companies in the Midwestern United States, he has been a font of ideas. For instance, he set up rooms where moms can breastfeed their babies during breaks in the workday and put Webcams in classrooms so that parents can "visit" their children from their desks. As a result of Rob's entrepreneurial vision and operational savvy, the company has achieved profitable growth. The problem is that Rob tends to stick his foot in his mouth. Evan Breyer, the company's founder and chairman, hopes that Rob will learn to avoid making verbal gaffes; he even gets Rob to see a coach. But while Evan is wrapping up a facility tour for a potential corporate sponsor of a scholarship program, Rob makes an insensitive remark about breastfeeding in front of the visitors--among them, a reporter. Not surprisingly, the local paper runs a scathing editorial the next day. Several days later, during a conference presentation on preschool curricula, he does it again with a comment implying that teachers are lazy and unprepared. The result is more bad press and a meaningful dip in stock price. It's beginning to look as though Rob is not going to change, and many board members are talking ouster. Should Evan try to persuade the board to hang on to Rob? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0612A and R0612Z are Ronald A. Heifetz, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; John H. Biggs, the former CEO of TIAA-CREF; Torie Clarke, a CNN analyst; and Roger Brown, a cofounder of Bright Horizons.

In the four years since Rob Miranda became CEO of Growing Places, a provider of on-site child care for companies in the Midwestern United States, he has been a font of ideas. For instance, he set up rooms where moms can breastfeed their babies during breaks in the workday and put Webcams in classrooms so that parents can "visit" their children from their desks. As a result of Rob's entrepreneurial vision and operational savvy, the company has achieved profitable growth. The problem is that Rob tends to stick his foot in his mouth. Evan Breyer, the company's founder and chairman, hopes that Rob will learn to avoid making verbal gaffes; he even gets Rob to see a coach. But while Evan is wrapping up a facility tour for a potential corporate sponsor of a scholarship program, Rob makes an insensitive remark about breastfeeding in front of the visitors--among them, a reporter. Not surprisingly, the local paper runs a scathing editorial the next day. Several days later, during a conference presentation on preschool curricula, he does it again with a comment implying that teachers are lazy and unprepared. The result is more bad press and a meaningful dip in stock price. It's beginning to look as though Rob is not going to change, and many board members are talking ouster. Should Evan try to persuade the board to hang on to Rob? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0612A and R0612Z are Ronald A. Heifetz, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; John H. Biggs, the former CEO of TIAA-CREF; Torie Clarke, a CNN analyst; and Roger Brown, a cofounder of Bright Horizons.

In the four years since Rob Miranda became CEO of Growing Places, a provider of on-site child care for companies in the Midwestern United States, he has been a font of ideas. For instance, he set up rooms where moms can breastfeed their babies during breaks in the workday and put Webcams in classrooms so that parents can "visit" their children from their desks. As a result of Rob's entrepreneurial vision and operational savvy, the company has achieved profitable growth. The problem is that Rob tends to stick his foot in his mouth. Evan Breyer, the company's founder and chairman, hopes that Rob will learn to avoid making verbal gaffes; he even gets Rob to see a coach. But while Evan is wrapping up a facility tour for a potential corporate sponsor of a scholarship program, Rob makes an insensitive remark about breastfeeding in front of the visitors--among them, a reporter. Not surprisingly, the local paper runs a scathing editorial the next day. Several days later, during a conference presentation on preschool curricula, he does it again with a comment implying that teachers are lazy and unprepared. The result is more bad press and a meaningful dip in stock price. It's beginning to look as though Rob is not going to change, and many board members are talking ouster. Should Evan try to persuade the board to hang on to Rob? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0612A and R0612Z are Ronald A. Heifetz, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; John H. Biggs, the former CEO of TIAA-CREF; Torie Clarke, a CNN analyst; and Roger Brown, a cofounder of Bright Horizons.

The case study is about a successful strategy formulated at Dow Corning for marketing commodity silicones, a chemical used in diverse applications. It deals with important issues in B2B marketing: refocusing on user needs and developing a "needs-based" segmentation of industrial customers; bundling and de-bundling of technical services; branding of commodity chemicals; web-based low price/no-frills value proposition; making money with commodities. The case also describes a "tipping point" in Dow Corning's history and strategy where their leadership in the silicone business was at stake; management had to chart radically new ways to compete in commoditized markets--what they call their "disruptive innovation". At the end the students are asked to look at the success of Xiameter (the company's web-based brand) and decide its future. The choices are: maintain status quo; incrementally fine tune the strategy; go for a major overhaul. Learning objectives: The Xiameter case can be used to: 1) show an example of using customer insights in successfully re-defining business and marketing strategies; 2) address issues of segmentation, value proposition and branding in industrial marketing; 3) demonstrate how two contrasting value propositions could be offered to industrial customers under different brands; 4) discuss value innovation in B2B markets ; 5) examine and analyze elements of a successful web-based business model; 6) learn how adversity can challenge an organization to re-define its business and marketing strategies for future success.

Centers on the Inditex Group (Industria del Diseno Textil), a Spanish corporation that ranks among the world fashion industry leaders along with companies such as GAP, Nike, Benetton, and H&M. Inditex owns several brands, including Zara, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, and Kiddy's Class. To respond to repeated attacks by NGOs, the company had initially pursued a reactive corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. However, it was now actively working on the implementation of a CSR plan that spanned its whole production and sales processes, focusing on working conditions at the company's manufacture outsourcing shops. Its strategy addressed profound structural changes undergone by the industry and the company itself. While in 1980 all production operations were based in Spain, by 2003 Inditex had expanded to include production centers as well as certified suppliers in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. On the other hand, the initially family-owned company had gone public at a world level. At the time, several NGOs had begun to look into and report on the overall textile sector in the midst of a campaign against labor exploitation, child labor, and corporate social irresponsibility at large. This situation posed new challenges for the company, especially regarding labor, and workers' social and economic conditions. In order to face these challenges, a Corporate Social Responsibility Department and a Social Council were created to ensure that corporate actions reflected the company's social responsibility and commitment and to communicate sustainability values and respect for human rights across the board.

Chronicles the board game company's early formation and growth, and culminates in two issues often faced by business owners: (a) what to do about the over-dependence that the company has developed on its founder/CEO, and (b) what are the possible exit options worth pursuing. Describes University Games' founding by two friends after graduating, its internal and market-facing growing pains, periods in which each of the two founders left the company, a buy-back of shares from a VC investor, and culminates in the emergence of exit opportunities. Concludes with the CEO questioning whether he should court a financial investor or strategic acquirer, or even consider the options of a public offering and of a leveraged re-capitalization for the company.

Shortly after Infosys was founded in 1981, its managers faced a major turning point when they made a decision to operate without giving in to the petty corruption rife in the Indian economy. Within just a few years, that decision had truly defined the company. Over the next 25 years, Infosys managers went to extraordinary lengths to avoid even the most modest of practices that they considered inappropriate. Explores the practices and methods that Infosys adopted instead, considers their costs, benefits, and generalizability, and contextualizes the problem within Indian political and economic institutions that continue to evolve.

In September 1999, the Microsoft Xbox team was wondering which strategic choices would give it the best chance against the upcoming Sony PlayStation 2. Initially called "Project Midway" within Microsoft, the console project was intended to counter the perceived threat to the Windows franchise posed by Sony expanding the original PlayStation into a broad entertainment platform with the PlayStation 2. Seamus Blackley--the chief instigator for the Xbox within Microsoft--and some of his colleagues were on a flight to Austin, Texas, where they had an appointment with Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer. The purpose of the visit was to convince Dell to manufacture Xbox videogame consoles running Microsoft software. Indeed, the team intended to produce a machine somewhere between a standalone videogame console and a PC tailored to play videogames. It remained unclear, however, where along the spectrum from dedicated console to PC Microsoft should position the Xbox. Would it be an open platform like the PC in the sense that independent developers could publish games on it with no restrictions and without having to pay royalties? Who would produce consoles and under what arrangements? What features should the console include, and how would it be priced to consumers? The home videogame industry had been born in the 1970s during the Atari "golden age", then collapsed suddenly in 1983. It was reborn at the end of the 1980s under Nintento's leadership, which was then challenged for a few years by Sega, only to be conquered by Sony's original PlayStation. And along the way, some companies such as 3DO had tried unsuccessfully to change the prevalent business models. This tumultuous 25-year history might provide Blackley and his colleagues with some useful tips on how best to enter the market.

The Association for the Wellbeing of the Colombian Family, Profamilia, is a private, nonprofit organization founded in September 1965 by Dr. Fernando Tamayo Ogliastri with the objective of distributing family planning to low income families. Profamilia was a pioneer in its field; its impact increased as it became both organizationally and administratively stronger, and as its focus on family planning was expanded to include sexual and reproductive health. After four decades of operation, Profamilia continued to offer services to attend to the sexual and reproductive health of Colombians. By mid-2003, Profamilia, spurred by changes in the health sector in Colombia with the implementation of Law 100 of 1993, needed to redefine its strategy. The health sector reform encouraged the entry of other organizations that competed directly with Profamilia, resulting in the organization's loss of its relative monopoly as a provider of reproductive health services and family planning products. The most visible consequence was the reduction of its participation in the market. Changes in the sector gave impulse to the process of strategic redefinition to face critical tradeoffs between social and economic value generation.

The task is to prepare a sealed bid against one opponent for a hotel that has an appraised value and a specific, higher value for a company. There is data about the ratio of bids of the other bidder to the appraised value in similar sealed bids. Students will learn to give up many unfounded notions of how to bid and to develop a strategic approach to finding the best bid.

In March 2006, Larry English, Director of Program Design and Innovation for Habitat for Humanity International Africa and the Middle East, was reflecting on a large development project in Durbin that had stalled. Notwithstanding global attention led by former President Jimmy Carter, the local capacity to carry out the project was limited. English wondered whether partnerships with private, for-profit real estate companies were plausible, and whether they could be carried out without undermining the mission of Habitat to focus on the very poor.

In 2006 Wal-Mart, the second largest firm in the world by sales, was looking to improve its already efficient supply chain. The company's supply chain was closely integrated with its retail and information systems strategies and has been developed incrementally over the past 40 years. However, rivals were copying every aspect, from the way Wal-Mart cross-docks product in warehouses to Wal-Mart's use of a sophisticated database to capture, store, and disseminate store-level information to suppliers. Wal-Mart's new executive vice president, logistics, Johnnie Dobbs, was overseeing a handful of initiatives designed to improve the firm's supply chain. However, it was not certain that these initiatives were going to have a significant impact on Wal-Mart costs, and he needed to consider what the company should do to stay ahead of the competition.

In the spring of 1977, Goodyear CEO Charles J. Pilliod Jr. was looking at an internal report on government and legal events relevant to the tire industry. Two items caught his attention. First, he noticed that an industry suit to block the government's proposed system to rate tires on tread wear, traction, and temperature resistance had been rebuffed by a U.S. appeals court. Although the court found fault with the government's proposals, the ruling could mean that the tire grading system was close to becoming a reality. Second, Joan Claybrook, a former Nader consumer interest group lobbyist, had just become head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency within the government that was in charge of producing the rating system. Pilliod wondered if the regulatory events might affect Goodyear's ability to maintain its world leadership in the tire industry.

Presents the background of the Spanish courier and urgent parcel service company MRW and its financial situation in the first quarter of 2004. At that time, the urgent delivery service sector was immersed in a process of growth. There was strong competition within the sector and MRW occupied one of the leading positions. Places special emphasis on the social initiatives of MRW and its franchising system, which was used as an expansion strategy. But this system entailed important coordination issues, which led to the creation of a Committee of Ethics and Arbitration. Begins when MRW's central office interviewed a prospective candidate interested in buying a franchise which was left free due to early retirement. The candidate appeared to be a very competent manager who would get results for the franchise in an industrial zone, benefiting the entire network. Nevertheless, he expressed his doubts about the usefulness of MRW's social plans. Javier Marza (assistant general manager of MRW) and Paco Sosa (director of external relations) considered whether they should be concerned about convincing a franchise holder in particular as to the social enterprise of the company. This raised the question of the place social enterprise had in MRW's strategy and of the need to re-evaluate its impact in detail, especially during a phase of growth and renovation in the franchise network, and in the mid-term, with a view to the eventual retirement and replacement of the company's founder, who had always shown clear leadership. All of this could present difficulties for the continuity of the company's culture.