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- January 1989 (Revised July 1991)
- Case
Bank for International Development, Software Case
By: W. Carl Kester and Timothy A. Luehrman
A hypothetical case in which an assistant treasurer of a supranational bank is asked to determine in which currencies it has been cheaper ex post to borrow. An integral part of the case is a Lotus 1-2-3 worksheet containing monthly data on yen and dollar interest... View Details
- winter 1989
- Article
Split-Awards Procurement and Innovation
By: James J. Anton and Dennis A. Yao
In many procurement settings, it is possible for a buyer to split a production award between suppliers. In this article, we develop a model of split-award procurement auctions in which the split choice is endogenous. We characterize the set of equilibrium bids and... View Details
- December 1988
- Article
Ordinal Independence in Non-Linear Utility Theory
By: Jerry R. Green and Bruno Jullien
Individual behavior under uncertainty is characterized using a new axiom, ordinal independence, which is a weakened form of the von Neumann-Morgcnslern independence axiom. It states that if two distributions share a tail in common, then this tail can be modified... View Details
Keywords: Preferences
- December 1988
- Article
Strategic Responses to Automobile Emissions Control: A Game-Theoretic Analysis
By: Dennis Yao
This paper examines the dynamics of standard-setting regulation under technological uncertainty and asymmetric information about technological capability. A two-period model which allows fully strategic action is developed and applied to the regulation of automobile... View Details
- November 1988 (Revised September 1991)
- Case
Simmons Japan Ltd.
By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick
Concerns the first leveraged buyout to occur in Japan. Analytic tasks include a valuation of the company and an assessment of its debt capacity. Also provides opportunities to discuss agency costs associated with alternative capital and equity ownership structures,... View Details
Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Cost; Equity; Production; Valuation; Japan; United States
- October 1988 (Revised July 2000)
- Case
Matt Compton's Job Search
By: Shoshana Zuboff and Dave DeLong
Matt Compton wrestles with the problems of a post-MBA job search and finds himself captivated by the aggressive recruiting tactics of the large management consulting firms. The case raises issues of how a passive job search that relies on options presented by... View Details
- October 1988 (Revised October 1989)
- Background Note
Aspects of Marketing Organization: An Introduction
Discusses the typical strengths, vulnerabilities, and key management skills associated with three common forms of marketing organization: a product-focused organization, a market-focused organization, and a functionally-focused organization. It considers how the nature... View Details
Keywords: Marketing Strategy
- October 1988 (Revised December 1994)
- Case
Maytag in 1984
By: David J. Collis and Nancy Donohue
Highlights Maytag's unique position in the industry in 1984. Maytag, a much smaller player than its competitors has prior to 1984 been successful in producing high quality merchandise and charging a premium for it. By 1984 Maytag is also attempting expansion.... View Details
- October 1988
- Case
Agrico, Inc.: A Software Dilemma
An information systems vice president has one hour to make an ethical decision: should a software program, left inadvertently on the company's computer, be copied and stored? Copying the program would protect clients' assets, but it seems to violate the vendor... View Details
- September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
- Case
Mrs. Fields Cookies
Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details
- September 1988
- Case
Frontier Airlines, Inc. (A) (Condensed)
Describes a regional airline that is on the losing end of a strategic application of information technology. Management is focusing on internal data processing issues while its principal, and larger, competitor is using its computerized reservations system to gain... View Details
- September 1988 (Revised October 1992)
- Case
Suzuki Samurai
By: John A. Quelch
Suzuki and advertising agency executives are debating the product positioning and accompanying copy strategy alternatives for the Suzuki Samurai prior to its U.S. introduction. View Details
- August 1988 (Revised November 1988)
- Case
Texas Instruments: Cost of Quality (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Texas Instruments implements a Cost of Quality (COQ) system as part of a company-wide "Total Quality Thrust." After several years of operation, group management questions whether or not the COQ system should be updated to make it more useful in identifying areas for... View Details
- August 1988 (Revised February 1992)
- Case
Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (A)
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jon Skofic
Norton, a once famous motorcycle manufacturer, soundly beaten by Japanese competition, turns its attention to developing rotary engines. The company is acquired by Norton Group PLC, which is headed by a dashing entrepreneur. The new management must decide what... View Details
- Article
Beyond the Reach of the Invisible Hand: Impediments to Economic Activity, Market Failures, and Profitability
By: Dennis Yao
In this paper it is argued that failures of the competitive market are necessary conditions for supranormal profitability. Three fundamental causes of these market failures-production economies and sunk costs, transactions costs, and imperfect information-are developed... View Details
Keywords: Economics; Markets; Failure; Profit; Cost; Information; Market Transactions; Competition; Strategy; Production
- June 1988 (Revised December 1991)
- Case
An Tai Bao Coal Mining Project
By: W. Carl Kester and Richard P. Melnick
An Tai Bao is the world's largest open-pit coal mine and is located in China's Shanxi province. After eight years of planning and negotiating, Occidental Petroleum, the foreign partner in the deal, is about to sign an ownership and financing agreement for $475 million... View Details
- May 1988 (Revised November 1990)
- Case
Airbus vs. Boeing (B): The Storm Intensifies
Discusses the growing competition faced by U.S. producers of civil aircraft due to the success and expanding product line of Airbus Industries. Designed to foster discussion of international trade policy as it affects producers in the industry and to encourage firm... View Details
Keywords: Trade; Policy; Negotiation; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Aerospace Industry; United States
- May 1988 (Revised March 1990)
- Case
Matsushita Electric Industrial (MEI) in 1987
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal
Describes the development of Matsushita's international operations and the building of its dominant competitive position in the consumer electronics industry. Picks up the major challenges facing the company in 1987 as both its product focus and geographic posture are... View Details
- April 1988 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision
Prior to the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, companies with private trucking fleets were generally prohibited from selling transportation services to other companies. The deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 allowed private carriers to offer for-hire transportation... View Details