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April 2010 (Revised July 2014)
Case

On April 4, 2010, Apple Inc. launched the iPad, the company's third major innovation released over the last decade under its iconic CEO Steve Jobs. Apple's strategy of shifting its business into non-PC products had thrived so far, driven by the smashing success of the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry

16 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

Reintroducing Intellectual Ambition to the Study of Business History

historians to move beyond incremental additions to the literature and instead return to tackling big subjects with major importance to the future of business. "Rehashing past controversies is not a sign of a vibrant discipline, but... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones & Walter Friedman

September 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Supplement

Kevin Sharer at Amgen: Sustaining the High-Growth Company (B)

By: William W. George

Kevin Sharer, CEO of Amgen, is assessing the challenges he has faced as a major product came under regulatory scrutiny. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Leadership; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry

May 1987
Background Note

Influence Tactics

Defines and describes the major categories of influence tactics and indicates some of the conditions under which they are effective. View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Power and Influence

July 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

USAA: Catastrophe Risk Financing

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Mark Seasholes

Describes the first major risk financing using catastrophe bonds. Provides a basis for discussing the securitization of insurance risks. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Insurance; Capital Markets; Natural Disasters; Risk Management; Bonds; Insurance Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2006 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Geeli

By: Li Jin, Kenneth A. Froot and Si Ping May Yu

A well-performing Chinese manufacturer faces major impediments raising funding to grow. Highlights various imperfections that shape the financing decision. View Details

Keywords: Capital Costs; International Finance; Diversification; Financial Instruments; Cost of Capital; Global Strategy; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Hong Kong

2019
Book

The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

The Business of Platforms explores the strategic, economic, and technology management challenges of digital platform businesses. We have five major themes in the book: 1) The world’s most valuable companies are all platforms, in part because platforms have... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Technology; Platform; Internet and the Web; Management; Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms

July 1987 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Phillips 66: Controlling a Company Through Crisis

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The downstream operations subsidiary of a major U.S. petroleum company is faced with major restructuring decisions and responds by developing an Executive Information System (EIS) which allows for increased responsiveness, wider span of control, and higher levels of... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Information Management; Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Crisis Management; Communication; Management Teams; Growth Management; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; United States

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August 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Background Note

Brief Note on U.S. Political Parties and the Presidential Nominating Process (2024)

By: Robert F. White

This note gives a brief overview of the major U.S. political parties and how they nominate presidential candidates. View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Public Administration Industry; United States

April 1992 (Revised March 1993)
Case

Sam Steinberg (A) and (B) (Condensed)

Covers the period from Steinberg's founding in 1917 through the company's growth to a major firm in 1969. View Details

Keywords: Management; Business Startups; Growth and Development

30 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Vanguard, Trian And The Problem With 'Passive' Index Funds

need to get shareholders more engaged? What shape should the separation of management and ownership take in the twenty-first century?” “We are now in a situation where index investors are the major shareholders in most of the large- and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

December 1999 (Revised October 2003)
Case

BRL Hardy: Globalizing an Australian Wine Company

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Two new product launch decisions face Christopher Carson, managing director of BRL Hardy, Europe. Responsible for the European operations of a major Australian wine company, Carson has begun to globalize his strategy beyond selling the parent company's wines. After a... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Joint Ventures; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Negotiation Style; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Background Note

Marketing Promotions

Introduces the major communication vehicles and the process by which they can be brought together in an integrated marketing communications plan. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications

2012
Teaching Note

Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (B) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Hong Zhang

The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the... View Details

Keywords: Computer Software; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Outsourcing; Strategy; China; Applications and Software; China

April 2020 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Singapore: 'Facing Challenges Together'

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Since its expulsion from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore had transformed itself from a third world island nation into a vibrant city-state with one of the highest levels of GDP per capita in the world. However, sluggish demand among Singapore's major trade partners began... View Details

March 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Hippo: Weathering the Storm of the Home Insurance Crisis

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan

Rick McCathron, CEO of Hippo, considered how the firm’s underwriting model could account for the effects of climate change. Along with providing smart home packages, targeting risk-friendly customers, and using data-driven pricing, the Insurtech used technologically... View Details