Publications

September 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

InterSoft of Argentina (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Stacy Palestrant

Focuses on InterSoft of Argentina, a growing software company in Argentina. In 1993, InterSoft acquires a Russian software company and Emilo Lopez, the vice president and director of InterSoft's Systems Software Lab, must manage a creative, cross-cultural, "virtual"... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Argentina; Russia

September 1996 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A): Linking the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The CEO of the marketing and refining division of a major oil company is in the midst of implementing a profit turnaround. He transforms the strongly centralized, functionally-organized division into 17 independent business units and 14 internal service companies. The... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Balanced Scorecard; Corporate Strategy; Mining Industry; Energy Industry

September 1996 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The general manager of a local gasoline/distillate sales and distribution business unit must communicate a new strategy to the unit's 300 employees. An initial strategic planning exercise identified a high-priority list of opportunities that blended the parent... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Adoption; Strategic Planning; Customization and Personalization; Management Practices and Processes; Growth and Development Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Evaluation; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

September 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The general manager of a Lubricants Business Unit in Mobil's U.S. Marketing and Refining division launched a project to develop a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The purpose was to provide focus for all employees of the unit, enabling it to operate on an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Employees; Customization and Personalization; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Projects; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

July 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Northwest Airlines: Strategic Alliance and Strategic Position--May 1996

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Davis Dyer

Describes the strategic position of Northwest Airlines in 1996 and discusses its financial rebound and changes and improvements since the 1993 restructuring agreement. Describes the company's new strategy and its management of principal strategic assets, focusing at... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Restructuring; Alliances; Competitive Strategy; Government Administration; Cooperation; Business Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; United States; Netherlands

July 1996
Case

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.--1990

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Michael Dearing

Howard Lester, chairman and CEO, has just completed a second offering of common stock in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. ($218.2 million 1989 sales). Having targeted $500 million in retail sales, Lester's challenge is to: 1) prioritize growth investments in five existing catalog... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Alignment; Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

July 1996
Article

New Product Development Structures: The Effect of Customer Overload on Post-Concept Time to Market

By: S. Datar, C. Jordan, S. Kekre, S. Rajiv and K. Srinivasan

Keywords: Product; Research and Development; Customers; Markets

June 1996 (Revised January 2000)
Case

McKinsey & Co.: Managing Knowledge and Learning

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the development of McKinsey & Co. as a worldwide management consulting firm from 1926 to 1996. In particular, it focuses on the way in which McKinsey has developed structures, systems, processes, and practices to help it develop, transfer, and disseminate... View Details

Keywords: Management; Managerial Roles; Management Practices and Processes; Competitive Advantage; Global Range; Knowledge Dissemination; Business Processes; Consulting Industry

June 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Skandia AFS: Developing Intellectual Capital Globally

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Takia Mahmood

Focuses on the measurement and management of organizational knowledge as a strategic asset, and on the deployment of information technology, organizational structure, and processes in leveraging that asset. View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Alliances; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology

May 1996 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Ecolab, Inc.

By: Ashish Nanda

By 1993, Ecolab has established a dominant market position in the institutional cleaning industry. As the company’s principal competitor, Diversify, drives sales aggressively, Ecolab president Al Schuman faces a choice about how best to market Ecolab’s offerings.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Employees; Retention; Marketing Strategy; Risk Management; Service Industry

May 1996 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Northeast Ventures: January 1996

By: Josh Lerner and Eric K. Jackson

Northeast Ventures, a venture capital fund focusing on the development of northeastern Minnesota, seeks to combine social goals with financial returns. This marriage poses several challenges. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Social Enterprise; Investment Funds; Minnesota

April 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Cleveland Turnaround (A, The: Responding to the Crisis (1978-1988)

By: James E. Austin and Andrea L Strimling

Traces the Cleveland community's efforts to move the city from economic, social, and political crisis in the late 1970s into revitalization and progress in the 1980s and 1990s. Special attention is given to the role of business leaders and the public-private... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Business Cycles; Business and Community Relations; Financial Crisis; Cleveland

April 1996 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Virtual Vineyards

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Alvin J. Silk, Lisa Klein Pearo and Thomas A. Gerace

Virtual Vineyards markets wine from small California vineyards directly to consumers through its site on the World Wide Web. It also facilitates fulfillment of customer orders. The case focuses on the ways in which Virtual Vineyards provides value to end consumers... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Management; Service Operations; Internet and the Web

March 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Scott Cook and Intuit

By: James L. Heskett

Scott Cook has just learned that Microsoft has withdrawn its $2 billion offer for his company Intuit. Because of his company's prospects, he is elated. But he now must decide the direction in which to take his company while continuing to focus on the formula of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Development

March 1996 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Singapore's Trade in Services

By: Debora L. Spar

Focuses on the efforts of Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) to grow the tiny island almost wholly through an expansion of its service economy. Between 1965 and 1990, Singapore achieved a remarkable rate of growth, largely by opening its economy to foreign... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Service Operations; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Service Industry; Singapore

February 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano and Maryam Golnaraghi

Focuses on the decision confronting senior administrators at the Brigham and Women's Hospital: whether to enter into an affiliation with the Massachusetts General Hospital. Requires students to analyze the complex institutional changes in the health environment and to... View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Health Care and Treatment; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Management Teams; Health Industry; Massachusetts