Publications

March 2012
Case

The Agnellis and Fiat: Family Business Governance in a Crisis (A)

By: John A. Davis, Bernardo Bertoldi and Roberto Quaglia

After the death of Umberto Agnelli in 2004, the Agnelli family, led by John Elkann, needs to decide whether to keep Fiat CEO Giuseppe Morchio. The Fiat Group is in a delicate financial position, and John Elkann, the new family leader, is untested in this role. The... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family Ownership; Management Teams; Leadership; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Italy

November 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Magna International, Inc. (A) (CW)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Yuhai Xuan

Magna International, Inc., a Canadian-based automotive parts manufacturer, is considering whether and how to unwind its dual-class ownership structure. A family trust controlled by the founder owns a 0.65% economic interest in the company but has 66% of the votes via a... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Voting; Governance Controls; Market Transactions; Production; Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Canada

April 1990 (Revised April 1993)
Case

Bridgeton Industries: Automotive Component & Fabrication Plant

Bridgeton Industries was experiencing reduced sales. To become more competitive it introduced a classification procedure for products based upon their productivity and other factors. Products were classified into three groups: world class, potentially world class, and... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Competition; Cost Management; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

March 2002 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Metalcraft Supplier Scorecard

By: Susan L. Kulp, V.G. Narayanan and Ronald L. Verkleeren

An automotive components company uses a supplier scorecard to make sourcing decisions and review its supplier performance. View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Quality; Performance Evaluation; Decision Making; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Supply and Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

August 1993
Case

Ford: Petersen's Turnaround

By: Nitin Nohria and Sandy Green

Discusses the changes that Donald Petersen made to turnaround Ford during his tenure, first as president then as CEO. Describes his major initiatives, including the new emphasis on quality. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

Find at Harvard

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Selling Luxury to Everyone

those that give them a little taste of luxury at a reasonable price. "It's an affordable luxury," he said of his company's beauty products. "Do you have thirty-two dollars in your pocket for a tube of moisturizer? Every day of the week." But how can... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Consumer Products

01 Mar 2009
News

The Case for Studying Financial History

because these companies clearly are incapable of competing with Japanese-owned companies that are simply producing better cars at lower cost. Won’t we continue to have a U.S. auto industry? It’s just that the View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; federal bailouts; Finance; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

01 Aug 2001
News

Cleveland Global Alumni Conference a Sold-Out Success

had to undertake a complete transformation of how Merck operates," he said, outlining strategies that included stepping up resources devoted to scientific research and marketing, integrating divisions of the company, and heading off problems in the clinical process by... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; Frank Batten (MBA '52); Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

21 Dec 2022
Blog Post

Climate Stories Episode #12: Vehicle to Everything - Claire Broido Johnson (MBA 2002), Chief Operating Officer of Fermata Energy

goals are two-fold: to help reduce auto emissions and make the fleet more climate friendly, as well as to “help boost driver recruitment.” Analysts said the Domino’s announcement is a reminder that corporate fleets are a key early driver... View Details

01 Oct 2001
What Do You Think?

Will Information Technology Really Turn Organizations Upside Down This Time?

command? Or for business? For years, W. Edwards Deming, the father of modern continuous quality improvement, had trouble convincing U.S. (as opposed to Japanese) auto manufacturers to implement the keys to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

20 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 20

supplement:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/310077-PDF-ENG Local Motors: Designed by the Crowd, Built by the Customer Michael I. Norton and Jeremy B. DannHarvard Business School Case 510-062 In the wake of the meltdown among U.S. View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Mar 2009
News

Damon Silvers

policymaker in Europe last week, and he confirmed the Japanese auto industry’s belief that its supply chain in the United States would be disrupted should the three automakers fail. That’s because key suppliers are dependent on having a... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

Research Summary

Overview

By: Willy C. Shih

Willy's research interests reflect the 28 years he spent in industry, during which he logged many questions on firm performance, relative competitiveness, and firm culture as an impediment to change. His primary interests today are in the drivers of industrial... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Technology; Competitiveness; Competitive Dynamics; Supply Chains; Production; Operations; Product Development; Supply Chain Management; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Asia; Europe

February 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

The Flint, Michigan Sit-Down Strike

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew Preble

For roughly six weeks between late December 1936 and February 1937, a major strike at several critical General Motors (GM) plants in Flint, Michigan, essentially halted the corporation’s U.S. production and resulted in significant gains for the nascent United... View Details

20 Aug 2024
Book

Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

native brands. Founded in 2011 by ex-Googler Steven Yang, Anker sells digital accessories—batteries, cables, chargers, and so forth. These products are also offered by hundreds of other manufacturers or agents. In addition to renowned... View Details

Keywords: by Feng Zhu; Technology; Information Technology

02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

develop their own infrastructure first. "We used to say that auto companies, telecoms, and big retailers weren't at risk of disruption within their industries, because there were such high barriers to entry; you could never compete with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Supplement

Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group (B)

By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones

The case builds on the earlier (A) case, which described the origins of the Turkish business group established by Vehbi Koç before 1988. This case takes the story forward to 2012 as the Koç group was led by Vehbi's son Rahmi followed by his grandson Mustafa. It... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Turkey; Entrepreneurship; Management; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Central Asia; Middle East

August 1994
Case

Saturn Corp.'s Module II Decision

In the Spring of 1994, Saturn Corp. was setting sales records by attracting more than 25,000 buyers per month. Saturn officials believed there was a long-term opportunity to sell 400,000 to 500,000 cars per year in the United States and selected international markets.... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Production; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Tennessee; United States