Publications

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2012
Case

Kingdee in 2011: Stranding or Dormancy?

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Jin Zhang and Xiaohui Li

This case is the follow-up of Kingdee A(6-311-351). In 2011, Kingdee made strategic investments and business expansions, suffering net profit decline despite operating revenue growth and also changes to top managers. View Details

Keywords: Strategy

January 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Background Note

Introduction to Global Strategy

By: Jordan I. Siegel

Examines when it is profitable for a company to position part or all of its activity set across national borders and how a cross-border business is successfully designed and managed. View Details

Keywords: Cross-border Business; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

May 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2015

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

At the end of 2014, Apple Inc. recorded the most profitable quarter of any firm in history, and its market capitalization soon topped $700 billion. 'Apple Inc in 2015' explores the history of Apple, its successes under Jobs, its continued growth under Tim Cook, and the... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Innovation; Market Positioning; Marketing Implementation; Planning; Products; Strategy; Strategic Positioning; Technology; Information Technology; Strategic Planning; Product Positioning; Leadership; Communication; Competitive Advantage; Product; Innovation and Invention; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry

2010
Working Paper

Competing Complements

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Barry Nalebuff and David B. Yoffie

In Cournot's model of complements, the producers of A and B are both monopolists. This paper extends Cournot's model to allow for competition between complements on one side of the market. Consider two complements, A and B, where the A + B bundle is valuable only when... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Revenue; Monopoly; Game Theory; Competition

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September 2012
Case

Ringier - Building a Digital-Age Media Company

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Overview of the strategic re-orientation and diversification of Ringier, a Swiss based media company, as they confront the challenges of staying competitive and profitable in the new and increasingly digital media landscape. View Details

Keywords: Media And Publishing; Publishing; Media; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Diversification; Publishing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Switzerland

October 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Credit Suisse (A)

Keywords: Restructuring; Competitive Advantage; Customer Focus and Relationships; Banking Industry; Switzerland

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June 2024
Article

Information Spillovers in Experience Goods Competition

By: Zhuoqiong Charlie Chen, Christopher Stanton and Catherine Thomas

When experience goods compete, consuming one product can be informative about value for similar untried products. We study a two-period model of duopoly competition in markets that have this feature and where firms can price discriminate between consumers based on... View Details

Keywords: Experience Goods; Competition; Information; Demand and Consumers; Profit; Price

December 2022 (Revised June 2023)
Case

KKR at CHI Overhead Doors (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Ethan Rouen

This case examines the decision by private equity firm KKR to grant equity to every employee at portfolio company CHI Overhead Doors upon purchasing the company in 2015. The case explores whether this initiative will create shared value, growing profits through better... View Details

Keywords: Performance Improvement; Profit Sharing; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture

May 1997 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Prestige Telephone Company

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

An independent regulated telephone company has established a computer services subsidiary that seems to remain unprofitable. Managers must determine whether it is profitable or not and consider changes in pricing or promotion that might improve profitability. A... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Profit; Cost vs Benefits; Business Subsidiaries; Telecommunications Industry

April 1985 (Revised March 1986)
Case

Seven-Up Division of Philip Morris

By: Michael E. Porter and Edward J. Hoff

In 1979, Philip Morris acquired the Seven-Up Co., the number three concentrate producer in the U.S. After four years of losses, Seven-Up had registered an operating profit in 1984. Industry analysts were debating the role that Seven-Up would play in Philip Morris's... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Divisions; Debates; Profit; Production; Personal Development and Career; United States