Publications

September 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Case

The Termination of U.S. Auto Dealerships in 2009

By: Das Narayandas, Kerry Herman and Sarah Morton

The case chronicles the sudden termination of many U.S. autodealers in the wake of the economic crisis in the fall of 2008. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Financial Crisis; Marketing; Distribution; Sales; Auto Industry; United States

September 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Auto Collection: Ford's Better Idea for Selling Cars and Trucks

Ford encourages its independent dealers to consolidate, showing them the benefits size can bring both to themselves and their customers. Now, consolidated dealerships improve customer service and reduce costs. View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Sales; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

August 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Teaching Note

Sears Auto Centers (TN) (A) and (B) (Abridged) and (C)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Aldo Sesia

Keywords: Auto Industry

March 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

The TARP Bailouts: Saving the Banking and Automotive Industries

By: Kristin Mugford

Comparison of the U.S. Government response, using the $700 billion TARP fund, to downturns in the banking and auto industries during the global financial crisis. View Details

Keywords: Bailout; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking; Government and Politics; Debt Securities; Government Legislation; Public Opinion; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; United States

February 2017
Case

Aston Martin: A Second Century of Performance and Luxury

By: Vish V. Krishnan, Karim R. Lakhani and Amram Migdal

Following the March 2016 launch of DB11, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.’s first new sports car platform in over a decade, this case discusses the future strategy of the famed British luxury auto manufacturer. Since its founding in 1902, Aston Martin has been characterized... View Details

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Reinventing the Industrial Giant

In an effort to survive in the new economy, some-industrial giants have tried to chart an evolutionary path that combines their industrial core with new post-industrial businesses. The companies from our study that are most clearly... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, Davis Dyer & Frederick Dalzell; Manufacturing

April 2008
Teaching Note

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad (Brief Case)

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

Teaching note for case # 2175 View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Change Management; Production; Organizations; Human Resources; Manufacturing Industry

Article

The Effects of Product Line Breadth: Evidence from the Automotive Industry

By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch

Using a detailed data set from the U.S. automotive industry, we enrich the existing literature on product line breadth with new results that highlight previously unexplored operational aspects of its benefits and costs. We find that expanding product line breadth has a... View Details

Keywords: Variety; Pricing; Automotive Industry; Marketing/operations Interface; Platforms; Empirical Operations Management; Product Marketing; Production; Management; Auto Industry

Web

Auto worker creates stripe guns - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

cars. He has developed at least 25 different types of “guns,” including models that paint three different colored stripes at the same time. Explore the full size image Auto worker creates stripe guns , ca. 1936 De Soto Photographer... View Details

October 2001
Supplement

BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project-An Interview With Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Chris Bangle describes how BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies in the very competitive automotive industry, he talks about how BMW is faced with the challenges of changing its... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Management Practices and Processes; Time Management; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Information Technology; Auto Industry

March 1978 (Revised July 1981)
Background Note

Note on Supplying the Automobile Industry

By: Michael E. Porter

Keywords: Supply Chain; Auto Industry

February 1996
Supplement

Wainwright Industries (B): The Customer Challenge

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Norman Klein

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Auto Industry; Missouri

February 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Norman Klein

Traces the growth of Wainwright, a small automotive supply company, focusing on its commitment to quality in 1981 and the evolution of its quality culture. Breakthrough programs that stress "trust and belief" in the workforce and commitment to customers result in... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Relationship Management; Ethics; Business or Company Management; Standards; Machinery and Machining; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Auto Industry; Missouri

27 Aug 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Measuring and Understanding Hierarchy as an Architectural Element in Industry Sectors

Keywords: by Jianxi Luo, Daniel E. Whitney, Carliss Y. Baldwin & Christopher L. Magee; Auto

August 1996 (Revised January 1998)
Teaching Note

Rolls-Royce and the Rise of High-Technology Industry TN

Teaching Note for (1-796-171)--(For Book Only). View Details

Keywords: Technology; Auto Industry

September 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

The Progressive Corporation, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, The Progressive Corporation (Progressive), the USA’s third-largest auto insurance writer, reported earned premiums were up 20% in 2018 compared to the previous year, and net income was up 64%. Direct sales of personal auto policies rose 21%, while agent... View Details

December 2022
Supplement

Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Video Supplement

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel

Videos of Thomas Becker, Vice President of Sustainability and Mobility at BMW Group, in support of the case "Driving Decarbonization at BMW" (HBS No. 123-008) View Details