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August 1988 (Revised August 1989)
Case

Poletown Dilemma, The

By: Thomas R. Piper

Senior management of General Motors must select a site for a new assembly plant to replace two plants located in Detroit. The economics strongly favor a site in an adjacent state. However, a relocation would have substantial, negative impact on the existing work force,... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Offices; Management Teams; Restructuring; Economics; Auto Industry; Michigan

2022
Article

Reversible Power-to-Gas Systems for Energy Conversion and Storage

By: Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein

In the transition to decarbonized energy systems, Power-to-Gas (PtG) processes have the potential to connect the existing markets for electricity and hydrogen. Specifically, reversible PtG systems can convert electricity to hydrogen at times of ample power supply, yet... View Details

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31 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 31, 2009

opportunity to bid for debt and equity claims on Plascar Industria e Comercio Ltda., the Brazilian subsidiary of the bankrupt global auto components company Collins & Aikman Corp. In evaluating this opportunity, students must analyze... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 1984 (Revised August 1996)
Case

B.F. Goodrich-Rabobank Interest Rate Swap

By: Jay O. Light

A U.S. manufacturing organization and a Eurobank swap fixed and floating rate obligations to reduce their financing costs. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Cost Management; Production; Interest Rates; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; United States

2013
Chapter

Gender Bender Brand Hijacks and Consumer Revolt: The Porsche Cayenne Story

By: Jill Avery

Throughout history, marketers have created gendered brands, creating their brands and the stories they crafted about them in their advertising to appeal either to men or to women. Gendered brands deliver value to consumers, and therefore, deliver value to marketers.... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Brands; Brand Positioning; Brand Equity; Brand Management; Advertising Campaigns; Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

January 2025
Case

Shifting Winds: DEI in Corporate America

By: Clayton S. Rose, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and David Lane

In the 2020s, intense and conflicting social and political pressures challenged organizational leaders around the world. Prominent among these were powerful competing views on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) in the United States. Public... View Details

26 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 26, 2019

case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/516005-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 218-107 The TARP Bailouts: Saving the Banking and Automotive Industries Comparison of the U.S. Government response, using the $700 billion TARP fund, to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2022
Teaching Note

Mobileye 2021: Robotaxi and/or Consumer AV?

By: David B. Yoffie

The Mobileye 2021 case is a strategy case developed for the Strategy & Technology course, which is a second year elective at Harvard Business School. The primary purpose of the case is to teach the framework, “Look Forward, Reason Back,” which is described in David... View Details

Keywords: Technology Companies; Robotics; Autonomous Vehicles; Strategy; Decision Making; Transportation; Technological Innovation; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Israel

February 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Exercise

Accounting for Pensions at General Motors Corporation (A)

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

A potential investor in General Motors is gathering information about investment in General Motor's stock. The investigation leads the investor to review the General Motor's Web site and several CNBC interviews of General Motors' executives. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Accounting; Compensation and Benefits; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

July 1983 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Hintz-Kessels-Kohl A.G.

By: Thomas R. Piper

A truck manufacturer must decide whether to bid on the sale of 120 trucks to a private firm in Costa Rica. If a bid is submitted, a decision must be made on whether to protect against the credit, exchange rate, and sovereign risks. View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Truck Transportation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Germany; Costa Rica

October 2018 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Testing Autonomy in Pittsburgh

By: Mitchell Weiss and Brittany Urick

Pittsburgh’s mayor had been among the first to welcome self-driving vehicles but was now one of many needing to react after a pedestrian fatality involving an autonomous Uber in Arizona. He had originally preferred to roll out “the red carpet” instead of the “red... View Details

July 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

GM's Capital Allocation Framework

By: C. Fritz Foley, F. Katelynn Boland and Michael Lemm

In March of 2015, General Motors announced the details of a newly established capital allocation framework. This framework provided a target for return on invested capital, guidelines for capital structure choices, and policies related to payouts. Senior managers face... View Details

Keywords: Performance Metrics; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; United States

May 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Webasto Roof Systems Americas: Leadership Through Change (A)

By: Francesca Gino and Paul Green

Webasto Roof Systems, Americas, the North American subsidiary of Germany-based Webasto Group, limped into 2014 in poor financial and operational shape. The company's early optimism emerging from the financial downturn had proven naive, and now, five years later, the... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; Change Management; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; North and Central America

2014
Working Paper

Principals and Their Car Dealers: What Do Targets Tell About Their Relation?

By: Jan Bouwens, Eddy Cardinaels and Jingwen Zhang

In this study we describe target setting and target achievements for a car dealership. Car dealers are eligible for a discount on the purchase price conditional on their achieving the sales targets set by the franchisor. We show that car dealers (franchisees) who... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Motivation and Incentives; Franchise Ownership; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

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August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Michigan

March 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: Target Costing System

Describes Nissan's sophisticated target costing system in the context of new product introduction. On the basis of consumer analysis and a life cycle contribution study, Nissan conducts an exhaustive analysis of component costs to determine whether a new model can be... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

June 2013
Supplement

Elasto Therm: The Next Step (Video Supplement)

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Elasto Therm: The Next Step (HBS Case #813030). View Details

June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Supplement

YAAS's Service Center (B)

By: Brian Hall and Sara del Nido

This case is about a compensation change at an automotive service company in the Middle East. The case allows investigation and analysis of many issues related to compensation design and human resource management, and even change management. The focus of the case is... View Details

Keywords: Compensation; Emotions; Values; Human Resources; Labor; Negotiation; Organizations; Social Psychology; Value Creation; Motivation and Incentives; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Kuwait; Middle East

December 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Porsche AG

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes the financial management of the research and development departments of an automobile manufacturer and technology supplier. Existing cost systems measure accurately the costs incurred by department and by project. But little formal information is provided... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Cost Accounting; Research and Development; Machinery and Machining; Auto Industry; Auto Industry