Publications

December 2013
Case

Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home

By: Frank V. Cespedes and James Kindley

The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a... View Details

Keywords: Production; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

15 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Exploring the World of Electric Adventure Vehicles

not only graduate school at HBS—but also a summer 2019 retail strategy internship with Ford- and Amazon-backed electric car startup, Rivian Automotive. Founded in 2009, Rivian is an independent American automaker that develops electric... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Manufacturing

2008
Simulation

DEC v. Riverside

By: David A. Lax, James K. Sebenius, Lawrence Susskind and Thomas Weeks

Riverside Lumber is a pulp manufacturer in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Riverside regularly dumps effluent into a nearby river. The Division of Environmental Conservation (DEC) claims that the effluent is toxic and jeopardizes the local salmon catch.... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Conflict Management; Cooperation; Courts and Trials; Decision Choices and Conditions; Natural Environment; Negotiation; Pulp and Paper Industry; Northwestern United States

02 Feb 2021
Blog Post

Finding My Focus in Health care Amidst a Global Pandemic

decade, legislators have passed countless health care policies that impact how hospitals, insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers deliver services to patients. Even more, the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has uncovered major... View Details

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Wintel: Cooperation or Conflict

Keywords: by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell & David B. Yoffie; Computer

October 2005
Case

Intel Corporation 2005

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

Buoyed by strong recent sales growth but humbled by failed strategic bets and other missteps, Intel in 2005 initiated a major reorganization. Under its new CEO, Paul Otellini, the company shifted toward a "platform" model, inspired by the success of its Centrino... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Alignment; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Semiconductor Industry

March 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Carrot or Stick? Getting Paid for Innovation at Tessera Technologies

By: Willy C. Shih

Tessera Technologies has been very successful developing technologies for the semiconductor and mobile device industry, and then licensing them broadly to manufacturers. In addition to licensing patents, it also supplies know-how to help manufacturers move into... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Innovation Strategy; Patents; Courts and Trials; Rights; Mobile Technology; Semiconductor Industry; California

December 1993 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Medical Products Co.

By: Robert H. Hayes

In early 1990, the company is contemplating changes in its European plant network for producing hypodermic products, including the total production capacity to be provided, the number and location of plants over which to spread this capacity, and which products should... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Decision Making; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost; Production; Performance Capacity; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Europe

September 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Michael Fernandes at Nicholas Piramal

By: Michel Anteby and Nitin Nohria

Michael Fernandes, the Director of Custom Manufacturing Operations at the pharmaceutical company Nicholas Piramal India Limited (NPIL), schedules a meeting with three of his reports, whose interpersonal conflicts with one another are causing his business development... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Management Skills; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Cooperation; Pharmaceutical Industry; India; United Kingdom; Canada

December 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Ponsse: From Finland to Global

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Finland-based Ponsse Oyj, with 2005 turnover of $250 million, is the only dedicated forest equipment company of size that remained in a consolidating industry. Competitors included global giants such as John Deere and Komatsu. Since his arrival at Ponsse in 2004, CEO... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance Capacity; Expansion; Forest Products Industry; Forestry Industry; Russia; Finland; United States; Brazil

Find at Harvard

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

actions. Combining supermarket scanner data with firm-level financial data, we find evidence that differs from prior literature. Instead of reducing expenditures to boost earnings, soup manufacturers roughly double the frequency and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Zotter Living by Chocolate

By: Mukti Khaire, Stefan Aichinger, Monika Maria Elisabeth Hoffmann and Maximilian Georg Manfred Schnoedl

This case is about a boutique chocolate manufacturer's decision to grow. Zotter, an Austrian company that was a pioneer in the organic and Fairtrade chocolate movement, uses the traditional confit technique to make premium hand-scooped chocolates in unusual and... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Austria

March 2025
Case

Taylor Guitars: Making Employee Ownership Work The Taylor Way

By: Dennis Campbell, Petros Kusmu and Stacy Straaberg

In 2013, guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars’ co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug were considering several exit options including selling to a competitor or to a private equity firm. The co-founders decided, instead, to embark on a seven-year process to transfer 100%... View Details

13 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 13

Abstract This paper empirically investigates how market leadership influences firm propensity to adopt new business process innovations. Using a unique data set spanning roughly 35,000 plants in 86 U.S. manufacturing industries, I study... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 15, 2008

specializing in building and managing prisons. Students must assess the firm's strategy and risks, evaluate key financial reports, derive forecasts of future performance, and use these forecasts to value the firm. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 1994
Case

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery rescued its plant from the labor riots of 1987 to make it the fastest improving shipyard in the world by 1994. With its competition in Korea making huge investments in additional capacity in anticipation of the end of the... View Details

Keywords: Management; Machinery and Machining; Performance Improvement; Manufacturing Industry; South Korea

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Transforming ASUSTeK: Breaking from the Past

By: Willy C. Shih, Ho Howard Yu and Hung-Chang Chiu

What happens when an original design manufacturer (ODM) firm tries to transform itself into a branded goods seller? The case traces the evolution of ASUSTeK from a motherboard supplier, to an ODM of desktop and notebook PCs, through its split into three companies that... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Disruptive Innovation; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Taiwan