Publications

May 2002 (Revised April 2004)
Teaching Note

Metalcraft Supplier Scorecard, TN

By: Susan L. Kulp and V.G. Narayanan

Teaching Note for (9-102-047). View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

March 1998 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Bumper Acquisition (C), A

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Carries the negotiation between Thermo-Impact and Medallion Capital through October 1996. The companies began talks in 1995 when Medallion offered to buy Thermo-Impact. Students view developments from the perspective of Thermo-Impact's owners and must make decisions... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Illinois

March 1998
Case

Bumper Acquisition (A1), A: Confidential Information for Thermo-Impact, Inc.

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Located in Mundelein, IL, Thermo-Impact, Inc. is a rapidly growing, private firm that manufactures automotive bumpers. In 1995, a number of large automotive supply companies and a private equity investment firm offer to buy Thermo-Impact. The cases in this series focus... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Valuation; Negotiation Participants; Decision Making; Negotiation Process; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation Offer; Acquisition; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Illinois

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January 1996 (Revised February 1998)
Case

Japan's Automakers Face Endaka

By: Debora L. Spar

In April 1995, the Japanese yen hit a post-World War II high against the U.S. dollar. The yen's relentless ascent affected firms on both sides of the Pacific, but fell particularly hard on Japan's big four automakers. This case explores how endaka--or"high... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Competitive Strategy; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Macroeconomics; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

September 1994 (Revised January 2002)
Case

BMW: The 7-Series Project (B)

By: Gary P. Pisano and Sharon L. Rossi

Describes the decision made on the 7-Series project with respect to prototyping and its impact on quality. View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Quality; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Germany

May 1998
Teaching Note

C-Car TN

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Teaching Note for (9-598-064). View Details

Keywords: Auto Industry; Auto Industry; United States

October 1997 (Revised April 1998)
Case

C-Car

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

C-Car was the first automobile retailer in the United States to go public. Subsequently the owner, Mr. Gilliland, must decide how to invest the capital raised from the public ownership. This case describes in detail C-Car's highly profitable strategy of managing its... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cost vs Benefits; Management Practices and Processes; Profit; Acquisition; Business Strategy; Public Ownership; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

February 1991
Teaching Note

Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (A) and (B), Teaching Note

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Teaching Note for (9-589-013) and (9-589-014). View Details

Keywords: Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan; United Kingdom

August 1988 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jon Skofic

Norton, a once famous motorcycle manufacturer, soundly beaten by Japanese competition, turns its attention to developing rotary engines. The company is acquired by Norton Group PLC, which is headed by a dashing entrepreneur. The new management must decide what... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Resource Allocation; Production; Competition; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan; United Kingdom

February 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Cultural Change at Nissan Motors

By: John P. Kotter

Depicts the reformation of Nissan Motor Co.'s corporate culture and the company's subsequent turnaround in market share and profits. In 1985, Yutaka Kume became president of Nissan and thereafter, he continually emphasized the need for internal change throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Behavior; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Change Management; Management; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

November 1993
Case

Mercedes-Benz

After many years as a German luxury car producer, Mercedes-Benz announced two major strategy shifts in 1992, toward a full line of automotive products and toward a globally diverse set of plans and activities. As part of this shift, Mercedes planned to build a major... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Germany; Alabama

March 2012 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Hybrid Vehicle Market

By: Michael W. Toffel and Nazli Z. Uludere Aragon

This note describes the hybrid electic vehicle market, the results of different automaker strategies, and the environmental regulatory issues that can promote or inhibit market growth in the United States. Introduces students to the technologies and regulatory aspects... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Product Development; Information Technology; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

21 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Debate Financial Reform Legislation

therefore, to see how this law will be implemented in practice. In addition, there are likely to be some unintended negative consequences. Will the new derivatives rules pull in various industrial companies that will now have to use... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

September 2022 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Navya: Steering toward a Driverless Future

By: Julian De Freitas, Elie Ofek, Shaun Ingledew and Tonia Labruyere

In 2022, Sophie Desormière arrived at French roboshuttle producer Navya, tasked with charting a new course in a challenging sector. The company, which had recently listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, was burning through cash reserves and needed to transform the promise... View Details

Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Market Entry and Exit; Opportunities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Consumer Behavior; Business Model; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; France; United States

March 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

CarTrade

By: Rajiv Lal and Shreya Ramachandran

Vinay Sanghi, the founder and CEO of CarTrade, had been trying different business strategies to keep the company, which he founded in 2010 as an online marketplace for used and new cars, profitable and on track for growth. In a crowded and disorganized dealer... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketplace; Automobiles; Customer Base; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financing and Loans; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; India; Mumbai

2014
Working Paper

Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors

By: Susan Helper and Rebecca Henderson

General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the US market fell from 62.6 to 19.8 percent, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Decision Making; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

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2011
Working Paper

The Architecture of Transaction Networks: A Comparative Analysis of Hierarchy in Two Sectors

By: Jianxi Luo, Carliss Y. Baldwin, Daniel E. Whitney and Christopher L. Magee

Many products are manufactured in networks of firms linked by transactions, but comparatively little is known about how or why such transaction networks differ. This paper investigates the transaction networks of two large sectors in Japan at a single point in time. In... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Market Transactions; Networks; Competitive Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan

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November 2009
Case

Dawn Stokes: The View from the Driver's Seat

By: Boris Groysberg and Lindsay Tanne

Dawn Stokes founded and was successful as CEO of Texas Driving Experience, a company that provided driving lessons, both safety-based for teens, and high-performance racecar driving for individual thrill seekers and corporate events. Although the company had done well,... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Training; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Texas