Publications

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Supplement

ABB: Accountability Times Two (B)

By: Robert L. Simons

Describes internal allocation conflicts in a complex global company structured as a matrix organization. ABB Switzerland has secured and will build an important power station project; however, internal market allocation policies dictate that this work be handled by ABB... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Conflict Management; Complexity; Sweden; Switzerland

January 2004 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Weetman Pearson and the Mexican Oil Industry (B)

By: Geoffrey Jones and Lisa Bud-Freirman

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Business History; Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; United Kingdom; Mexico; Arizona

May 2003 (Revised May 2009)
Case

ZARA: Fast Fashion

Focuses on Inditex, an apparel retailer from Spain, which has set up an extremely quick response system for its ZARA chain. Instead of predicting months before a season starts what women will want to wear, ZARA observes what's selling and what's not and continuously... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Competitive Advantage; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Spain

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

Some large multinational marketers, such as Unilever, are shifting research expenditures away from Western Europe and toward emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. Relative to the developed economies, the costs of research in... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

September 1992 (Revised November 1997)
Case

DHL Worldwide Express

By: John A. Quelch

The worldwide sales and marketing manager must determine the degree to which pricing strategy and tactics should be standardized or left to the discretion of the DHL subsidiary in each country. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Business Subsidiaries; Price; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Sales; Shipping Industry

September 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Leadership in Corporate Reporting Policy at Tata Steel

By: Karthik Ramanna and Rachna Tahilyani

The case describes the challenges faced by Tata Steel, India's largest private sector steel company, as it transitions from Indian GAAP to IFRS. It first describes those challenges in the context of the institutional voids that make IFRS adoption difficult in India.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Multinational Firms and Management; Policy; Leadership; Emerging Markets; Standards; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Steel Industry; India

August 2009
Teaching Note

Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (C): Integrating Gillette (TN)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

Teaching Note for [309032]. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Mission and Purpose; Value; Problems and Challenges; Transition; Business Units; Governance Controls; Multinational Firms and Management; Consumer Products Industry

2007
Chapter

The Complete Business of Serving the Poor: Insights from Unilever's Project Shakti in India

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Dalip Sehgal and Rohithari Rajan

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Poverty; Developing Countries and Economies; India

November 1990 (Revised September 1991)
Case

The Transformation of IBM

By: Andrall E. Pearson and David B. Yoffie

John Akers, IBM's chairman, must confront how to transform a $60 billion, full line, global computer company that is the leader in every market it serves, yet losing share across the board. The case explores senior management's perspective on the process of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Corporate Strategy; Adoption; Management Teams; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Computer Industry

November 1991 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Micom Caribe (A)

By: David M. Upton and Joshua D. Margolis

Describes the Puerto Rican manufacturing plant of a transnational company. The award-winning plant has dramatically improved the quality of flexibility of its operations, by taking a radical approach to manufacturing. The methods center on the use of specific... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Product Launch; Production; Performance Improvement; Quality; Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

October 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell

By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons

On the eve of trial, and after nearly 14 years of pre-trial litigation, the parties in Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell jointly announced that the four U.S. lawsuits stemming from the execution of the Ogoni Nine in 1995 had been settled. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Lawsuits and Litigation; Nigeria; United States

September 2007
Supplement

Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

Ravi Venkatesan, chairman of Microsoft India, discusses market entry, localization, and intellectual property rights in emerging markets. View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Intellectual Property; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology Industry; India

July 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

Gillette Indonesia

By: John A. Quelch

The country manager of Gillette Indonesia is reviewing his 1996 marketing plan and considering whether the pace of market development and mix of product sales can be impacted by the level and type of Gillette expenditures in the market. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Product Marketing; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Indonesia

September 1991 (Revised August 1996)
Case

Procter & Gamble Co., The: Lenor Refill Package

By: John A. Quelch

The assistant brand manager for Lenor, Procter & Gamble Germany's fabric softener brand, was preparing a presentation on the national launch of an environmentally friendly refill package. View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Environmental Sustainability; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Germany; United States