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Publications
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- Faculty Publications (792)
- January 1998 (Revised February 2006)
- Background Note
Creating Competitive Advantage
By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Jan W. Rivkin
A firm such as Schering-Plough that earns superior, long-run financial returns within its industry is said to enjoy a competitive advantage over its rivals. This note examines the logic of how firms create competitive advantage. It emphasizes two themes: First, to... View Details
- January 1998
- Case
Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corporation (B)
By: H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo and Steven J. Spear
Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (CSSC), a 50-year-old spring manufacturing and metal stamping firm, is experiencing slow sales growth and feeling the impact of global competition. The company has over 800 customers but little understanding of those customers'... View Details
- December 1997 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Hewlett Packard: Creating, Running, and Growing an Enduring Company
By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington
Traces the development of Hewlett-Packard Co. from a small start-up company in 1938 to a world-class manufacturer of electronic instruments and computer products. Examines the challenges of starting and running a small company, including financing, human resources... View Details
- November 1997 (Revised December 2000)
- Case
Corn Products International, Inc.
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay
A firm that started in corn processing and moved up the value-added food chain decides to spin-off the original commodity part of the business. How does the new spin-off survive and how does it develop a strategy? Firms in the food system are separating out their... View Details
- November 1997 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
MicroAge, Inc.: Orchestrating the Information Technology Value Chain
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kirk A. Goldman
MicroAge, Inc. started as a storefront in Tempe, AZ in 1976 selling personal computer kits to hobbyists. During their first year of operation, founders Jeff McKeever and Alan Hald sold $1.5 million worth of computer kits, priced at under $1,000 each. Twenty years... View Details
- July 1997 (Revised August 1997)
- Case
numeric investors l.p.
By: Andre F. Perold and Brian J. Tierney
Numeric Investors manages equity portfolios with the use of a momentum model and a value model. The momentum model is based on earnings surprise and analysts' revisions of their earnings estimates. The firm offers long-short as well as long-only strategies, and its... View Details
- May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
- Case
Vermeer Technologies (F): FrontPage 97
By: Ashish Nanda
Vermeer engineers work at the breakneck pace of "Internet time" to develop the next version of their software product, winning accolades from Microsoft management. Even before this version ships, however, they are faced with another punishing development schedule for... View Details
- April 1997
- Case
Display Technologies, Inc.
By: Jonathan West, H. Kent Bowen and Ryota Matsui
Display Technologies, Inc. (DTI) is a new joint venture between Toshiba and IBM Japan that is manufacturing the most advanced form of flat panel displays. With success in achieving significant production volumes, DTI has been asked to double its output as quickly as... View Details
- April 1997 (Revised May 1997)
- Case
Mercer Management Consulting's "Grow to Be Great" (A): The Growth Initiative
By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Carin-Isabel Knoop
In late 1994, James Down, member of Mercer's Executive Committee, has to decide whether or not he should push ahead with the writing and publication of a book on growth--at a time when the more successful business publications focus on reengineering and cost cutting.... View Details
- March 1997 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
Alden Products, Inc.--European Manufacturing
By: Robert H. Hayes
The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded... View Details
- March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Purity Steel Corporation, 2012
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details
- January 1997 (Revised June 1997)
- Case
Corporate New Ventures at Procter & Gamble
By: Teresa M. Amabile and Dean Whitney
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble is faced with an urgent need to revitalize new-product innovation, given its recent focus on incremental product improvements and its aggressive growth goals. As part of this effort, the company's top executives form a small,... View Details
- January 1997 (Revised June 1997)
- Case
Southwire: Beyond 2000
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey
Southwire, based in Carrollton, GA, was the leading producer of aluminum and copper rod, wire, and cable for the transmission and distribution of electricity. In one decade, CEO Roy Richards, Jr. grew annual sales from $500 million in 1985 to $1.9 billion in 1995, an... View Details
- October 1996 (Revised December 1996)
- Case
United Electric Controls
By: H. Kent Bowen, Jody H. Gittell and Sylvie Ryckebusch
United Electric Controls (UE) was a small, traditional family-owned manufacturing company when Dave Reis, the youngest member of the Reis family, took over the business. This case describes Reis's efforts to change UE's traditional work practices in order to make the... View Details
- July 1996
- Case
Bayside Controls, Inc.
By: H. Kent Bowen, Jennifer Kochman and Sylvie Ryckebusch
Two recent MBA graduates acquire a small and ailing metal-machining company that had manufactured small aerospace components. Through clever application of state-of-the-art manufacturing, engineering, and marketing/sales concepts, they turned the company into a growing... View Details
- November 1995
- Case
InterZine Productions, Inc.
By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green
Brian Henley founded InterZine Productions to develop interactive multimedia content for America Online (AOL) and the Internet. With funding and support from AOL's Greenhouse program, Henley has launched Golf, a unique interactive golf service. While he has operated on... View Details
- October 1995 (Revised September 1996)
- Case
Dell Computer Corporation
By: Das Narayandas and V. Kasturi Rangan
Traces the evolution of the personal computer industry over the last 20 years and uses this as a backdrop to look at how Dell Computer Corp. grew from a small start-up to a multi-billion-dollar company in a decade. Dell is now faced with a set of decisions on the... View Details
- July 1995 (Revised April 1996)
- Case
Cambridge Technology Partners (A)
By: Teresa M. Amabile, George P. Baker III and Michael Beer
Cambridge Technology Partners uses a highly innovative product strategy, supported by a human resources strategy, that has been very successful. However, high growth rates jeopardize product quality while tension about relative compensation levels between sales and... View Details
- March 1995 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
NIKE Inc. in the 1990s (A): New Directions
By: Robert J. Dolan
Describes the transition of Nike from 1990 to 1993 as it sees major growth opportunities in foreign markets. View Details
- October 1994
- Teaching Note
Accounting for Productivity Growth TN
Teaching Note for (9-794-051). View Details