Publications

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March 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Foreign Exchange Hedging Strategies at General Motors

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

How should a multinational firm manage foreign exchange exposures? Examines transactional, translational, and competitive exposures. Describes General Motors' corporate hedging policies, its risk management structure, and how accounting rules impact hedging decisions.... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Financial Markets; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Argentina; Japan; Canada; United States

February 1992 (Revised January 2002)
Case

BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Explores BMW's decision about how to manufacture prototype vehicles. Historically, BMW's prototypes were handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in the company's shop. A proposal has been made to alter the process so that prototypes are made in a way that can better... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Research and Development; Design; Production; Strategy; Quality; Decision Making; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Germany

July 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Peak Electronics: Vendor Relationship with the Ford Motor Co. (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Relationships; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

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February 1990 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Carter Automotive Group

By: Walter J. Salmon

The Carter Automotive Group is a Southern California automobile dealer group. The head of the group is assessing whether his current and unique marketing strategy should be modified in light of changing competitive conditions. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Change; Competition; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; California

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October 1988 (Revised May 1990)
Case

Ford Motor Co.: The Product Warranty Program (A)

Raises powerful issues concerning product warranty policy as a strategic marketing variable. Also raises several exciting issues concerning the role of product policy in competitive battles, product line issues, interfunctional coordination issues, and some ethical... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Marketing Strategy; Insurance; Product; Policy; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; United States

November 1987 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Ethyl Corp. in 1979

Describes the competitive situation facing the market leader in antiknock additives, the Ethyl Corp. Demand is declining rapidly and Ethyl has to decide whether to close capacity, and if so, how. Raises issues of corporate as well as SBU strategy because antiknock... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Corporate Strategy; Performance Capacity; Auto Industry; Auto Industry

11 May 2015
Research & Ideas

A Road Map to Fix America’s Transportation Infrastructure

Any highway commuter who has wasted hours stuck in traffic can see the cracks in the United States' transportation system, as can any airline passenger who has been stranded overnight in an airport. Yet while many agree that the need for infrastructure change is... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Transportation

01 Apr 1997
News

A Conversation with Dean Clark

Abernathy, we used our experiences in the auto industry in Japan to better understand what was going on in productivity, quality, and innovation. I became an inveterate comparatist. And I've never met a researcher who's had a similar... View Details

01 Oct 2002
News

View from the Top

take risks you don't understand, you can destroy your business. What is the single biggest challenge facing corporate America? Wagoner: The global competitive environment. Certainly in the auto business, the competition is tougher and... View Details

2011
Working Paper

Sustainable Fleet Operations: The Collaborative Adoption of Electric Vehicles

By: Vanessa Chocteau, David F. Drake, Paul R. Kleindorfer, Renato J. Orsato and Alain Roset

Keywords: Fleet Management; Carbon Regulation; Sustainable Operations; Collaboration; Environmental Sustainability; Transportation; Cooperation; Energy Sources; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; France

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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 downturns in the banking and View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

07 Oct 2015
What Do You Think?

What is the Best Immigration Model for the US?

prompted the Chairman of German auto producer Daimler to comment, “In an ideal case, this can help foster another economic miracle.” Poorer nations benefit from outward migration most often because their birth rates are much higher than... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 25

empowering employees to put member-owners' interests ahead of either the organization's interests or their own interests. As a result of this focus, the credit union must determine what to do with its profitable indirect auto lending... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 20

supplement:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/310077-PDF-ENG Local Motors: Designed by the Crowd, Built by the Customer Michael I. Norton and Jeremy B. DannHarvard Business School Case 510-062 In the wake of the meltdown among U.S. View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Sep 2009
News

Read All About It!

increased workplace opportunities for blacks and women, and heightened job security and compensation for workers generally, things began to unravel in the 1970s. As the manufacturing sector declined and the country transitioned to a “service economy,” Americans saw... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

16 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 16, 2019

and digital group, Sogefi, an auto component manufacturer and KOS, a home-care and hospital manager. Rodolfo had spent his entire career in CIR Group, which he had managed as CEO for 20 years. Edoardo, a cardiologist, had never worked in... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2025
Case

Apax Partners: Deciding Whether to Bid for Trader Corp.

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Apax Partners’ investment committee was schedule to meet on March 21, 2011, to decide whether to invest in Trader Corporation, a Canadian classified advertising business for used automobiles with both print (magazines) and digital (website) distribution. What made this... View Details

December 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Supplement

Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group (B)

By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones

The case builds on the earlier (A) case, which described the origins of the Turkish business group established by Vehbi Koç before 1988. This case takes the story forward to 2012 as the Koç group was led by Vehbi's son Rahmi followed by his grandson Mustafa. It... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Turkey; Entrepreneurship; Management; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Central Asia; Middle East