Publications

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September 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Tong Lung Metal Industry Co., Ltd.

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, Ho Howard Yu and Yu-Shian Chiang

Develop its own branded line, or continue as an original design manufacturer (ODM)? Tung Lung Metal Industries Co. Ltd. is a Taiwanese maker of door lock hardware that is faced with the question of whether to continue to focus on its ODM business or start placing more... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Brands and Branding; Corporate Strategy; Industrial Products Industry; Taiwan

April 2010
Case

A Giant Among Women

By: Willy C. Shih, Ethan S Bernstein, Maly Hout Bernstein, Jyun-Cheng Wang and Yi-Ling Wei

Few CEOs successfully manage the evolution of their companies from OEM outsourcer to branded manufacturer to expert consumer marketer as well as Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd., now the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world. In the mid-1980s, Giant... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Customer Focus and Relationships; Global Strategy; Gender; Customer Satisfaction; Product Development; Bicycle Industry; Taiwan

March 1986 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Peter Browning and Continental White Cap (A)

Presents a new divisional vice president's entry into a well-established and still successful manufacturing organization which is nevertheless facing an impending competitive crisis. Demonstrates his challenge and his efforts, under pressure from corporate... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Manufacturing Industry

February 1978
Case

Sierra Log Homes, Inc. (A)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the history and evolution of the log home manufacturing industry, a rapidly growing embryonic industry capitalizing on the back-to-basics lifestyle changes in the United States. Focuses on one of the leading firms in the industry, but allows a discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

February 2009
Journal Article

Domestic Effects of the Foreign Activities of U.S. Multinationals

By: Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr.

Do firms investing abroad simultaneously reduce their domestic activity? This paper analyzes the relationship between the domestic and foreign operations of American manufacturing firms between 1982 and 2004 by instrumenting for changes in foreign operations with GDP... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Global Range; Local Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Compensation and Benefits; Operations; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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May 2010
Article

Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun

We use an innovative methodology to measure management practices in over 300 manufacturing firms in the U.K. We then match this management data to production and energy usage information for establishments owned by these firms. We find that establishments in better... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom

July 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Advanced Micro Devices: Competing in the Shadow of a Giant (A)

By: Willy C. Shih and Andrew A. King

As the only significant competitor to Intel Corporation in PC microprocessors, Advanced Micro Devices faced daunting investment choices. Not only did it have to fund microprocessor design teams, it also had to fund silicon process R&D, and it faced huge capital... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Operations; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry

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07 Mar 2013
News

Matterport's 3-D Scanner Faces Marketing Challenge

July 2000 (Revised October 2019)
Exercise

Riggs-Vericomp Negotiation (B): Confidential Information for VERICOMP (Buyer)

By: Michael Wheeler

The seller (Riggs Engineering) manufactures and services recycling equipment for the computer industry. The buyer (Vericomp) uses solvents in manufacturing chips. Though set in a high-tech industry, this exercise illustrates fundamental aspects of negotiation analysis... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Tactics; Value Creation; Computer Industry

October 2002 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Union Corrugating Company (A)

By: Paul W. Marshall and Julia Stevens

Lauri Union graduates from Harvard Business School and takes over her family's steel-corrugated roofing and siding manufacturing firm, which her mother has most recently run. The industry is mature, entry barriers to competitors are low, and the company is over 50... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Gender; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

China: To Float or Not To Float? (C)- Esquel Group and the Chinese Renminbi

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

In July 2005, China revalued its currency by 2.1% and adjusted its exchange rate regime toward a more market-based system. Esquel Group, a family-run, privately held textiles firm specializing in high-quality cotton shirts with its most significant manufacturing base... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Currency Exchange Rate; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Value Creation; China

April 2001
Exercise

Selecting a Hosting Provider

Asks students to develop criteria for selecting a Web hosting company, then to select one of three profiled in case exhibits. In choosing a hosting vendor, students represent one of two companies: one a start-up, the other an industrial-age manufacturer. By assigning... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Partners and Partnerships; Internet

January 1993 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Medtronic, Inc.

In 1991, Bill George, CEO of Medtronic, the world's largest manufacturer of pacemakers, was evaluating his strategic options in light of the changing economic environment. In the United States, Europe, and Japan, governments were considering regulatory changes to... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry