Publications

July 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

EcoMotors International

By: John D. Macomber and Hermes Alvarez

Eco-Motors, funded in part by Khosla Ventures, has to decide how to go to market with a new technology for internal combustion engines for automotive and industrial use. The OPOC engine has opposed pistons and is a two-stroke engine, as compared to a more traditional... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Engineering; Manufacturing Industry; Green Technology Industry; Auto Industry

2012
Article

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 article investigates the transaction networks of two large sectors in Japan at a single point in time.... View Details

Keywords: Transactions; Hierarchy; Industry Architecture; Innovation; Networks; Market Transactions; Vertical Integration; Industry Structures; Innovation and Invention; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan

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September 2014 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Doing Business in Morocco

By: Jill Avery, Tonia Junker and Daniela Beyersdorfer

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. It highlights Morocco's ongoing economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2014 in the context of its historical, political, and cultural background. The case summarizes some of... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market; Emerging Economies; Africa; Global Strategy; Operations Management; Development Economics; Geographic Scope; Globalization; Business History; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Strategy; Auto Industry; Africa; Morocco

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

auto market in the 1950s. The industry leader, unbothered by competition and looming threats, began to coast on its former glory, however, and bypass such areas as consumer preferences and industry innovation. By February 2009, GM's... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

November 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

The Big 3 Roar Back

By: William W. George

The "Big 3"—Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Chrysler—were all headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Born between 1903 and 1928, they dominated the automobile industry in the U.S. for decades until they became complacent. In the 1970s they started losing share to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Industry Clusters; Competitive Strategy; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Michigan

Article

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 U.S. market fell from 62.6% to 19.8%, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Michigan

March 1998
Case

Bumper Acquisition (A2), A: Confidential Information for Medallion Capital, 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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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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05 Jul 2022
What Do You Think?

Have We Seen the Peak of Just-in-Time Inventory Management?

distribution channel. Fluctuating demand at the retail level would generate exaggerated fluctuations—a “whipsaw” effect—in expected demand and inventory planning at the back end, or manufacturing level, in an effort to meet possible... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

21 Mar 2019
HBS Case

The Ferrari Way

car on the market, but the best combination of the two, which makes us the most thrilling. Our concept of performance includes pleasure.” While other sports car manufacturers try to make their cars as light as possible to aid... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

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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September 1992 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc.

On May 1, 1992, Doug Friesen, manager of assembly for Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, faces a problem with the seats installed in the plant's sole product--Camrys. A growing number of cars are sitting off-line with defective seats or are missing them entirely.... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Kentucky

26 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers

search, we found nearly 3,000 articles and books had been published on some of the topics you just mentioned. However, there was an apparent discrepancy. There had been this wide, long-standing recognition of Toyota as the premier automobile View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

31 Mar 2008
HBS Case

JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis

take on a new growth opportunity that may differ substantially from yourarea of expertise," he notes. For example, another case in the course, "BYD Company, Ltd.," examines the largest Chinese manufacturer of lithium ion... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Air Transportation

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Renegotiating NAFTA

By: Laura Alfaro, Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason and Sarah Jeong

January 1, 2019 marked the 25th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Twenty-five years after the landmark trade pact was signed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, considerable debate surrounded it. Trade and trade agreements were a... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Negotiation; Agreements and Arrangements; Cost vs Benefits; Auto Industry; United States; Mexico; Canada

29 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Harley-Davidson’s Management Do?

European market overseas, and (3) concentrate on designing and producing new products for new and existing markets. There were several minority opinions, however. ASGMark commented, “The very idea of moving manufacturing of an American... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto

27 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Cost of a Product Recall

manufacturing processes and stem reputational damage. In one of the costliest recalls in history, Johnson & Johnson spent more than $100 million in 1982 (more than $260 million in today’s dollars) to recall 31 million bottles of... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

June 2008
Case

Treadway Tire Company: Job Dissatisfaction and High Turnover at the Lima Plant

By: C. Wickham Skinner and Heather Beckham

Treadway Tire's plant in Lima, Ohio must confront strong job dissatisfaction and high turnover among its line foremen. The foremen are caught in the middle of an adversarial relationship between the union and management, and they must cope with the needs and interests... View Details

Keywords: Superior ＆ Subordinate; Labor Relations; Work Force Management; Human Resource Management; Hiring; Job Satisfaction; Management; Leadership; Retention; Rank and Position; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Selection and Staffing; Satisfaction; Personal Development and Career; Labor and Management Relations; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio