Publications

01 Mar 2008
News

Negotiating with Wal-Mart

are numerous media accounts of the corporate monolith riding its suppliers into the ground. But what about those who manage to survive, and thrive, while dealing with the classic hardball negotiator? In “Sarah Talley and Frey Farms... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; General Merchandise Stores; Retail Trade

Charles B. Wang

and business managers to achieve sound products and a culture of management that fosters brutal honesty and integrity. CA earned revenues of over $5 billion and net income of $570 million in 1998, and had... View Details

Keywords: Services

June 2016
Case

Aggressive Growth Plans For Zimmer Spine

By: Kevin Schulman and Miranda Shaw

Steve Healy, the President of Zimmer Spine, has to transform his organization into a market leader. Zimmer is a major medical device firm, but the Spine division has underperformed, and its core technology did not get the expanded FDA label that had been expected. The... View Details

Keywords: Medical Device; Organizational Innovation; Organizational Growth; Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2020
Case

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Plastic has become essential to global day-to-day activities, yet it is also causing extreme environmental degradation. Many leaders in the plastics industry are starting to question its sustainability. This case presents insights into the future of the plastic... View Details

Keywords: Plastic Waste; Environmental Sustainability; Cooperation; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry

March 2009
Case

Bausch & Lomb, Inc.: Pressure to Perform (A)

By: Robert L. Simons

This case breaks the existing (and still available) Bausch & Lomb, Inc.: Pressure to Perform case into an (A) and a (B) case. The (A) case describes the revenue recognition concerns as of early-1994 and the organizational context within which the decisions were made. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Revenue; Accounting; Management Practices and Processes; Situation or Environment; Earnings Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

November 1993 (Revised November 1994)
Supplement

OfficePro (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Supplements OfficePro (A). View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry; France

28 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

Challenging the Belief that Liability Laws Kill Medical Device Innovation

incentivized to produce safer products to help them manage risk” “When physicians are under pressure from high liability, innovators are incentivized to produce safer products to help them manage risk,” says... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Medical Devices & Supplies

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

financial product. The supply of venture capital is also likely to continue growing. Within the past two years, numerous pension funds have invested in private equity for the first time. Many experienced investors have also decided to... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

24 Apr 2020
News

Spreading the Love

2015), a bioengineer and entrepreneur, and Emilio LaTorre, Lovepop’s head of supply chain. The team also collaborated with working groups at Partners Healthcare (which operates Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital,... View Details

April 2001 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Robert Shapiro and Monsanto

Traces Monsanto's efforts to become a global biotech powerhouse under Shapiro's leadership. Examines how his crusade to save the world through genetic modification foundered. View Details

Keywords: Genetics; Supply Chain Management; Alliances; Global Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Biotechnology Industry

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Background Note

Note on Lead User Research

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes the Lead User concept and method (step-by-step) with brief examples from industrial practice. View Details

Keywords: Customers; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth

28 May 2013
Research & Ideas

Can LEGO Snap Together a Future in Asia?

Both the managers and the students had to consider areas of potential risk for LEGO in Asia, including: Uncertainty of market growth forecasts. LEGO senior director John Kelley argues in the case that to View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

15 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

Post-CrowdStrike, Six Questions to Test Your Company's Operational Resilience

disaster, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some research reports estimate that the cost of the CrowdStrike event could exceed $1 billion. Preparation for a crisis is just as crucial as the response. We... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and Anita Lynch

December 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Nestlé: Agricultural Material Sourcing Within the Concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV)

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Lorin A. Fries

Corporate Head of Agriculture Hans Jöhr's mind raced in anticipation of the executive board meeting that afternoon. Jöhr recognized the meeting as a key opportunity to strategize far into the future, reexamining how his team's efforts in sustainable agricultural... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Value Creation; Quality; Supply Chain Management; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Health Industry

February 2023 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

In July 2019, Graphic Packaging CEO Michael Doss was proposing a $600 million investment in a new machine to produce coated recycled board (CRB), a type of paper packaging used for consumer products (cups, cereal boxes, beverage boxes, etc.) that utilized recycled... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Growth Management; Demand and Consumers; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Value Creation; Supply and Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; North America

21 May 2019
News

Confronting the Future of Climate Change in the Midwest

New weather patterns brought on by climate change will require updated farming practices, effective water management, and innovative pest and disease management in the Midwest and around the globe. Increasingly, the business community is... View Details

Keywords: Agriculture

08 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Fashion Your New E-Business Model

Information Age business innovations include: Digital production and distribution technologies (broadband and wireless networks, sophisticated content creation, flexible knowledge management) An operating model (integrated supply chains... View Details

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate

October 1990 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Confederated Pulp & Paper

By: David E. Bell

A rewritten version of an old case that updates the dates and prices and simplifies the economics. The issue is still one of determining a suitable inventory of wood for the mill to last through the winter. View Details

Keywords: History; Supply Chain Management; Spending; Forecasting and Prediction; Economic Growth; Information Management; Pulp and Paper Industry