Publications

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

25 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 25

reduced the temptation governments face to intervene in the operation of large strategic enterprises. In the Leviathan as a minority shareholder mode, governments have small equity ownership in corporations and in general do not intervene... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

April 1996
Case

Sunshine Villas

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Ms. Courtney Lowe is president and sole owner of CL Development. She is looking to sell Sunshine Villas to pay off her bank and make a profit. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that includes Jason Bosworth, Silver Lane Apartments, and Major Insurance... View Details

Keywords: Property; Mortgages; Negotiation Tactics; Customer Ownership; Sales; Real Estate Industry

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02 Nov 2016
What Do You Think?

Are Employees Becoming Job 'Renters' Instead of 'Owners'?

Summing Up: Is Job Ownership Nature or Nurture? Employees increasingly are becoming “job renters.” For some, it is a disturbing trend. It doesn’t have to happen. And the phenomenon isn’t universal. These observations by respondents to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 1999
Case

Australia's Telstra Corporation (A): Going Public

By: W. Earl Sasser, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Frank Blount is named CEO of Telstra, Australia's state-owned telecommunications giant. In preparation for its 1997 IPO, he must reorganize the company from an inefficient public entity into a lean, customer-driven organization. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Initial Public Offering; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; State Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Privatization; Telecommunications Industry; Australia

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September 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Epic: The Future of Health Information Technology

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

How should the founder and leadership team of a health IT company with more than 45 years of market leadership prepare for the future, while navigating founder transitions and industry changes? Founded by Judy Faulkner in the late 1970s, Epic pioneered electronic... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Private Ownership; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Industry; Electronics Industry

17 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Venture Capital: Hot Markets and Current Industry Trends

added. Neeraj Agrawal, Senior Associate, Battery Ventures, said he's interested in enterprise software and data center automation, but not so keen on customer relations management or wireless. "The shine's off that apple." We're... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

July 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Affinity Plus (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Peter Tufano

The executive team at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union has pushed the concept of members first deeply throughout the organization, empowering employees to put member-owners' interests ahead of either the organization's interests or their own interests. As a result of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Financial Institutions; Financing and Loans; Profit; Cooperative Ownership; Conflict of Interests; Strategy

13 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

Cash and the Woman-Owned Business

customers and suppliers; they also provide an important buffer against revenue fluctuations in times when the business meets bumps in the road. Your entrepreneurial investment helps the business get some breathing space while it builds a... View Details

Keywords: by Candida Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart

May 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Supplement

Hilti Fleet Management (B): Towards a New Business Model

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

The (B) case tackles the implementation and scaling process of fleet management over the years. Finally, the case explores current challenges facing the BMI. View Details

04 Apr 2008
What Do You Think?

Who Owns Intellectual Property?

"stewardship ... a more realistic term today (with regard to IP) ... (in contrast to) Ownership ... a term from the days of the 'industrial revolution'"? Do you agree that in his words, "... in the multiverse, the more we... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

July 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

ABRY Fund V

By: Nabil N. El-Hage, Richard S. Ruback and Leslie Pierson

In January 2006, Andrew Banks and Royce Yudkoff were considering raising a 5th fund for their media-focused private equity firm, ABRY Partners. ABRY had a strong track record that the co-founders attributed to their group's deep knowledge of the media industry and... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Venture Capital; Customer Relationship Management; Asset Management; Private Equity; Judgments; Competitive Strategy; Media; Corporate Finance; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Financial Services Industry

January 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

ProntoWash: Washing the World's Cars to a Tango Beat

ProntoWash management considers whether franchising and the Balanced Scorecard could be combined to help customer-facing employees provide consistent service across the world and capture relevant management information. In 2007, ProntoWash, an international car-wash... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Franchise Ownership; Performance Consistency; Argentina

December 2009 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Diamond Foods

By: David E. Bell and Mary Louise Shelman

CEO Michael Mendes has transformed a grower-owned cooperative into a publicly traded top marketer of snack foods. Diamond's organization, culture, product development process, advertising and promotion strategy, and specifically its marketing department have been built... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Cooperative Ownership; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States