Publications

January 2022 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Envision Group

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Bonnie Yining Cao and Dawn H. Lau

Based in China, Envision was one of the world’s leading Greentech companies. Chief Executive Officer Lei Zhang had set the goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the company’s global operations and supply chain by 2022 and 2028 respectively. As part of its... View Details

Keywords: Green Technology; Climate Change; Emerging Markets; Information Technology; Strategy; Management; Renewable Energy; Energy Policy; Environmental Sustainability; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China; United States; Japan; United Kingdom; France

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

24 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Developing Your Next CEO for the Family Business

built a manufacturing company for Manitowoc Cranes as an Outsider CEO before buying that company and selling it, then being recruited by his family’s fifth generation hot sauce maker, McIlhenny Company. These family members have the right... View Details

Keywords: Auto; Auto

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Tata Nano The People's Car

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Bharat N. Anand and Rachna Tahilyani

The case explores how Tata Motors, India's largest automobile company, developed the Nano, the world's cheapest car. The case focuses on the translation of Ratan Tata's (chairman of Tata Motors) vision of a safe affordable car for the masses by Ravi Kant, managing... View Details

Keywords: Price; Globalized Firms and Management; Disruptive Innovation; Emerging Markets; Business Processes; Quality; Competition; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; India

23 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research: May 23, 2017

car platform in over a decade, this case discusses the future strategy of the famed British luxury auto manufacturer. Since its founding in 1902, Aston Martin has been characterized by leading automotive design of bespoke luxury vehicles.... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

20 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Solving the Riddle of How Companies Grow Over Time

benchmarks? Defining what growth means Pisano and colleagues fill that gap in a new paper, Long-Term Firm Growth: An Empirical Analysis of US Manufacturers 1959—2015, published in the journal Industrial and Corporate Change, the first... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details

June 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Nissan's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Ananth Raman, William Schmidt and Ann Winslow

In January 2020, Ashwani Gupta took over as COO at Nissan Motor Corporation, and several weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Nissan’s Business Continuity Plan (BCP) had been key to the resilience of Nissan’s supply chain. It had enabled Nissan to recover from... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain Management; Health Pandemics; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan; India

17 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Can Autonomous Vehicles Drive with Common Sense?

for AV manufacturers to be up front about any safety challenges they face and be transparent about what isn’t working. “If companies can legitimately convince consumers that they are transparent, vigilant, and continuously improving, then... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

27 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Reputation is Vital to Survival in Turbulent Markets

Equally, it is evident that major reputational crises can inflict major damage on corporations in developed markets. One only has to think of the ongoing damage to the German auto manufacturer VW caused by... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

03 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Desperate for Talent? Consider Advancing Your Own Employees First

Job openings in the United States continue to hover at record high levels, exacerbated by the Great Resignation and a sputtering emergence from the pandemic. Competition remains fierce among companies struggling to find qualified workers. Yet many employers,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

January 2017
Case

Danaher Corporation, 2007–2017

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On July 2, 2016, Danaher Corporation completed the spinoff of Fortive Corporation. The previous day, Danaher’s stock price had reached an all-time high. In 2015, Danaher had decided to split off its test and measurement, fuel and fleet management, and automation... View Details

18 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

GM’s IPO: Back to the Future

auto makers have made advances, and Korean manufacturers are focusing on improving their quality and innovating on warranties and assurance programs to remove consumer uncertainty. Much further down the... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

30 Apr 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Brand Management

unusual answers in a globalizing auto industry have framed two case studies. Key concepts include: Why would any company in the world want to locate in a high-cost, high-wage economy like Germany? Why would a sports car brand experiment... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto; Auto; Auto

26 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way to Go to Market

Is there any distribution system more poorly conceived than the one used by most U.S. car manufacturers and dealers? In the prevailing system, car prices are initially jacked up by locked-in labor concessions. View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

26 Aug 2009
Op-Ed

Where Cash for Clunkers Ran Off the Road

first time? Hardly likely, because auto loans still aren't readily available and many poorer people would buy a better quality used car rather than a new car. Used car prices poor people have to pay are now higher thanks to the compulsory... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Auto

July 2013
Case

Jackson Automotive Systems

By: William E. Fruhan and Wei Wang

Jackson Automotive Systems produces automotive parts for advanced heating and air conditioning systems, engine cooling systems, fuel injection and transfer systems, and various other engine parts and it supplies them to the automotive industry primarily in Michigan.... View Details

Keywords: Production; Financial Crisis; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

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; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Argentina; Japan; Canada; United States

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; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States