Publications

September 2013
Case

Boeing 787: More Electric Architecture

By: Willy Shih

The "more electric architecture" of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner represented a significant shift in the design of secondary power systems for commercial aircraft, compared to traditional designs that employed a mix of hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical power. While the... View Details

Keywords: Boeing; 787; Airbus; A350XWB; Architectural Innovation; Technological Substitution; Technological Innovation; Vertical Integration; Air Transportation; Aerospace Industry; United States

April 2005 (Revised June 2005)
Compilation

Boeing 787: The Dreamliner

By: Richard L. Nolan and Suresh Kotha

Boeing dominated the commercial airline manufacturing business since bringing out the first commercial airline jet airliner. But in 2005, it delivered fewer new planes than its fast-moving competitor, Airbus. Boeing responded by transforming its manufacturing business... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Risk Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

February 2015 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Boeing 787: Manufacturing a Dream

By: Rory McDonald and Suresh Kotha

This case traces the design and development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Emphasis is on executive leadership and firm strategy in coordinating across a global network of partners in the production of a new aircraft. View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Operations Strategy; Project Management; Coordination; Product Development; Operations; Production; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Aerospace Industry; United States

20 May 2014
News

The Price of Wall Street’s Power

October 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (M): MAX 8 Disasters (July 2019)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the October 2018 and March 2019 crashes of Boeing MAX 8 jets, which together killed over 300 passengers. The planes involved in both crashes shared a problem with a software system called MCAS, which Boeing had revamped at the last minute prior to... View Details

Keywords: Airbus; Boeing; Product Development; Product Design; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Safety; Failure; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Europe

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (H): Wing Cracks and Battery Fires (2013)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes an issue with the batteries of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner planes overheating and sometimes catching fire in 2013. The planes were grounded for several months until Boeing introduced new safety measures. The case also discusses a problem with cracks on... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Safety; Manufacturing Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States; Europe

26 Feb 2013
News

Lessons I learned from Japan

August 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Accounting Turbulence at Boeing

By: Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and James Barnett

Unlike its rival Airbus, Boeing had used a practice called program accounting to record its commercial aircraft expenses since the 1980s. Program accounting allowed Boeing to expense estimated average costs instead of the actual production costs of an aircraft. This... View Details

Keywords: Asset Recognition; Program Accounting; Airline Industry; Accounting; Production; Cost; Air Transportation Industry

October 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (G): New Planes and Upgrades (2011)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the first commercial flight of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in 2011, three years after originally planned, as well as the first commercial flight of Airbus' superjumbo, the A380, in 2007. It also describes the companies' current endeavors in 2011,... View Details

Keywords: Airbus; Boeing; Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry

01 Apr 2021
Blog Post

An Aerospace Engineer Provides a Lift for Underrepresented Innovators and Entrepreneurs

engineer for the 767 tanker and 787 Dreamliner. She was particularly taken with the Dreamliner, Boeing’s only fully composite plane, and became curious about what happened to the aircraft after it left the factory. So Shodiya transitioned... View Details

16 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 16, 2015

of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Emphasis is on executive leadership and firm strategy in coordinating across a global network of partners in the production of a new aircraft. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2013
Teaching Note

Innovation and Development of China Machine Press in the New Century (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Jia and Guo Jia

China Machine Press (CMP), founded in 1952, is a leading multi-field, multi-discipline and multimedia publishing group in China with large scale, comprehensive and specialized business that integrates paper media, audiovisual media and online media, and combines... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Organizational Structure; Strategy; China; China

November 2023 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Norse Atlantic Airways

By: Willy Shih

Bjørn Tore Larsen, Norse Atlantic Airways' founder and CEO, hadn't planned to get into the airline business. But when the COVID-19 pandemic depressed the global demand for air travel and the lease rates for jetliners, he realized if ever he was going to get into the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Market Entry and Exit; Leasing; Business Strategy; Segmentation; Interest Rates; Air Transportation Industry; Europe; North America; Norway; United Kingdom; United States

2013
Case

Innovation and Development of China Machine Press in the New Century

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Jia and Guo Jia

China Machine Press (CMP), founded in 1952, is a leading multi-field, multi-discipline and multimedia publishing group in China with large scale, comprehensive and specialized business that integrates paper media, audiovisual media and online media, and combines... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Organizational Structure; Strategy; China; China