Publications

January 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Case

From Neverkusen to Meisterkusen:* Building a Winning Organization at Bayer Leverkusen

By: Boris Groysberg, Brian L. Walker, Sascha L. Schmidt and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case follows Bayer Leverkusen football team through 2018-2024, as Fernando Carro takes the helm and makes organizational changes. Led by CEO Fernanda Carro, sporting director Simon Rolfes, and head coach Xabi Alonso, the Club becomes league champion for the first... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports Industry; Europe; Germany

October 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Teaching Note

Managing Science Communication at Bayer

By: Joshua Schwartzstein

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 921-045. View Details

October 25, 2022
Article

Why Sharing Economic Growth with the Community Is Good Business

By: José A. Tiburcio, Lino Miguel Dias and Robert S. Kaplan

Subsistence dairy ranchers in Central America struggle to stay afloat during the dry season when grass is scarce. Global life sciences company Bayer has launched a program to enable them to produce their own corn silage feed. The results of this program are helping to... View Details

Keywords: Sharing Economy; Innovation; Economic Growth; Poverty; Production; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Central America

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March 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Managing Science Communication at Bayer

By: Joshua Schwartzstein and Adi Sunderam

May 2020
Teaching Note

Bayer Crop Science

By: David E. Bell, Michael Norris and Mel Martin

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 520-055. View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Research and Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation; Innovation and Invention; Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Germany

November 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Bayer Crop Science

By: David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin, Natalie Kindred and James Barnett

In mid-2019, a year after German conglomerate Bayer Group closed its acquisition of U.S.-based seeds giant Monsanto, the leadership of Bayer’s Crop Science division (which absorbed Monsanto) is reflecting on the opportunities ahead. Some observers have questioned... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Change Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Germany

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Background Note

Evolution of the Drone Industry

By: Rory McDonald, Andy Wu, Emilie Billaud and Ryan Bayer

This note focuses on the development of the drone industry in recent years and provides insights on the drone technology, regulations, applications, market size, top players, and ecosystem. This note was written in conjunction with the case study “Parrot: Navigating... View Details

Keywords: Drones; Information Technology; Disruption; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Engineering; Product Development; Technology Industry; Asia; Europe; North America; United States

January 2017
Supplement

Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder

Keywords: Acquisition; Bidding Strategy; Valuing Synergies; Negotiations; Corporate Strategy; Business Unit Strategy; Bidding Process; Discounted Cash Flow; Cross-border M＆A; Tax Shields; Valuation; Competitive Strategy; Auctions; Germany; United States; United Kingdom

January 2017
Case

Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder

Shortly after submitting their best and final offer to acquire Merck's Consumer Care Division (a collection of "over-the-counter" (OTC) products with sales totaling $2 billion), the Bayer M&A team was given a chance to revise their bid because another potential... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Bidding Strategy; Valuing Synergies; Negotiations; Corporate Strategy; Business Unit Strategy; Bidding Process; Discounted Cash Flow; Cross-border M＆A; Tax Shields; Valuation; Competitive Strategy; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Germany; United States; United Kingdom

Article

Making 'Green Giants': Environment Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s–1980s

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This article examines the evolution of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. It focuses on two companies, Bayer and Henkel, that have been identified as "green giants," and traces the evolution of their... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Green Business; Regional Strategy; Pollution; Henkel; Bayer; Globalization; History; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

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September 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Bayer AG (A)

By: John A. Quelch

Bayer's senior executives convene in Germany to consider submitting a $1 billion bid that would recover the Bayer brand name and trademark cross in North America, both of which were confiscated by the U.S. government after World War I. The group also sets out to assess... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Brands and Branding; War; Communication; Trademarks; Acquisition; Government and Politics; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Germany; North America; United States

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September 1997
Case

Bayer AG (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Bayer's senior executives detail the communications challenge program that resulted from the company's reacquisition of its brand name and trademark cross, which gave Bayer one name worldwide for the first time since World War I. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; War; Acquisition; Trademarks; Brands and Branding; Communication Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Germany