Publications

July 2016
Supplement

Mahindra Tool: Project Economics

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton

The case describes Mahindra Lifespace Developers’ (MLDL), a unit of Indian conglomerate Mahindra and Mahindra, foray into the affordable housing segment. MLDL sees a huge opportunity in selling apartments to the burgeoning population of urban workers, which is badly... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business Startups; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Housing; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Human Needs; Social Issues; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; India

September 2008
Case

TCS: The MCA 21 Project

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading outsourced software services provider based in India, must decide whether to bid on a high-profile government project within India. The project, if completed successfully, would mark another step in TCS's progression from a... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Developing Countries and Economies; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Projects; India

November 1996 (Revised August 1997)
Case

Project "Dial-Tone"

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Bob Hellman, a partner in a West Coast middle-market buyout firm, is attempting to simultaneously acquire and merge three disparate firms in the rapidly consolidating telemarketing services industry. Hellman must value the individual companies as well as the combined... View Details

Keywords: Complexity; Private Equity; Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation Deal; Strategic Planning; Investment; Opportunities; Valuation; Service Industry

23 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Putting the Project Puzzle Together

McFarlan: Fifty percent of all capital investment today is being done in IT projects. The way this money is spent deeply impacts the organization's future. It is because of the size of investment as a percentage of capital expenditure that aligning the IT View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Analyzes the company’s decision on Project Cowboy following the events described in the B Case. 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

October 2007
Case

The AtekPC Project Management Office

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Mark Keil and John Hupp

Presents one company's efforts to implement a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced in doing so. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose and mission, the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Projects; Goals and Objectives; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Business Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Consulting Industry

May 1997 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Teradyne: The Aurora Project

By: Joseph L. Bower

Three cases deal with the introduction of a new product to Teradyne's line of semiconductor test equipment. Teradyne: Managing Strategic Change provides historic and administrative background for the other two cases. This case deals with the problems facing the head of... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Product Launch; Product Development; Corporate Strategy; Semiconductor Industry

November 1999 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Financing the Mozal Project

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Fuaad Qureshi

It is June 1997, and a team from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) is recommending that the board approve a $120 million investment in a $1.4 billion aluminum smelter in Mozambique, known as the Mozal project. Four factors make the investment controversial: it... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Capital Markets; Emerging Markets; Projects; Financial Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Developing Countries and Economies; Metals and Minerals; Financial Strategy; Government and Politics; International Finance; Infrastructure; Mozambique

June 2023
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (D)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Scott Mayfield and Philipp Chvanov

Analyzes the company's decision on Project Cowboy following the events described in the C Case 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

February 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (B)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Analyzes the company’s decision on Project Cowboy following the events described in the A Case. 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

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis

By: Robert Steven Kaplan, Christopher Marquis and Brent Kazan

Marc Buoniconti is the co-founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a nonprofit medical research organization. The project was founded in 1985 by Marc and his father Nick, a former Hall of Fame football player, when Marc suffered a spinal cord injury. In 2007,... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health Testing and Trials; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Research and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Health Industry; Miami

November 1994 (Revised December 1995)
Case

The Domik Project

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

Cameron Sawyer, CEO of Sawyer and Co., seeks financing for an office building he is developing in Moscow. The case describes the opportunities and challenges of development in Russia. Also highlights entrepreneurial opportunities in a changing world. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Opportunities; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development Strategy; Moscow

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December 2003 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Alusaf Hillside Project

By: Kenneth S. Corts and John R. Wells

The aluminum industry has suffered from long periods of depressed prices and profits interspersed with relatively short-lived price and profit peaks. The case investigates why this has occured, focusing on the decision Alusaf must make on whether to invest in a major... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Cycles; Financial Crisis; Metals and Minerals; Financial Strategy; Investment; Price; Profit; Demand and Consumers; Industry Structures

January 2004
Case

Nokia and MIT's Project Oxygen (Abridged)

By: David B. Yoffie and Rebecca Henderson

Looks at how Nokia should respond to a future vision of computing and communications that was developed at MIT's Project Oxygen. View Details

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

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September 2024
Case

InfraCredit and the Project Inception Facility

By: John Macomber, Namrata Arora and Maagatha Kalavadakken

Around the world, large infrastructure projects are frequently stymied by the high cost and high uncertainty of the project inception phase: the research and engineering and planning prior to financial close and start of construction. Could there be a new kind of... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure; Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Cost; Cash Flow; Capital; Assets; Financial Markets; Financial Strategy; Insurance; Energy; Product Development; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; Nigeria

February 1992 (Revised January 2002)
Case

BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Explores BMW's decision about how to manufacture prototype vehicles. Historically, BMW's prototypes were handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in the company's shop. A proposal has been made to alter the process so that prototypes are made in a way that can better... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Research and Development; Design; Production; Strategy; Quality; Decision Making; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Germany

2016
Case

Africa Strategy of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Jie Jiao, Dayong Yang and Shanshan Cao

Founded in 1983, China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CNMC") is one of the earliest and largest global Chinese nonferrous metal industrial enterprises. It has investments and projects in 27 countries and trade networks in nearly 100 countries with a... View Details

Keywords: Cross-cultural Management; Global Strategy; Globalization; International Business; Strategy Management; Africa; China

October 2015
Case

The Maine Food Cluster Project

By: Karen Mills and Aldo Sesia

The Libra Foundation is exploring how to grow the food sector in Maine using the strategy of creating a food cluster initiative. Maine is one of the poorest states in the United States and the food sector is one of the largest employers. Multiple efforts in... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Maine; Vermont; Oregon; Denmark