Browse abstracts and ordering information for case studies written and published by faculty at Stanford GSB.
For publicly available cases in this collection, Harvard Business Impact and Ivey Publishing distribute in North America, and The Case Centre and IESE Publishing in Europe.
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This set of Humor: Serious Business “Caselet Studies” follows three visionaries (SPANX CEO Sara Blakely, Deloitte Partner Brian Fugere, and Friend of a Friend Productions CEO/Founder Eric Gurian) as they examine their strategic use of humor in the…
Maria Almaden was considering the launch of a new business that would use traditional cheesemaking techniques to produce high-quality vegan cheese. Eager though she was to embark on her new endeavor, she first had to solidify her market entry strategy and…
Orb, a tiny Silicon Valley start-up, came up with a breakthrough technology. Before anyone else was doing it, Orb developed software that enabled every type of media on a PC (including music, photos, and videos) to be streamed remotely to any mobile…
This 2016 case describes how Bare Escentuals used innovative product design and marketing to transform itself from a local San Francisco retailer into one of the leading cosmetic companies in the United States. In 1995, the company launched bareMinerals…
In 2015, Federica Marchionni left her position as the president of the high fashion company Dolce & Gabbana USA to become the CEO of Lands’ End. She came with a mandate to drive the $1.4 billion iconic American clothing company into the next era. This…
This case describes how eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe, leading a multibillion-dollar global technology company in a highly competitive and changing environment, embraced design thinking as a key ingredient of culture change and a catalyst for growth and…
At the end of 2011, Microsoft was closing its acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion. Skype had more than 500 million registered users, revenue exceeded $600 million, and the company accounted for 40 percent of international long-distance traffic, making…
In January 2016, Mr. Tahir Raza Mian, Assistant Sales and Marketing Manager at the Avari Hotel Lahore (until 1994 known and operated as the Avari Lahore Ramada Renaissance Hotel), was concerned about the average room rate at the hotel. For the first time…
Atmel Corporation is a manufacturer of semiconductors (chips). It is an engineering-driven business-to-business company, and prior to 2012 its marketing was largely limited to preparation of specifications, launching new products, and trade shows. In 2012…
Qihoo 360 Technology Company was a leading Internet platform company in China, the number one provider of Internet and mobile security products as measured by user base. The company entered China’s fiercely competitive Internet market relatively late and…
In late September 2014, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, announced the launch of Atlas, an ad serving and measurement platform that would allow advertisers to target ads to real people using Facebook’s unique user IDs rather than information…
In April 2007, Google, one of the world’s largest online publishers, announced that it was acquiring DoubleClick, a technological platform for online advertisers and publishers, for $3.1 billion. At the time, the deal marked the largest acquisition ever…
In 2013 and 2014, eBay deployed several sets of large, interactive touch screens and related technologies in shopping malls and retail stores. These “connected technologies” were used in a variety of ways intended to benefit both shoppers and retailers…
Avenues the World School, an international private school with around 20 campuses in cities around the world, was designed to be the “learning community of the future” that used technology to connect students, professionals, and curriculum. In just 18…
On joining the Gap Foundation, Bobbi Silten saw an opportunity to tie Gap Inc.’s philanthropic strategy more closely to its business interests, expertise, people, and assets. When looking at the communities from which it sourced its products, Gap Inc. saw…
