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.
Search the database of case studies or narrow your results by keyword, academic area, center, or initiative. Many of our cases are available to download at no charge.
In June 2009, the online gaming company Zynga launched the free social game Farmville on Facebook, which set a new record by reaching one million Daily Active Users four days after launch, skyrocketing to 30 million in six months. The case takes an inside…
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 June 2015, Peter Phillips, Chief Operating Officer of Frontier Services Group (FSG), was preparing an update for the board on how operations would support the company’s new strategy. Given the ongoing decline in the price of oil and the extractive…
In 2016, Santa Clara County was launching a six-year project aimed at reducing the enormous costs of treating its most acute mental health care patients − $45 million a year − while improving their treatment and quality of life. For the project, the…
In 1994, Arthur “Buzz” Schmidt, GuideStar’s founder, launched an organization with a staff of five. The organization, then known as Philanthropic Research, was formed with the simple goal of making basic information on nonprofits easily available to…
It is September 2013. The new Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon launch his tour in Central Asia. On this tour, the President is deciding whether to launch a grand investment strategy, which he calls “One Belt One Road” (OBOR). Through this plan, he…
In June 1991, India was in the midst of a currency and balance of payments crisis the likes the country had not seen since independence in 1947. The country’s foreign exchange reserves were barely enough to finance 13 days worth of imports. In the face of…
In December 2015, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and the de facto leader of the EU, faced the challenge of formulating an effective policy response to Europe’s migration crisis. Merkel must decide whether Germany can continue to host large numbers…
The What’s Up Moms case tells the story of three friends, Meg Resnikoff, Connie Kin, and Elle Walker, who co-founded a YouTube channel called What’s Up Moms to provide instructive and humorous video content targeted exclusively at moms. In June 2013…
The ConvenientMD case highlights the role of emotion and ambiguity in business interactions. ConvenientMD, led by co-CEOs Gareth Dickens and Max Puyanic, operated urgent care centers (UCCs) in the northeastern United States. UCCs are medical facilities…
The UltraCase case tells the story of a company founded in the 1970s by an avid scuba diver who decided to build a business around products that would maximize his diving experience. Among his first products included a waterproof flashlight and case…
This case explores the transformation of a company, ComplexAminos, from a failing start-up to a successful organization preparing for a liquidity event. After conducting a six-year turnaround strategy, the CEO needed to decide whether the company should…
In the fall of 2015, Beneficial State Bank was set to mark its third successive year of normalized profitability while continuing to fulfill its mission to promote social justice and environmental sustainability. At the same time, husband and wife…
In November 2004, as presidential hopeful John Kerry conceded the presidential race to George W. Bush, husband and wife team and Democratic supporters Tom Steyer (MBA ’83) and Kat Taylor (JD/MBA ’86) found themselves at an impasse in their political…
Debbie Sterling was waging war with The Pink Aisle—home to Barbie Dolls, tea sets, and Easy-Bake Ovens. Sterling had come to believe that early-age modeling and stereotyping by toy companies channeled girls away from science, technology, engineering, and…
This case explores the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) creative and effective use of the private equity business model as a tool to mobilize financing for economic development around the world. In its bid to provide more capital for private…
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…
In 2004, Congress passed the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (AJCA). Several corporate benefits were included in this sweeping legislation, including the introduction of tax credits to encourage the development and use of alcohol and biodiesel fuels. …
The pivotal role played by Intel in the development of the semiconductor industry, from the company’s founding in 1968 and focus on semiconductor memory products (SRAM and DRAM), through various innovations in microprocessor technology, and leading to the…
The case discusses the growth of a startup, Harry’s Shaving, and some of the cultural issues the firm has encountered since inception. The company acquired a factory in Germany to manufacture razor blades for its online business. The case addresses two…
The EMco and SolarT case is presented in a series of four short vignettes involved two women, Carrie and Marguerite, who have a twenty-year friendship. Carrie, a venture capitalist, sits on the board of an energy management company called EMco. When…
The EMco and SolarT case is presented in a series of four short vignettes involved two women, Carrie and Marguerite, who have a twenty-year friendship. Carrie, a venture capitalist, sits on the board of an energy management company called EMco. When…
