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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Guidestar: Data as a Tool for Nonprofit Transformation
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…
One Belt One Road: Chinese Strategic Investment in the 21st Century
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…
India: Liberalize in the Face of Crisis?
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…
Willkommen to Europe: The Political Economy of Migration Policy in Germany
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…
What's Up Moms
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…
ConvenientMD
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…
UltraCase
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…
ComplexAminos
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…
Beneficial State Bank (B): Evaluating Financial and Social Returns for Investors
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…
Beneficial State Bank (A): Organization and Measurement of Social Impact
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…
Goldiblocks
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…
Sitara
IFC Asset Management Company: Mobilizing Capital For Development
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…
Avari Lahore Ramada Renaissance Hotel
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…
International Paper's Black Liquor Credit
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. …
Intel Corporation’s Internal Ecology of Strategy Making (Abridged)
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…
Street League Skateboarding: The Challenges Facing a New Sports League
Harry's Shaving
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…
EMco and SolarT (B)
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…
EMco and SolarT (C)
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…
EMco and SolarT (A)
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…
EMco and SolarT
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…
Tenet Healthcare
This case focuses on major strategic challenges faced by Tenet Healthcare (Tenet), a U.S.-based health care provider, in 2014. It discusses major changes to the health care provider industry over the previous decade―customer, demographic, reimbursement…
Oregon Shakespeare Festival (B): The 2015-2025 Long Range Plan
In September 2015, Executive Director Cynthia Rider and Artistic Director Bill Rauch submitted the 2015-2025 OSF Long Range Plan to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival board. With the festival leadership finally in place and stable, they collectively created…
Podcases: Case Studies, Reimagined