Case Studies

This is a role-play case, intended for use in a leadership development course for MBA students. The case has four roles: two for students playing the co-founders of a startup and two for students/coaches playing the venture capitalists deciding whether or…

This is a role-play case, intended for use in a leadership development course for MBA students. The case has four roles: two for students playing the co-founders of a startup and two for students/coaches playing the venture capitalists deciding whether or…

Li & Fung Limited (LF), a Hong Kong-based multinational, was a global leader in consumer goods design, development, sourcing, and distribution.  LF managed the entire supply chain for retailers and brands around the world by working with a network of over…

During his second year as a high school teacher in South Carolina, Reid Saaris noticed that a highly academically capable student was not registered for advanced classes.  The student was African American and Saaris observed that most African-American…

This case profiles the journey of protagonist Tim Harkness through his many entrepreneurial pursuits.  It chronicles his early career and how a bout of serendipity landed him a job in the life sciences tools industry.  From there, Harkness went on to lead…

By 2015 Google’s Android operating system had been deployed on over one billion units worldwide. The firm had been happy with the high market segment share achieved on mobile phones, but new challenges were arising: advances by traditional competitors…

The case follows CircleUp, an online marketplace that connects early-stage consumer retail companies with prospective investors.  The case begins by describing the dynamics of the traditional private equity industry, which incentivize firms to favor…

This case assesses Actis’ optimal exit route for Umeme, a Ugandan electricity distribution company in their investment portfolio. Actis, a private equity firm that invests exclusively in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, had spent seven years substantially…

The Medium Corporation seeks to change how people author, consume and engage with content on the Internet. Founded by Ev Williams, co-founder of Blogger and Twitter, the company developed a digital publishing platform and set of social network tools that…

Disappointed by how poorly his two favorite football teams were playing against each other on a Thursday night in November 2009, Warren Packard considered the other games he could watch.  It was late fall and there were college basketball, college…

The Wikimedia Foundation is responsible for supporting Wikipedia and various other projects through administration, technical and financial support. Since its founding, Wikipedia has changed the way people around the world research information by allowing…

The term “conflict minerals” referred to four minerals—tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold—that are mined in countries throughout the world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  These minerals, sometimes referred to as the “3TG” minerals, were…

CODE2040 was founded by Tristan Walker and Laura Weidman Powers to create pathways to success for blacks and Latinos in the technology and entrepreneurship sector by providing mentoring and coaching for students beginning their careers. Over the course of…

Between 2010 and 2012, SolarCity experienced tremendous growth in an industry that was generally perceived to be struggling.  Many other solar start-ups were failing—Solyndra, which had received a $535M loan from the U.S. government, was the highest…

The (B) case explained how Movile expanded their business, moving into the smartphone market from their core business of feature phones in Latin America. The case described the two parts of Movile’s strategy. The first was Movile’s development and launch…

The (A) case described the early days of Movile, a Brazilian mobile phone company, and debated the decision to open an office in Silicon Valley. The case went into the history of the firm and the mobile phone industry in Brazil. It discussed how the firm…

This case follows the journey of Amyris Biotechnologies from being one of the most popular clean tech startups in Silicon Valley to being an out-of-favor public company.  This case explores the difficulties of changing a high capex business model and asks…

This 2015 case focuses on the evolution of Box’s management practices as the company grew from a small start-up to an organization with over 1,000 employees in five major locations.  The online file sharing and cloud content collaboration service company…

The 2015 case “Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (B)” details the success of the manager improvement pilot intervention program discussed in the companion case, “Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (A).” Within one year, the division…

The 2015 case “Royal Bank of Canada: Transforming Managers (A)” discusses programs that the bank put in place between 2011 and 2013 to improve managerial effectiveness.  The case looks at the traits that make good managers, how to use data to create…

     “Intel’s Mobile Strategy in 2015 and Beyond” examines the company’s 2014 – 2015 strategy to become a more important mobile player. In early 2015, the semiconductor giant had virtually no presence in the smartphone market, and had only recently gained…

Susan Barney, chief financial officer of Parcel Expeditors (Parcel), a thriving same-day package delivery company headquartered in the United States, had to make some decisions. The management of Parcel was planning to take the company public in the…

On April 20, 2010, as BP p.l.c., the third-largest listed oil producer in the world, was preparing to report strong first quarter results, an explosion occurred on its drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, killing 11 workers and injuring 16 others. Over the…

Part B explores the launch of M&A Connect, a one-man initiative led by Sanat Rao, to serve as a matchmaker between viable, high-potential Indian startups and U.S.-based acquirers such as Google, AutoDesk, and Intel. Students learn how Rao approached the…