SM154A
V. Viard, Pamela Yatsko
2006
Personal computer game maker Blizzard filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the developers of the bnetd project. The bnetd project was a volunteer effort of game enthusiasts and programmers frustrated with difficulties encountered playing Blizzard’s personal…
SI74
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Victoria Chang
2006
In 1948, Jim Casey, one of United Parcel Service’s founders, established the Annie E. Casey Foundation with his siblings. The foundation’s mission was “to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States” and to…
SM153
Robert Burgelman, Tom Federico
2006
In April 2006, SAP AG CEO Henning Kagermann faces several critical decisions. Over the past two years, Kagermann has put in place a bold growth strategy for the company – one that aims to transform the business software applications giant into a pioneer…
OIT50
Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios
2006
By the mid 2000s, no segment of the $180 billion global medical device industry was as dynamic as the market for drug eluting stents (DES). In 2005, two-and-a-half million drug eluting stents were expected to be implanted in patients around the world. In…
OIT49
Robert Chess, Lyn Denend, Stefanos Zenios
2006
In late October 2003, Randy Scott and the Genomic Health team had just received the results of Genomic Health’s first pivotal trial. The company’s product, Oncotype DX, a first-of-its-kind genomic assay that quantified the likelihood of breast cancer…
P54
David Baron
2006
Using servers located in the United States, Google began offering a Chinese-language version of Google.com in 2000. The site, however, was frequently unavailable or slow because of censoring by the Chinese government. After extensive debate within the…
M309
Michaela Draganska, David Hoyt
2006
In March 2000, Paul Lippe, CEO of SKOLAR, faced several decisions that could determine the fate of his young company. SKOLAR had developed a Web-based information resource for doctors. The site was in beta-test at the Stanford School of Medicine, with…
SI82
David Hoyt, Erica Plambeck
2006
In 2000, FedEx Express and Environmental Defense began a collaboration to develop a source of new generation delivery trucks with dramatically improved fuel efficiency and environmental impact. By 2005, prototypes had been developed by Eaton Corporation…
SM151
Robert Burgelman, Aneesha Capur
2006
This case describes Infosys Technologies’ approach to growing the company by expanding its service offerings; moving up the value chain to offer higher end consulting services; improving its brand equity and recognition as a global company; increasing…
SM146B
Robert Burgelman, Philip Meza
2006
This case reveals the decision made concerning whether and where to locate a new fab in 2002. It discusses the specific decision made by the CEO and discusses the rationale for the fab location decision. This case should be used in conjunction with SM…
SM124B
Robert Burgelman, Christof Wittig
2006
MySQL, an open source software firm, grew from a small $10M in 2004 into a successful $60M business by 2006. As it had anticipated, MySQL attracted the attention of the big three IT companies, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. Actively defending their high…
OB54
Jeffrey Pfeffer
2006
DaVita, one of the largest operators of kidney dialysis centers in the U.S., has undergone a remarkable turnaround between 2000 and 2005, a transformation premised on building a strong values-driven culture with an emphasis on fact-based decision making…
M315
Wasim Azhar
2006
In late June 1987, Mr. Asad Ali, proprietor of Regal Electrogas, was confronted with an important decision regarding the pricing of his company’s desert coolers. The market price for this product had risen by approximately 5 percent in the wake of new…
SM91
William Barnett, Peter Lorentzen
2006
In 1999, Bo Shao, a Chinese national with a U.S. BA and MBA, returned to China to set up an online auction firm. While initial venture capital funding came easily, China’s low level of development created many other challenges that would not have arisen…
SPM30
George Foster, Mike Harkey
2006
Former National Football League (NFL) greats Ronnie Lott and Harris Barton launched a venture capital fund-of-funds in 1999 at the height of a venture capital bubble and called their new fund Champion Ventures. Champion became known for raising money…
SM154B
V. Viard, Pamela Yatsko
2006
Personal computer game maker Blizzard filed a lawsuit in 2002 against the developers of the bnetd project. The bnetd project was a volunteer effort of game enthusiasts and programmers frustrated with difficulties encountered playing Blizzard’s personal…
SM148
Robert Burgelman, Lyn Denend, Robert Siegel
2006
In January 2005, Robert Siegel paused to reflect on the whirlwind of activities that had consumed him over the past three months. In August 2004, Siegel joined General Electric’s $1.3 billion security division as the general manager of GE Video Solutions…
SPM29A
George Foster, Mike Harkey
2006
First conceived as a business plan in Stanford Business School’s “Evaluating Entrepreneurial Opportunities” class, the Golden Baseball League is an independent baseball league in California and Arizona. The case tracks the development of the business…
SPM32
George Foster, Mike Harkey, Claire Magat
2006
Mike Kerns and Jeff Ma founded ProTrade in April of 2004. The original concept was an innovative online stock market for athletes that utilized sophisticated algorithms to compute the value of athletes’ performance. However, despite the highly…
SPM28
Victoria Chang, George Foster
2006
By 2006, Charlotte-based Street & Smith’s Sports Group (a division of American City Business Journals—ACBJ, a unit of Advance Publications) had built a franchise of sports business information resources (called the Sports Business Group). Publications…
SPM29B
George Foster, Mike Harkey
2006
The Golden Baseball League (A) case tracks the evolution of the start-up independent baseball league from business plan to the start of its inaugural season. The Golden Baseball League (B) case tracks the league’s performance in season one; its successes…
M313A
Wasim Azhar
2006
In early January 1989, Irfan Mustafa, General Manager, Personal Products and Market Research, Lever Brothers Pakistan Limited, was wondering what action to take regarding the marketing of the laundry detergent bar RIN, which had been introduced to the…
SM147
Mark Leslie, James Lattin, Mike Harkey
2006
Scalix Corporation, a Linux-based e-mail and calendaring software company, was founded in 2002 by Julie Hanna Farris while she was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at Mayfield, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, CA. The case is about the evolution of…
SM150
Victoria Chang, Garth Saloner
2006
For the die-hard cycling enthusiast, the Spring Classics, Dura-Ace components, and Phil Liggett were words that conjured up exciting images and enthusiastic anticipation for a new road bike racing season. Cyclists often spoke of the wind in their faces…
