IB95
Lyn Denend, R. McKern
2004
This note provides an overview of China’s IT industry, using Michael’s Porter’s “Diamond of National Advantage” framework. Specifically, it assesses how China uses its factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and the…
E175
H. Grousbeck, Alex Tauber
2004
The note focuses on creating and explaining a framework for how an effective and value-added Board of Directors should operate in an entrepreneurial venture. The note describes the legal and professional responsibilities of directors and also identifies…
E187
Glenn Carroll, Greg Powell
2004
On Labor Day, 2002, Cocoa Pete’s Chocolate Adventures launched their small selection of gourmet chocolates at high-end supermarkets in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company’s founder, Pete Slosberg, had carved a niche out of the stagnant chocolate…
E168
R. Ellis, Alicia Seiger
2004
Sarah Harris, a young, recent MBA student, sets out to raise a search fund and acquire a company in the hospitality business. The case sets up a backdrop for students to role play various selling situations for a would-be entrepreneur. There are a…
IB56
John McMillan
2004
Reggae music has swept the world. From its origins in Jamaica, it can now be heard in clubs and bars from Senegal to Samoa. It has also influenced music from other countries, such as American rap. In the late 1990s, annual sales of reggae recordings…
F270
J. Duffie, Erin Yurday
2004
Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by Congress in 1970, was one of the U.S. housing market’s largest supporters. At year-end 2003, Freddie Mac’s total mortgage portfolio reached a total principal of $1.4 trillion. The U.S…
E183
Mark Leslie, Alicia Seiger
2004
The case begins by setting forth Philip Reade’s well-researched business case for starting a shrimp farming company in the northeast of Brazil. Philip, a Brazilian native and Stanford Business School graduate, makes preliminary attempts at raising money…
GS38
Peter Koudal, Hau Lee, Barchi Peleg, Paresh Rajwat, Seungjin Whang
2004
OnStar, a provider of in-vehicle safety, security, and information services called “telematics,” was founded in 1995 as a collaborative venture among General Motors (GM), EDS, and Hughes Electronics Corp. Safety and security services, including roadside…
HR26A
Victoria Chang, Charles O'Reilly III, Jeffrey Pfeffer
2004
On June 8, 1998, California-based Wells Fargo and Minneapolis banking company, Norwest announced a “merger of equals” in a stock deal valued at $34 billion and one that created the Western Hemisphere’s most extensive and diversified financial services…
HR3
Jeffrey Pfeffer
2004
AES develops and operates electric power plants all over the world, and by late 1996, has approximately 20,000 employees. But, the corporation has no human resources staff, either at corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA, or in any of its operating…
E140B
William Barnett, Brad Wolfe
2004
This case documents the many challenges faced by protagonists John Fowler and Josh Greenberg, two young post-MBAs who embarked on a brave journey otherwise known as the search fund process. Although possessing limited real-world experience, these best…
E165
Robert Chess, Alicia Seiger
2004
The goal of this note is to provide entrepreneurs with an understanding of how to use market research and market information to test the validity of a business concept and to refine a business plan. It introduces the key questions entrepreneurs should…
E170
H. Grousbeck, Alex Tauber
2004
The case is based on a fictitious company. It focuses on how an entrepreneur who has built a thriving company should manage his Board of Directors. The entrepreneur started the company from scratch. As the company expanded, the Board also expanded to a…
F268
J. Duffie, Erin Yurday
2004
With the increased liquidity in markets for credit derivatives around the turn of the century, coupled with dramatically increased corporate default rates, fixed-income investors and buyers of credit protection were receptive to a new generation of…
EC36
Philip Meza, Garth Saloner
2004
This case examines Overture Services, Inc., the Internet search engine and online advertising company that was acquired by Yahoo!. Overture was a leader in the market for sponsored search, in which a search engine sells to advertisers keywords that users…
A190
Nicole Bastian, Stefan Reichelstein
2004
In December of 2003, the management teams at the automotive and steel businesses of The Timken Corporation, headquartered in Canton, Ohio, were principally in agreement that market price was the appropriate instrument for valuing internal steel transfers…
BME7
Margaret Eaton
2004
In November 1998, Steven Briggs was appointed CEO of the Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute, Inc. (NADII), a new research institute created under the corporate umbrella of Novartis AG. NADII had a mandate to jump start Novartis’s basic research…
E178
George Foster, Eric Liu, Emily Melton, Maria Taft
2004
The case details the beginnings of Denver-based Exclusive Resorts, LLC and follows the company to the decision point of how and when to expand their operations internationally, The case gives a detailed overview of the emerging Private Residence Club…
E185
Jerker Denrell, Chris Tilghman
2004
Professional success in the venture capital industry depends in part on a venture capitalist’s ability to learn about new areas of potential investment. By definition, a “venture” is a new pursuit; its specifics are unknown in the beginning. For…
IB53
David Hoyt, John McMillan
2004
In 2003, the 25 million international coffee growers faced a crisis. Prices for coffee beans were the lowest they had been (in real terms) in 100 years. The coffee growing business had historically been one of boom-and-bust. Several countries had to…
A189A
Colm Callan, Maureen McNichols
2004
It was June 9, 1998, and Charles Elson, a law professor and Director on Sunbeam’s Board, had just left a distressing board meeting. The board had met suddenly because, the previous day, Barron’s had published an article suggesting that Al Dunlap, CEO of…
E188
Glenn Carroll, Greg Powell
2004
In 2000, chocolate was consumed by 81 percent of U.S. adults. Despite the popularity of chocolate in the U.S., many analysts believed that the market was far from saturated, noting that European per capita consumption of chocolate remained considerably…
HR26B
Victoria Chang, Charles O'Reilly III, Jeffrey Pfeffer
2004
On June 8, 1998, California-based Wells Fargo and Minneapolis banking company, Norwest announced a “merger of equals” in a stock deal valued at $34 billion and one that created the Western Hemisphere’s most extensive and diversified financial services…
GS34
Lyn Denend, Hau Lee
2004
In January 2003, West Marine (the nation’s largest boating supply retailer) was on the verge of acquiring its biggest competitor — BoatUS. Several years earlier, the company had acquired E&B Marine, another boating supply company of a similar size…
