Case studies
Teaching cases offers students the opportunity to explore real world challenges in the classroom environment, allowing them to test their assumptions and decision-making skills before taking their knowledge into the workplace.
This case describes an innovative response-modeling project at INTUIT. The case can help students understand the basics of (and the issues surrounding) response modeling, an…
Abstract
This case describes an innovative response-modeling project at INTUIT. The case can help students understand the basics of (and the issues surrounding) response modeling, an important tactic in data-base marketing.
Details
Keywords
Peter Debaere and Vincent de Koninck
The diamond industry has been subject to significant change. There is increased competition from low-wage countries such as India and China, the concern about blood diamonds, and…
Abstract
The diamond industry has been subject to significant change. There is increased competition from low-wage countries such as India and China, the concern about blood diamonds, and policy issues affecting the viability of trading diamonds. In this case, we study how Antwerp's dominant position in the diamond trade is being challenged and eroded. The case offers a good opportunity to introduce and discuss comparative advantage and relate it to Heckscher-Ohlin type of trade.
Details
Keywords
Melissa Thomas-Hunt, Meredith Gethin-Jones and Susan Fleming
Marissa Mayer has been asked to think about factors that were impacting Google's ability to innovate and adjust its strategy so that the organization could remain one of the…
Abstract
Marissa Mayer has been asked to think about factors that were impacting Google's ability to innovate and adjust its strategy so that the organization could remain one of the world's foremost leaders in technology. In an industry (and at a company) that was changing and growing exponentially, it would be difficult to pinpoint specific variables and trends. But Mayer knew that one element crucial to Google's ongoing success would be its ability to recruit the best talent available and foster an environment that would encourage that talent to generate the best ideas. As Mayer contemplated how to ensure this, she considered that women currently represented only a small fraction of Google's engineers, suggesting a missed opportunity.
Details
Keywords
Thierry Delecolle, Ronald G. Kamin, Beatrice Parguel and Gerry Yemen
As marketers love to teach students, differentiation must be the focal point of marketing strategy. But what happens when a firm's competitive set is shared by similar customers…
Abstract
As marketers love to teach students, differentiation must be the focal point of marketing strategy. But what happens when a firm's competitive set is shared by similar customers, perceived differentiation is weak among rivals, and loyalty is a thing of the past? This was the dilemma the French luxury jeweler Mauboussin faced: how to leverage its iconic brand to access new customers, domestically and abroad, and through new channels, while preserving the image of luxury goods founded on the myth of rarity and exclusivity? The case was designed and used for the latter portion of an international MBA marketing course and would work well in most international business courses.
Details
Keywords
Lynn A. Isabella and Jessica Pohl
“Hey that was my idea!” How often have your students had that exact thought? Were they on a team when they felt most able to identify with that statement? This case is about a…
Abstract
“Hey that was my idea!” How often have your students had that exact thought? Were they on a team when they felt most able to identify with that statement? This case is about a recent MBA graduate who faces challenges within her consulting team on her first post-graduation job. She is frustrated with one teammate in particular who she believes practices self-interest politics–he takes her ideas. The case allows for a healthy discussion on team dynamics and strategies to help students when the team mix is wrong. The case may also be used to discuss issues regarding women in business.
Details
Keywords
This case concerns the promotional activities of Nashua Photo, the nation's largest mail-order photofinishing firm. Discount-price mailers (inserted in local newspapers, for…
Abstract
This case concerns the promotional activities of Nashua Photo, the nation's largest mail-order photofinishing firm. Discount-price mailers (inserted in local newspapers, for example) were used to generate new customers, but also allowed existing customers to pay a lower price. Students must evaluate not only the results of last quarter's 125 separate promotions in light of this “leakage,” but also the appropriateness of discount-price mailers within Nashua's marketing mix.
Details
Keywords
Rajkumar Venkatesan and Daniel Shively
“This case is an updated version of ““Netflix Inc.: DVD Wars”” (UVA-M-0763), and was written as a replacement for it.A financial analyst is asked to appraise the value of…
Abstract
“This case is an updated version of ““Netflix Inc.: DVD Wars”” (UVA-M-0763), and was written as a replacement for it.
A financial analyst is asked to appraise the value of Netflix's stock at a time of unprecedented turmoil for the company. This case introduces customer lifetime value (CLV) as a useful metric for subscription-based businesses.”
Details
Keywords
James G. Clawson and Greg Bevan
Whoosh, is that all there is? On the eve of becoming a partner at a well-known consulting firm (“the stuff MBA dreams are made of”), a senior executive starts to question what he…
Abstract
Whoosh, is that all there is? On the eve of becoming a partner at a well-known consulting firm (“the stuff MBA dreams are made of”), a senior executive starts to question what he is doing with his life. Walt Shill had graduated eight years earlier from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia and had worked his way up at McKinsey Consulting to become the first American partner in the Japanese office. Shill and his family move back to the United States, where he starts to question his goals. For the first time, it seems that Shill has no target to aim for. Having had reached his goals, Shill sets out on an adventure to seek his own meaning of life. He gets into good-enough shape to take a cross-country bicycle ride, which he completes. This undisguised case tells Shill's story and what he learned along the way. It ends with Shill's promise to himself to be less judgmental and to start walking through life with eyes wide open. A teaching note is available to registered faculty.
Details
Keywords
Andrew C. Wicks, Jonathan Neeley and Jenny Mead
What happens when personal values and beliefs conflict with business decisions? This case, suitable for MBA, undergraduate, and executive learners, prompts engaging discussion of…
Abstract
What happens when personal values and beliefs conflict with business decisions? This case, suitable for MBA, undergraduate, and executive learners, prompts engaging discussion of this issue. Oliver Sparling was a highly successful senior analyst at AFI International, a top consulting firm in Chicago with an open and tolerant workplace. He was also a gay man who had lived happily with his partner for over 10 years. Sparling encounters trouble, however, when one of the firm's clients, Bible Books, Inc., takes exception to his “inappropriate” openness about his sexuality (including wearing his commitment band). Sparling's boss calls him into the office and asks him to tone it down when he's at Bible Books, Inc. “These are not easy economic times,” said the boss. “And this project is a big one for us. Basically, you're doing the company a favor if you lay low, and once the project is finished, it will be like it never happened. Besides, you know that you don't have anything to hide while you're at home here in Chicago. This is just for when you are in Birmingham.” Sparling must decide what course of action to take.
Details
Keywords
Lawrence J. Ring, Mark H. Johnson and Gary Shaw
Perdue Farms, the highly successful marketer of brand-name chicken, is considering the introduction of a chicken hot dog to the market. The decision is complicated by a variety of…
Abstract
Perdue Farms, the highly successful marketer of brand-name chicken, is considering the introduction of a chicken hot dog to the market. The decision is complicated by a variety of factors, including top management's concerns and conditions, potential ramifications of the hot dog for the company's high-quality image, the uncertainty of market response, uncertainties about how to position the new product, potential consumer objections to use of mechanically deboned meat, and the uncertainty of profitability at recommended levels of marketing costs.
Details
Keywords
Subject
Country
Case length
Case provider
- The CASE Journal
- The Case for Women
- Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
- Darden Business Publishing Cases
- Emerging Markets Case Studies
- Management School, Fudan University
- Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
- Kellogg School of Management
- The Case Writing Centre, University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business