Case Studies

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?

Google's Project Oxygen started with a fundamental question raised by executives in the early 2000s: do managers matter? The topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management...

Big Hit Entertainment and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global

Bang Si-Hyuk ('Hitman Bang') is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a 'K-pop' band that has found unparalleled success around the globe-a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in...

Cirque du Soleil

Retaining talent is an issue for any company whose success relies on the creativity and excellence of its employees. This is especially true for Cirque du Soleil, the spectacularly successful "circus without animals," whose 2,100 employees include 500...

GE's Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch's Leadership

GE is faced with Jack Welch's impending retirement and whether anyone can sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. After briefly describing GE's heritage and Welch's transformation of the company's business...

Pinckney Street

Although inexperienced in real estate, Edward Alexander hopes in June 2013 that youthful enthusiasm and an $240,000 in savings and inheritance will help him enter the real estate business. His experience chronicles the process of finding, evaluating, and...

Army Crew Team

The coach of the varsity Army crew team at West Point assembled his top eight rowers into the first crew team and the second tier of rowers into the second team using objective data on individual performance. As the second boat continually beat the first...

Chase Sapphire: Creating a Millennial Cult Brand

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). The launch of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card was enthusiastically received by millennial consumers,...

Trader Joe's

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). Based on a variety of metrics, Trader Joe's ranked as one of the most successful grocers in the United...

Amazon.com, 2021

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit...

Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant...

The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their...

Larry Culp at General Electric: Rebuilding an American Icon

As he takes over as CEO of the iconic industrial giant General Electric, Larry Culp faces a range of urgent issues as the company is delisted from the DJIA and is seen by many as heading towards bankruptcy. Culp steers GE through a series of carefully...

Mentorship and Mobility at Walmart

In the spring of 2024, Jerry Geisler, executive vice president and chief information security officer (CISO) for Walmart, learned that his deputy Rob Duhart was leaving for a new role as CISO of Oracle Corporation's cloud services division. Geisler and...

WEVO

WEVO was a Boston-based market research firm that used both human surveys and surveys of AI-generated personas to conduct market research. WEVO had to decide on a strategy to achieve scale as other AI-based market research firms began to proliferate...

Transparency in Performance Management

This fictional caselet puts you in the role of a manager who has just completed performance reviews for your employees. Some employees have given feedback that the review process needs greater transparency, and that they want continuous, real-time...

100 Kellogg Lane: Entertaining a New Strategy

100 Kellogg Lane (100 Kellogg) was a landmark in London, Ontario, recognized as the largest indoor entertainment complex in the country. While well known among locals, the facility had struggled to attract students from nearby Western University and...

Starlux Airlines: The Revenge-preneur's Dilemma

In 2020, Chang Kuo-Wei (commonly known as K.W.) launched STARLUX Airlines Co. Ltd. in Taipei, Taiwan after a family business dispute with his three half-brothers, following the death of their father. STARLUX Airlines Co. Ltd. became a highly successful...

GoPro: Frame by Frame, Losing Itself

This case examines the rapid rise of GoPro Inc. (GoPro) as a maker of rugged action cameras built around the Be a Hero identity. Initially positioned for extreme sports enthusiasts, the company became a global brand associated with immersive,...

A Bombed Gas Station in Korotych, Kharkiv Region: The Spirit of Ukrainians Exemplified

On the evening of Friday, November 7, 2025, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed an OKKO gas station a civilian object during the attack on Korotych, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. People were refuelling their cars, while others were in the caf that was part...

Schneider Electric's Journey towards a Sustainable Future: A Marathon for Success

This case traces Schneider Electric's transformation under CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire (2006-2023), from a French industrial manufacturer of electrical products to a global leader in digital sustainability solutions. It highlights how Schneider navigated...

Global Strategies and NoviGuide: Options for Scaling an Innovative Global Health Technology

Dr. Joshua Bress, President of Global Strategies, understands his nonprofit's mission firsthand having worked as a pediatrician in eastern Congo where the infant mortality rate is the highest in the world. Global Strategies designed an easy-to-use,...

Springwood Cottage Resort: Shoreline to Bottom Line

Ed Chaplin had purchased Springwood Cottage Resort (SCR) in Arden, Ontario, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. He intended to revitalize the resort with his wife, Christine Chaplin, and since then, he had invested considerable time and effort into...

Maha Al Sibai: Lead Enterprise or Stay Artist?

AWARD WINNER - 2025 AUB-OSB Case Writing Competition Over two decades, Maha Al Sibai, an award-winning jewellery designer and founder of a boutique luxury brand, Maha Al Sibai Jewellery LLC, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has built a reputation for...

Magsons: Strategizing in the Hyper-Competitive Supermarket Industry

By August 2025, Kirit Maganlal, cofounder of Magsons Group (Magsons), faced pivotal decisions about the supermarket chain's next phase of growth. Magsons had added new store formats in recent years, yet profit margins remained persistently low...

Attaware Biodegradable Private Limited: Edible Cutlery Innovation

In April 2025, the founder of Attaware Biodegradable Private Limited, based in Delhi, India, was facing a strategic dilemma. The company offered edible, single-use cutlery made from natural ingredients such as wheat flour, jaggery, and millets as an...

Horn & Hardart: Reviving A Legacy Brand - Strategy, Positioning, And Investor Value

In 2023, David Arena felt the urge for a new challenge. His inspiration came from an unexpected source: Horn & Hardart (H&H), a once-iconic American dining brand. At its 1952 peak, the company operated 171 locations across Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and...

VTR Marketing Pvt Ltd: Balancing Brands and Channels

VTR Marketing Private Limited (VTR) manufactured a premium national polyvinyl chloride and wood plastic composite (PVC/WPC) brand, VTR Boards, in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Despite significant investments in quality manufacturing and distribution...

Breaking the Ice: Tracing Conflict within the 2024-2025 Vancouver Canucks National Hockey League Team

This case explores a dilemma faced by Vancouver Canucks Limited Partnership (the Canucks) a National Hockey League team based in Vancouver, British Columbia concerning a long-standing conflict between two star players. The case's protagonist, the team s...

Murata Electronics Singapore: Driving Talent Management with Data

In early 2025, Elise Lim Ying Qi, a new analyst in the human resources (HR) analytics team at Murata Electronics Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MES), had inherited a regression-analysis project that identified key drivers of employee engagement. With results...

Target Under Fire: An Ethical Dilemma in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In the wake of heightened political polarization in the United States, Target faced backlash over rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. The retailer had long positioned itself as an inclusive brand, supporting LGBTQ+...

Gensol: Corporate Governance Challenges in Promoter-Led Firms

In April 2025, the board of directors at Gensol Engineering Ltd. (Gensol), an Indian clean-energy company, faced some significant corporate-governance challenges. After the diversion of 2.62 billion by the company's promoters led to legal action by the...

Willow Nurseries: Government Regulation, Social Media, and Invasive Species

In spring 2023, Willow Nurseries faced intensifying criticism after social media posts accused the company of selling invasive plants. Customer emails and in-store feedback echoed concerns about environmental harm, with some threatening a boycott unless...

UPM's -30 by 30: Tracing Its Scope 3 Reduction Journey

UPM-Kymmene Corporation (UPM), headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, established the -30 by 30 program, which targeted a 30 per cent reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2030. In December 2024, Kimmo St'hlberg, director of supplier quality and sustainability,...

Humanitix Accessible Ticketing Platform: Everyone Deserves a Seat

In December 2024, Humanitix Ltd. (Humanitix), an Australian not-for-profit ticketing platform, was planning its 2025 expansion into the UK. Founded to challenge industry norms of high fees and poor service, Humanitix donated 100 per cent of its booking...

Chacha Food: Innovating Beyond Sunflower Seeds

This case examines the strategic challenge faced by Lily Hsu, overseas regional manager for Asia-Pacific at Chacha Food Co. Ltd. (Chacha), as the company sought to expand its business in South Korea. Although Chacha had achieved broad retail distribution...

Keda: Designing a Global Strategy for Digitalization and ESG Transformation

Keda Industrial Group Co. Ltd., a manufacturing giant based in China, strategically positioned itself as a dominant player in the ceramic machinery industry with a global presence by providing customized, sustainable solutions and advanced technologies...

Growcer Inc.: Scaling Up a Sustainable Start-Up

Growcer Inc. (Growcer) was a Canadian manufacturer of plug-and-play modular farms. In a bid to scale up operations and make it easier for customers to mobilize the capital investment of CA$300,000 required to buy the company's flagship product, the chief...

Shearwater Research Inc.: Direct to Consumer?

In December 2025, the CEO of Shearwater Research Inc. in Vancouver, Canada, was considering growth options for the privately held company. Shearwater Research was renowned globally for high end dive computers used by technical, recreational, and military...

Rivian's Roadmap: Crafting a Brand in the Challenging EV Space

The newly appointed chief marketing officer (CMO) of Rivian Automotive Inc., Jennifer Prenner, is faced with the formidable task of building the company brand in North America with a view to enhancing sales. Developing a comprehensive marketing...

Polymarket: Gearing Up for an Airdrop

Polymarket, a US-based prediction market platform owned by Blockratize Inc., was preparing to re-enter the US market in 2025 after clearing US regulatory hurdles and securing mainstream distribution partnerships. The company was planning a token...

Hisense's Evolving Organizational Structure in Africa

The China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit took place in Beijing on September 4, 2024. The summit focused on the industrialization of the manufacturing sector as a key aspect of China Africa collaboration. During its 28 years of operations in Africa, such...

TRIWE's Rural Cluster: An Executive's Resignation

The chief executive officer of Society for Tribes Rural Women & Employment was facing a dilemma after the resignation of a key employee in an executive position. The social development organization was dedicated to the upliftment of rural artisans in the...

SmartICE: Scaling a Social Enterprise in Northern Canada

SmartICE Sea Monitoring & Information Inc. was a work-integrated social enterprise operating in Northern Canada. The organization provided sea ice monitoring tools that combined Inuit knowledge with advanced technologies to improve safety, travel, and...

Yaan Man: Who Gets to Define Beauty?

Indian start-up Yaan Man, which entered the market with unusual visibility after appearing on Shark Tank India, launched India's first dedicated men's makeup brand. While most male grooming brands stuck to safe categories like face washes and beard oil,...

Mountain Equipment Co-Op: Can Democracy Work in a Large Co-Operative?

In 2011, Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) faced the challenges of ever-increasing and stiff competition and wanted business savvy voices at the board table to navigate the coming challenges. As a successful, large co-operative, MEC also had to guard...

An Acquisition in India: The Buyer's Story

In 2019, Gautam Kumar and Mazikeen Lee established ImageRx Pdt. Ltd., a company founded to provide medical diagnostic services across South and Southeast Asia. ImageRx would purchase successful diagnostics providers and integrate them into a...

Xiaomi Auto: How to Design a Strategic Ecosystem

In 2021, Xiaomi Corporation, a global leader in consumer electronics, entered the electric vehicle sector. Compressing the typical 10-year automotive development cycle into just three years, in 2024, Xiaomi delivered 135,000 units of its first model, a...

Bolt Technology OU: Defending Cross-Border Trademark and Reputation

On February 24, 2023, the High Court of Delhi, India ruled against granting an injunction on Ujoy Technology Private Limited to stop using of the term Bolt as its trademark. The request was launched by Bolt Technology OU, an Estonian company that offered...

Hastings Medical Clinic: Marketing Struggles and Data-Driven Solutions

In April 2024, Jonathan Shomo, a physician assistant and owner of Hastings Medical Clinic in Bridgewater, Virginia, confronted a crisis threatening the survival of his primary care practice. Shomo had built the clinic around near-constant availability,...

App-Solute Power Play: Apple's Epic Challenge

Apple Inc. charged a 30 per cent commission on sales of apps hosted on its App Store, as well as on any in-app purchases consumers made. But in 2025, a court ruled in favour of Epic Games Inc. (Epic), a major publisher of video games (such as Fortnite),...

Barzotti Woodworking: Growing by Campaign or Craft

Barzotti Woodworking Ltd. was a multigenerational custom cabinetry manufacturer in Ontario. Founded by Vincent Barzotti in 1957, the company had long operated in the Barzotti way, characterized by excellent craftsmanship, an extensive referral network,...