Case Studies
Hasbro Interactive
Chris Trimble
Length: 16 pages
Publication date: 2004
Case#: 2-0021
In the mid 1990s, Hasbro created Hasbro Interactive, a new business unit chartered to develop video games for PCs and other gaming systems based on Hasbro's many toy and game brands. After a few successful years, ambitions for Hasbro Interactive escalated dramatically. Would all games in the future be interactive?
Topics: Innovation, Marketing
Industry: Toys/Video Games
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PERI
Hans Brechbühl, (with Yiorgos Bakamitsos)
Length: 10 pages (plus appendices)
Publication date: 2003
Case#: 6-0019
he international market leader in an increasingly important product and service segment of the construction industry, PERI faced key decisions on updating and automating key processes. This case offers the opportunity for in-depth discussion on where a bricks-and-mortar company should place its IT bets for the future.
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Topics: Information Technology, Manufacturing, Marketing, Services, Supply Chain
Industry: Construction
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McGraw Hill: GradeSummit
Yiorgos Bakamitsos, Evelyn Hsia T'02 , Hans Brechbühl
Length: 30 pages
Publication date: 2003
Case#: 6-0018
This case outlines the interesting challenges McGraw Hill faced in launching an online testing and assessment product for higher education. It offers the opportunity for in-depth discussion on new product development, product/service bundling, channel management, and value networks.
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Topics: Innovation, Marketing, Services
Industry: Publishing
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Garden.com - At the End of the Runway
M. Eric Johnson
Length: 25 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0017
In the etailing gold rush of 1999, Garden.com was celebrated by both the dot.com media and the traditional business press as the quintessential virtual supply chain. INC magazine called Garden the "Perfect Internet Business." Yet by early 2001, Bill Pond, Director of Product Management found himself laying off his last employee and shipping his last order.
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Topics: Innovation, Product Development, Supply Chain
Industry: Garden Supply
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Yantra and ChemPoint: Extraprise Management in the Specialty Chemical Industry
Jesse Johnson T'02, under the supervision of Professor M. Eric Johnson
Length: 17 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0003
With no existing solution that could provide all their needs, ChemPoint selected vendors that offered a balance of functionality, speed, and cost, which fit their Internet focus and start-up financing. Yantra's software PureEcommerce was integral to this "best-of-breed" technology solution. With a powerful system in place, ChemPoint was rapidly executing their plan to build a farreaching network of chemical suppliers and customers.
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Topics: Services, Supply Chain
Industry: Chemicals
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Microsoft’s Xbox Gamble
by John Greco T'02, under the supervision of Visiting Professor Melissa M. Appleyard
Length: 24 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0011
In 2001, Microsoft released its first Xbox console, going head to head with the latest from Nintendo and Sony. Would the market accept the new platform that offered higher performance, but at a higher price than the competition? Could the market support three players? How would the gaming market evolve over time, and would it accommodate a broader strategy that extended beyond video games?
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Topics: Innovation, Strategy
Industry: Toys/Video Games
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AT&T Comcast Corporation: Making Good on the Broadband Promise?
Kate Thunnissen T'02, under the supervision of Visiting Professor Melissa M. Appleyard
Length: 18 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0012
On December 19, 2001, AT&T's Board of Directors unanimously approved Comcast's bid for AT&T Broadband. AT&T's strategy to offer telephone and cable through "one-stop shopping" had been deemed a dismal failure by many analysts. Would Comcast be any more successful capitalizing on the broadband assets that AT&T had amassed?
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Topics: Innovation
Industry: Communications
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Video On Demand (VOD): A Killer App or “Too Little, Too Late”?
Ed Ludwigson T'02, under the supervision of Visiting Professor Melissa M. Appleyard
Length: 7 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0013
In the early 1990s, cable providers envisioned Video on Demand offering consumers access to hundreds of movie titles just a few clicks away on the remote. However, the cost of building the infrastructure coupled with the cost of upgrading the cable networks, had proved too expensive to support VOD as a stand-alone service. Over the past eight years, cable companies have invested over $45 billion to upgrade to broadband hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) systems, and VOD has once again emerged as a promising source of growth for cable operators.
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Topics: Innovation
Industry: Entertainment
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Quad Wants to be a “Savi” Player in Agribusiness
M. Eric Johnson
Length: 25 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0015
In the competitive world of agribusiness, producer growers and grocery retailers must all strive to improve produce quality and reduce logistics cost. Quad hoped that its new reusable totes were the answer, but improving container utilization was critical in delivering a cost-effective solution. Could Savi Technologies help them develop a find a supply chain solution using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology?
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Topics: Supply Chain
Industry: Agribusiness
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Agile Software - I Want My WebTV!
M. Eric Johnson, Hau Lee
Length: 16 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 1-0074
Preview: Carol Schrader shifted in her chair, trying to focus on the conversation bouncing around the room. It wasn’t that she was uninterested in the topic. The group was debating the strategic direction of the firm’s software products. But like a jeep caught in the deep ruts of a muddy road, her thoughts kept falling back to the week’s stock market headlines. August of 1999 had not been a kind month for NASDAQ initial stock offerings. In fact, the whole summer was beginning to feel like a downward spiral. The worst headline had appeared that morning on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, “For Net-IPO Party, the Balloons Begin to Pop.”
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Topics: Innovation, Supply Chain
Industry: Computer
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NTT DoCoMo in the 3G Wilderness
Evelyn Hsia T'02, Kanichiro Kato T'02, under the supervision of Visiting Professor Melissa M. Appleyard
Length: 8 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0010
When NTT DoCoMo launched its third generation (3G) wireless mobile communication network in 2001, it was well ahead of potential 3G rivals in Europe and the US. However, was there a trade-off between cultivating a first-mover advantage and investing too far ahead of the curve? Would shouldering the costs of early deployment, experimentation, and content development in the short term hurt DoCoMo's chances for leadership internationally over the long term?
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Topics: Innovation
Industry: Communications
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New York Times Digital
Chris Trimble
Length: 21 Pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 2-0006
In 1995, the New York Times, launched New York Times Digital, a new venture dedicated to building a profitable business focused on distributing news context in multimedia format online. In implementing the venture, the company created a unit that was quite distinct organizationally. Many challenges followed.
Topics: Innovation, Marketing, Product Development
Industry: Media
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Learning from Mattel
John W. Torget T'00, under the supervision of Sydney Finkelstein
Length: 8 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 1-0072
After just three years as chairman and chief executive, Ms. Barad’s 18-year storybook career with Mattel ended dramatically on February 3, 2000 with another disappointing earnings announcement. As one of only three women running a Fortune 500 company, she became a role model for millions of women aspiring to positions in the top ranks of corporate management.
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Topics: Marketing, Product Development, Sales
Industry: Toys/Video Games
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Groove Networks: Making P2P a Reality
Ed Ludwigson T'02, under the supervision of Visiting Professor Melissa M. Appleyard
Length: 7 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0008
Is P2P the future of collaboration in the workplace? Groove Networks certainly believes so, as do backers Accel Partners, Intel Capital, and most recently Microsoft. But will the Microsoft relationship launch Groove on to the desktops of millions or see Groove subsumed within the Redmond software giant? Will Groove's future exist solely as a project collaboration tool or will it create a completely new platform for P2P computing?
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Topics: Innovation, Marketing
Industry: Communications
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EMC: Creating a Storage-Centric World
Jonathan Kwoh T'02, under the supervision of Visiting Professor Melissa M. Appleyard
Length: 7 pages
Publication date: 2002
Case#: 6-0009
While able to navigate technical and business roadblocks throughout the prior decade, by 2002, EMC Corporation faced a new set of challenges to its business model. This new set of challenges included the rise of distributed networking, whereby storage would become less centralized, in addition to the precipitous fall in demand due to the slowing global economy. Could EMC rely on its secrets for success from the past to propel its growth well into the future?
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Topics: Services
Industry: Computer
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Technology Note: Internetworking Products
Philip Anderson, Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble, Katrina Veerman T'01
Length: 8 pages
Publication date: 2001
Case#: 1-0005
Intended as background reading for students unfamiliar with internetworking products and markets, this Technology Note can be used alongside the two Cisco Systems cases described below.
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Topics: Innovation
Industry: Network Hardware
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Cisco Systems (A): Evolution to e-Business
Philip Anderson, Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble, Katrina Veerman T'01
Length: 25 pages
Publication date: 2001
Case#: 1-0001
Cisco Systems prides itself as an "end-to-end networking company." The phrase describes not only their product line but the way they run their business. They created many of the e-business practices that later became cornerstones of the software packages used throughout industry to make businesses more efficient. This case reviews their accomplishments and their method.
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Topics: Information Technology, Innovation, Product Development, Services
Industry: Network Hardware
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Cisco Systems (B): Maintaining an Edge in e-Business
Philip Anderson, Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble, Katrina Veerman T'01
Length: 6 pages
Publication date: 2001
Case#: 1-0002
As of March 2001, Cisco Systems enjoys a reputation as the most sophisticated e-business in the world. For its executives, the question of how to maintain this leadership position is paramount. Funding mechanisms, organizational models, and measures of successful innovation are just some of the issues that become increasingly complex as Cisco grows.
Topics: Information Technology, Innovation, Product Development
Industry: Network Hardware
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Simon & Schuster
Richard A. D'Aveni, Fred Wainwright T'02
Length: 48 pages
Publication date: 2001
Case#: 6-0004
In July of 2000, Simon & Schuster (S&S), one of the world's preeminent publishers of consumer books, agreed to a long-term strategic alliance with Lightning Source, a digital fulfillment service owned by Ingram Book Company. This alliance would include digital file conversion, digital rights management, e-book delivery to various devices and on-demand printing.
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Topics: Innovation, Services
Industry: Publishing
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Electronic Trading Systems and Fixed Income Markets
Richard A. D'Aveni, Jonathan Joys T'02
Length: 23 pages
Publication date: 2001
Case#: 6-0006
Electronic trading systems have only recently begun to account for measurable levels of the $88 trillion in annual trading volume in the US fixed income market. The fixed income markets' adoption of the Internet represents a significant shift in power. The principal advantages are: (1) greater availability and speed of information, (2) the possibility of direct trading between investors, (3) reduced cost and errors in processing transactions, and (4) increased speed of execution. It also improves liquidity by providing the smaller investors (below the top 200) access to markets and transactions from which they were previously locked out.
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Topics: Services
Industry: Finance
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