Default Category
-
Midea Group: Founder to CEO Succession
Ziqian (Stella) Zhao; Jean LeeCase IVEY-9B17C012-ELeadership and People ManagementMidea Group Co., Ltd. was a white goods empire built by its Chinese founder over several decades; consequently, the Midea brand led the home appliance industry in China. In August 2012, the 70-year-old founder and chairman retired as board chairman. The founder’s chosen successor was a 45-year-old professional manager and the former chairman and chief executive officer of one of Midea Group’s firms. This manager faced a grim situation as he took ...Starting at €8.20
-
North Dakota Trade Office: Advising a Pasta Exporter
Derek Lehmberg; Jaeha LeeCase IVEY-W25445-EStrategyIn September of 2020, an international business executive at the North Dakota Trade Office was asked by a client company, Dakota Growers Pasta Company Inc., to advise it on how to increase pasta exports to South Korea. Like many other firms in North Dakota, the client faced a number of hurdles to building successful export businesses. These included limited exposure to foreign markets and limited expertise in trade-related regulations and process...Starting at €8.20
-
Yonghui Superstores: Profit-Sharing and Partnership Reform
Xiaoming Zheng; Ziqian (Stella) ZhaoCase IVEY-9B19C008-EEntrepreneurship, Leadership and People ManagementIn July 2018, several employees of Yonghui Superstores stood outside the company’s headquarters in Chongqing, China to protest a pay cut that had been imposed on them. In 2012, the national supermarket chain had rolled out a performance monitoring system that periodically identified employees with inferior results. A broad-range profit-sharing plan was linked to the new performance system and calculated results based on team performance. Yonghui ...Starting at €8.20
-
Jia Yuan Company: Brothers Vying for Control of a Family Business
Ziqian (Stella) Zhao; Jin Song Huang; Liu RuiCase IVEY-9B20M110-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyJia Yuan Company was a small Chinese business founded by two brothers in 2005. The more ambitious of the brothers worked at the front of the business, successfully transforming it from a local sales agent for foreign branded products to a contractor for gStarting at €8.20
-
Lenovo 2009: The Role of Board Chairperson in a Turnaround
Neng Liang; Ziqian (Stella) Zhao; Mike UseemCase IVEY-9B16M079-EStrategyLenovo, China’s largest personal computer manufacturer, had just replaced its American chief executive officer (CEO), the third replacement since the company’s 2005 acquisition of IBM’s personal computer business. The leadership shakeup was seemingly caused by the worsening conditions in Lenovo’s key target market and the company’s subsequent disastrous financial loss, but, in reality, the reasons were more complicated. Lenovo was dealing with th...Starting at €8.20
-
Suntech Power Holdings: How to Avoid Bankruptcy
Daniel Han Ming Chng; Ziqian (Stella) ZhaoCase IVEY-9B17M106-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyIn 2013, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (STP) was facing the threat of bankruptcy. The chief executive officer (CEO), who had founded the company in China in 2001, was aware of the complexity and challenges of an emerging global industry (solar energy) and economy (China). Fears of energy shortages had fuelled the growth rate for the global solar energy industry, and governments in many countries had introduced subsidies for solar energy initia...Starting at €8.20
-
Li-Ning Co. Ltd.: A Leading Chinese Company Stumbles
Daniel Han Ming Chng; Ziqian (Stella) ZhaoCase IVEY-9B16M068-EStrategyIn 2012, Li-Ning Co. Ltd. (LNCL) was the third-largest sportswear company in China in terms of revenue, after international brands Nike and Adidas. Following its highly successful founding in 1990 by China’s Olympic champion and company namesake, Li Ning, the firm attempted to formalize its organizational structure and establish a professionally managed organization, while dealing with the rise of well-established international sportswear brands ...Starting at €8.20
-
Boots PLC: Japan Market Entry
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B12M048-EStrategyIn 1998, Boots PLC was in the midst of planning to enter the Japanese retail drugstore market. Boots, a household name in the United Kingdom and a fixture in traditional English shopping areas known as High Street, had an impressive lineup of Boots-branded health and beauty products. Boots developed, manufactured, marketed, and sold these products through its chain of Boots The Chemists stores. Management was convinced that the markets for health...Starting at €8.20
-
Sharp Corporation: Beyond Japan
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B11M007-EStrategyFaced with major losses from operations, Sharp Corporation’s young and unconventional president questioned the company’s long-standing operating model. Sharp was a leader in the area of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and manufacturing. It also held strong positions in several categories of consumer electronics in the Japanese market. Although Sharp had been increasing its involvement in overseas markets, it had yet to replicate its succe...Starting at €8.20
-
Pioneer Corporation: The NEC Plasma Opportunity (A)
Derek LehmbergCase IVEY-9B11M093-EStrategyIn 2004, Kaneo Itoh, president of the consumer electronics firm Pioneer Corporation, was considering acquiring the plasma display operations of another Japanese firm, NEC. Pioneer had decided some years ago that plasma display panel (PDP) technology was a good strategic area in which to invest. Recently, Pioneer had been selling increasing numbers of plasma television sets using PDPs. While the company was building a new PDP production facility t...Starting at €8.20