Ivey Business School (Canada)
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Quilts of Denmark: Managing Open Innovation
Wim VanhaverbekeCase IVEY-9B16M213-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyQuilts of Denmark was a Danish start-up company founded in 2000 with the goal of producing high-quality, functional quilts and pillows that contributed to healthy sleep. The company’s open innovation with a space agency and technology company resulted in an “intelligent” quilt that regulated body heat, providing users with an elusive but much-desired experience: a good night’s sleep. Selling a premium product in a commodity market was a challenge...Starting at €8.20
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Host Europe: Advancing CSR and Sustainability in a Medium-sized IT Company
Rüdiger HahnCase IVEY-9B10M042-EInformation Technologies, Leadership and People Management, StrategyThe case deals with issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in the specific setting of a medium-sized enterprise (Host Europe) in the IT industry. Host Europe is the third largest webhosting company in German-speaking Europe. In recent years, the company has put substantial efforts into living up to its CSR and improving sustainability. The case presents the IT sector in Europe and Germany and highlights several industr...Starting at €8.20
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Dow's Acquisition Program
Koen H. Heimeriks; Stephen GatesCase IVEY-9B10M058-EInformation Technologies, Leadership and People Management, StrategyThis case illustrates how Dow Chemical acquired and integrated Wolff Walsrode, a German specialty chemicals firm that was part of the Bayer Group. This acquisition, combined with Dow's existing cellulosics unit, helped it create a new specialty business with a forecasted $1.1 billion in annual sales and strengthen its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe. The main challenge in this case concerns the complexities of acquisition integration, whi...Starting at €8.20
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The Edifício España: A Global Investor Meets Local Politics
Klaus Meyer; Alicia Wang; Tomaz FittipaldiCase IVEY-9B17M108-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyThe Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd. (Wanda) was a fast-growing real estate imperium in China, built by Jianlin Wang, the wealthiest man in China. In 2010, Wang transformed Wanda into an entertainment conglomerate and initiated an ambitious international growth strategy. His ambitions knew few limits; however, one of his acquisitions—the Edificio España in Spain, an iconic historical building in the centre of Madrid—ran into difficulties due to confli...Starting at €8.20
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Conflict Over Leadership and Succession in a Successful Family Business: The Lakkard Leather Company
Simon Parker; Matthias A. TietzCase IVEY-9B11M043-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyThe founder of the Lakkard Leather Company was proud of his business, and attributed much of its success to his own leadership style, which did not allow for anyone else’s participation in important decisions. When he was badly injured in a car accident, his son stepped in and kept the business going. Without any intention to take over, the son altered the leadership and operations of the company in the space of a few months, so that by the time ...Starting at €8.20
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Sany's Cross-Border Acquisition, Integration, and Strategic Renewal
Libo Fan; Paul W. Beamish; Bess (Huifang) GengCase IVEY-9B16M191-EStrategyIn 2012, Germany-based Putzmeister was acquired by China-based SANY, the largest concrete machinery manufacturer in the world. By early 2015, the degree and extent of integration was still incomplete, which put pressure on SANY’s management. SANY focused mainly on the Chinese domestic market, whereas Putzmeister had an established brand and good experience in international markets. Should the acquisition integration focus only on Putzmeister, or ...Starting at €8.20
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Cembrit Holding A/S: At a Crossroads
Romeo TurcanCase IVEY-9B17M008-EStrategyCembrit Holding A/S (Cembrit), the second-largest producer of fibre cement products in Europe, had experienced a period of restructuring, acquisitions, and consolidation as a result of having acquired fibre cement companies involved in production, sales, and distribution throughout Europe and closing down its own production in Denmark. After years of restructuring and struggling, growth had finally picked up, with turnover reaching an average of ...Starting at €8.20
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NKT Photonics A/S: Doing Business at the Technological Frontiers
Torben Pedersen; Githa KurdahlCase IVEY-9B16M055-EEntrepreneurship, StrategyTo improve its profitability, NKT Photonics A/S (NKT), a small Danish company operating in the global photonics industry, was getting ready to undertake the commercialization process of its highly advanced optical fibre technology. NKT’s chief executive officer (CEO) was considering two options for accomplishing this goal: (1) establishing strategic partnerships with system integrators in order to gain access to commercial customers, or (2) repos...Starting at €8.20
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Wolters Brewery (B): Traditions for the Future
Klaus MeyerCase IVEY-9B12M010-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategyThis case is a supplement to Wolters Brewery (A): Negotiating Restructuring. It gives a debriefing of the (A) case. It is also an independent case on small- and medium-sized enterprises facing issues of local brand marketing in an industry increasingly dominated by global players, and of developing exports from scratch.Starting at €5.74
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True Fruits: A Juiced-Up Internationalization Strategy
Marc Fetscherin; Patrick SellCase IVEY-9B17A058-EEntrepreneurship, Marketing, StrategyIn 2017, True Fruits, a German smoothie company, was operating in three European markets. The company had developed flash pasteurization, which was an efficient and gentle production process that made their product one of the highest quality smoothies in the world. The company successfully exported its product to premium Austrian and Swiss supermarkets, and was planning further expansion within Europe. True Fruits had strong brand loyalty, and a ...Starting at €8.20