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United Airlines: Frequent Flyer Program
Won-Yong OhCase IVEY-9B16M037-EStrategyFrom 1980 to 2010, frequent flyer programs (FFPs) had evolved from simple customer reward programs to independent profit-generation business models. The airline industry had seen enormous success with FFPs, which had become businesses of their own. In June 2014, however, United Airlines announced that as of March 1, 2015, it would move from awarding miles based on distance flown to awarding miles for dollars spent per ticket, following in the foo...Starting at €8.20
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Amazon.com: Evolving Into Offline Retail
Won-Yong OhCase IVEY-9B18M026-EStrategyIn late 2015, Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) opened its first brick-and-mortar Amazon Books store in the United States. Amazon had invested heavily in expanding in the United States through new projects, from establishing Amazon Prime Now to setting up Amazon Books and Amazon Go locations. By 2017, a rumour suggested that Amazon might acquire Whole Foods Market Inc., a natural and organic foods supermarket. Could Amazon be as successful in offline ret...Starting at €8.20
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Sprint: Turnaround in the U.S. Telecom Industry
Won-Yong Oh; Duane MyerCase IVEY-9B16M092-EStrategySprint Corporation, a major U.S. wireless carrier, had been losing customers and suffering financially since its merger with Nextel in 2005. Sprint was also ranked the lowest among major U.S. carriers in terms of network speed and data performance. But a new opportunity emerged when the SoftBank Group acquired Sprint in 2013. The new chief executive officer (CEO), appointed in August 2014, publicly gave himself three to five years to turn around ...Starting at €8.20
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Imprimis (B)
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon; Elterman, Karen; Appel, MarcCase HBS-717496-EEntrepreneurshipThis case is a supplement to Imprimis (Case A). It describes the company's decision to enter into the pharmaceutical compounding business in 2013-14. Imprimis purchased a compounded ophthalmological medication called Dropless Therapy, which was injected into patients' eyes post-cataract surgery, with the aim of replacing a complex regimen of prescription eye drops. After a successful launch of the compounded medication, Imprimis ran into complica...Starting at €5.74
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The Rise and Rise (?) of Walmart (A): Battling Kmart
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon; Van Den Steen, Eric; Elterman, KarenCase HBS-718431-EStrategyThis case, set in 1990, describes the history of Walmart and asks what competitive strategies Kmart might adopt in response to Walmart's success. It discusses the strategy and organization of both companies in terms of HR practices, store location, distribution, information technology, procurement, pricing, and company culture. This (A) case is the first in a multi-part series that goes on to describe the results of Kmart's competition with Walma...Starting at €8.20
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Walmart Ecommerce (A): Picking up the Pace
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon; Elterman, KarenCase HBS-720425-EStrategyThis case is an abridged version (part 1 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?" HBS Case 720-370. The (A) case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as improvements made under Doug McMillon beginning in 2014. The case describes Walmart's physical stores, delivery options, grocery business, online marketplace, and distribution system. It also discusses the ecommerce startup Jet.com, which Wa...Starting at €8.20
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Walmart Ecommerce (B): Omnichannel Pursuits
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon; Elterman, KarenCase HBS-720426-EStrategyThis case is an abridged version (part 2 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?", HBS Case 720-370. The (B) case describes Walmart's omnichannel strategy in 2018 as it battled Amazon for online retail market share. Walmart aimed to integrate its enormous brick and mortar footprint with its growing ecommerce business, e.g., through merchandise and grocery delivery and order online, pickup in store options. It a...Starting at €5.74
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Steemit: A New Social Media
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon; White, Alexander; Elterman, KarenCase HBS-720428-EStrategyThis case discusses the alternative social media site Steemit, including the principles it was founded on in 2016 and the challenges it faced in 2019. Steemit was a blockchain-based platform that aimed to differentiate itself from other social media companies by returning power to its users, rather than centralizing control among company executives. Steemit rewarded its users with cryptocurrency for posting, commenting on, and upvoting content on...Starting at €8.20
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Las Vegas Construction: Ethical Contracting
Won-Yong Oh; Youngkyun ChangCase IVEY-9B17M047-EStrategyIn December 2015, the head of supply chain management (SCM) at Las Vegas Construction Inc. was tasked with reducing operating costs by 25 per cent in order to deal with the fallout in Nevada’s construction industry from the global economic downturn. The SCM head had engaged the manager in charge of subcontracting to help with cost reductions. The subcontracting manager did find a way to reduce costs, but it turned out to be a questionable way. He...Starting at €8.20
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Apple: Corporate Governance and Stock Buyback
Won-Yong Oh; Seoyeon ParkCase IVEY-9B14M165-EStrategyAn activist shareholder who invested a significant amount in Apple’s stock proposed a share repurchase program. If this proposal were approved at the annual shareholder’s meeting, Apple would be in a position to buy back a significant number of its shares on the stock market, which would drive up the stock price. However, the executives and board of directors opposed the proposal and recommended that the shareholders vote against it. Apple’s subs...Starting at €8.20