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AMC Networks Inc.: The Walking Dead Problem
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B18M203-EStrategyIn August 2017, AMC Networks Inc. (AMCN), a New York City–based cable television provider, faced a lawsuit from the creative talent behind the hit show The Walking Dead. The lawsuit charged that AMCN used its vertical integration into content development to reduce the profits available for distribution to participants. For AMCN, which was originally a content distributor, expanding into content creation through its AMC Studios had several benefit...Starting at €8.20
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eBay Inc.: The Portfolio Decision
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B20M113-EStrategyIn January 2019, eBay Inc. (eBay), a California-based e-commerce company, faced an activist campaign centred on its portfolio of businesses. Elliott Management Corporation, the hedge fund leading the campaign, believed that StubHub and Classifieds, two ofStarting at €8.20
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Etsy: A B Corp Start-Up Takes on Amazon
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B16M074-EStrategyAWARD WINNING CASE - This case was one of the winners of the 2016 John Molson MBA Case Writing Competition. When Etsy proceeded with an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2015, it was the second U.S. company to go public as a certified B Corporation. Etsy’s status as a B Corporation meant that social responsibility was ingrained in its mission. However, as an online marketplace for artisanal goods, Etsy faced a number...Starting at €8.20
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Viacom, Inc.: Corporate Governance in a Controlled Company
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B17M036-EStrategyViacom, Inc., a New York City-based media company, owned Paramount Pictures and popular television channels such as MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. Viacom was controlled by Sumner Redstone and run by his hand-picked second in command. In 2016, the 92-year-old Redstone, facing a claim of mental incompetency because of his advanced age, stepped down from his role as executive chair of the board. This led to several issues regarding corporate ...Starting at €8.20
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First Solar: The Module Recycling Opportunity
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B16M042-EStrategyIn 2014, the vice-president and director of recycling at the Arizona-based First Solar, Inc., the world's leading solar energy company, was considering a business plan to convert its solar panel recycling initiative from a cost centre to a profit-making business. Although the company pre-funded the recycling of photovoltaic solar panels by adding the recycling cost to the end-customers’ purchase price, Europe had recently enacted laws requiring t...Starting at €8.20
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Divided We Stand: Gay Marriage Rulings and Official Disobedience
Winig, Laura; Robichaud, ChristopherCase HBS-KS1199-EOn June, 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the federal Defense of Marriage Act violated the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment protection of equal liberty, effectively overturning the law. Pennsylvania, however, banned same-sex marriage. Despite the state law, D. Bruce Hanes, a register of wills in Pennsylvania, agreed to honor a request from two women seeking a same-sex marriage license-an act of official disobedience that immedi...Starting at €8.20
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Money & Morals: The Minimum Wage and the American South
Varley, Pamela; Robichaud, ChristopherCase HBS-KS1233-EEconomicsIn 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10. To the surprise of no one, Congressional Republicans blocked the move, as they had a similar proposal the year before. Seeing little hope of federal action, wage activists turned their sights on state and local governments. Riding a tide of popular support, dozens of jurisdictions voted in hikes in their own state and city mini...Starting at €8.20
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Hero or Traitor Edward Snowden and the NSA Spying Program
Winig, Laura; Robichaud, ChristopherCase HBS-HKS798-EEconomicsOn June 5, 2013, a London newspaper reported that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in the U.S. The story was the first of many top secret revelations about the NSA's spying programs, leaked by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor. The case examines Snowden's actions and motivations and asks students to consider the repercussions of whistleblowing/leaking on t...Starting at €8.20
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Yahoo! Inc.: Marissa Mayer's Challenge
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B13M049-EStrategyIn July 2012, Marissa Mayer was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Yahoo! Inc. and was tasked by Yahoo’s board of directors with turning around the company’s performance. Mayer’s ascension to the top position came with a number of challenges. Yahoo had seen seven CEOs come and go in its 18-year existence, five of whom had left within the last five years. In addition, Yahoo faced a number of corporate governance challenges, including the d...Starting at €8.20
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SolarCity Corporation: Challenges in the Solar Energy Value Chain
Ram SubramanianCase IVEY-9B14M059-EMarketing, StrategySolarCity Corporation competed in the downstream segment of the U.S. solar energy industry. The company installed solar panels for residential and commercial customers, using a decentralized (off-the-grid) power generation and transmission model to compete with utility companies that used a centralized (grid-based) model. Solar energy was a renewable source (unlike fossil-based energy sources) and therefore scored highly on both environmental and...Starting at €8.20