Case Studies

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?

Google's Project Oxygen started with a fundamental question raised by executives in the early 2000s: do managers matter? The topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management...

Big Hit Entertainment and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global

Bang Si-Hyuk ('Hitman Bang') is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a 'K-pop' band that has found unparalleled success around the globe-a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in...

Cirque du Soleil

Retaining talent is an issue for any company whose success relies on the creativity and excellence of its employees. This is especially true for Cirque du Soleil, the spectacularly successful "circus without animals," whose 2,100 employees include 500...

GE's Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch's Leadership

GE is faced with Jack Welch's impending retirement and whether anyone can sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. After briefly describing GE's heritage and Welch's transformation of the company's business...

Pinckney Street

Although inexperienced in real estate, Edward Alexander hopes in June 2013 that youthful enthusiasm and an $240,000 in savings and inheritance will help him enter the real estate business. His experience chronicles the process of finding, evaluating, and...

Army Crew Team

The coach of the varsity Army crew team at West Point assembled his top eight rowers into the first crew team and the second tier of rowers into the second team using objective data on individual performance. As the second boat continually beat the first...

Chase Sapphire: Creating a Millennial Cult Brand

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). The launch of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card was enthusiastically received by millennial consumers,...

Trader Joe's

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). Based on a variety of metrics, Trader Joe's ranked as one of the most successful grocers in the United...

Amazon.com, 2021

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit...

Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant...

The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their...

Unlocking High Performance: Strategy and Leadership Lessons from Successful Blue Ocean Shifts

Could there be strategic similarities in how a corporate leader grows a business into a trillion-dollar company, a police chief transforms one of the largest law enforcement agencies, or a small-town artist transforms into a global entertainment...

Lang Lang: How a Pianist Created and Captured a Blue Ocean in the Classical Music World

Lang Lang is one of the world's leading pianists, recognized both within the classical music world and as a global cultural figure with mass appeal. This case traces his career from prodigy to global phenomenon and examines the strategic choices that set...

Hello Sunshine (B): Creating a New Market in Hollywood

Acclaimed actress Reese Witherspoon had fame, influence, and an Oscar, but Hollywood wasn't developing the stories she wanted to tell. Tired of shallow roles and persistent age bias, she decided to create her own solution. This two-part mini-case...

Hello Sunshine (A): Creating a New Market in Hollywood

Acclaimed actress Reese Witherspoon had fame, influence, and an Oscar, but Hollywood wasn't developing the stories she wanted to tell. Tired of shallow roles and persistent age bias, she decided to create her own solution. This two-part mini-case...

Strategy Inc: MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Treasury - A Blue Ocean Shift or a Speculative Bet?

This case examines Strategy Inc.'s (formerly MicroStrategy) strategic shift from an enterprise analytics software firm into the world's first and largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company. CEO Michael Saylor challenged the fundamental treasury...

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, AI, and Employees

In March 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued a public Letter on AI and Employees following a year-long pilot of generative AI within his administration. The letter outlined eight principles intended to guide the adoption of AI in ways that...

Liquid Death (B): Breaking out of the Red Ocean of Bottled Water

In 2019, the U.S. bottled water market looked like one of the least attractive places to launch a start up. It was crowded with countless small brands and private label offerings, dominated by global giants, and highly commoditised, with many products...

Liquid Death (A): Breaking out of the Red Ocean of Bottled Water

In 2019, the U.S. bottled water market looked like one of the least attractive places to launch a start up. It was crowded with countless small brands and private label offerings, dominated by global giants, and highly commoditised, with many products...

bluebird bio's Lyfgenia: Pricing at Launch

GridX: Building Global Biotech Ventures from Latin America

In October 2025, as GridExponential (GridX) prepared to launch its third fund, CEO and cofounder Matías Peire faced a pressing challenge: how to increase the firms graduation rate. Founded in 2017, GridX was a Latin American venture capital firm focused...

NVIDIA and the Sovereignty Claws

As NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, prepared to take the stage their GTC 2026, the company was navigating two converging forces: the rise of AI "claws" - a new class of autonomous agents, including OpenClaw - and mounting global demands for AI sovereignty...

BRF and Marfrig: 1+1=3?

This case examines the 2025 merger of Brazilian protein giants Marfrig and BRF to form MBRF Global Foods, creating one of the worlds largest animal protein companies. It follows founder Marcos Molina and CEO Miguel Gularte as they confront strategic...

Upwork's Statement of Operations

The Spirit of Delta Air Lines: Climbing Through and Beyond COVID-19 (A)

In September 2025, as Delta Air Lines marked its centennial, CEO Ed Bastian confronted a central question: could the company sustain its people-first culture-and the performance it enabled-within a rapidly rebuilt workforce following COVID-19? In an ind

The Spirit of Delta Air Lines: Climbing Through and Beyond COVID-19 (B)

In September 2025, as Delta Air Lines marked its centennial, CEO Ed Bastian confronted a central question: could the company sustain its people-first culture-and the performance it enabled-within a rapidly rebuilt workforce following COVID-19? In an ind

Surest: When Consumers Can Shop for Health Care, Who Wins?

Surest is a health insurance policy that enables consumer-driven cost control. Enrollees who need care shop among a variety of provider bundles, each with its own price and quality metrics and a fixed copayment. For example, they could contemplate...

Value-Based Procurement at Southlake Regional Health Centre, Ontario, Canada

This case study centers on Southlake Regional Health Centre (Southlake) in Ontario, Canada, as it embarks on a journey toward value-based procurement (VBP). Robert Bull, Vice President of Finance, Technology & Innovation, sees an opportunity to transform

Introducing a High-Value Solution for Enhanced Hip Fracture Management in Singapore

This case study centers on Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), an acute care hospital in Singapore and a major provider within the National Healthcare Group (NHG). The case invites students to assume the role of CEO of TTSH and formulate recommendations to imp

Osteoboost: Go-To-Market Strategy in a Healthcare Startup

Osteoboost focuses on how a health care Medtech startup with a new device for treating osteopenia. The firm decides among alternative go-to-market strategies, including B2B (the firm to healthcare providers), DTC (directly to consumers), or some...

Blueprint Medicines: Drawing Up the Plans (B)

Blueprint Medicines: Drawing Up the Plans (A)

Blueprint Medicines was founded on the premise that cancer, at its most fundamental level, is a genetic disease. With the advancements made in understanding of the underlying biology of cancer and the ability to more easily detect the genetic drivers of...

Endeavor Fire Protection: The People's Platform (B)

Endeavor Fire Protection: The People's Platform (A)

This case examines Robert Lanes creation and rapid expansion of Endeavor Fire Protection, a union-focused fire and life safety services platform that grew from $3 million to more than $15.5 million in Adjusted EBITDA and expanded from 1 to 14 states...

Intuit: Lobbying to Save TurboTax

Intuits TurboTax software held a dominant market position in the online tax preparation market. Many politicians over the years had proposed changes that would have harmed Intuits business - notably, allowing the Internal Revenue Service to develop a go

Workfabric AI: Building AI Twins

In 2026, Rohan Murty, cofounder and CEO of Workfabric, faced a strategic decision about the future direction of his company. Workfabric had developed a platform that learned how employees worked and leveraged that behavioral data into organizational conte

Endeavor Fire Protection: The People's Platform (C)

Blueprint Medicines: Drawing Up the Plans (C)

BMW Group (A): Leading the Agentic Enterprise?

This case examines BMW Group's transformation toward an "agentic enterprise" as generative AI and autonomous agents begin to reshape how work is organized across the company. Following the internal adoption of an AI platform, BMW achieved significant prod

BMW Group (B): Building the Agentic Enterprise

This case examines how BMW Group transitioned toward an agentic enterprise by adopting Operating Model 2.0, embedding AI agents into redesigned end-to-end business processes. Rather than expanding isolated AI tools, BMW introduced the AIconic Operating Sy

Cascadia Seaweed: Scaling a Regenerative Aquaculture Business

Cascadia Seaweed Corp. (Cascadia) was a vertically integrated regenerative aquaculture company based in British Columbia. Cascadia cultivated kelp on First Nation-owned ocean tenures and processed it into seaweed-based biostimulants and animal feed...

Happy Lamb: Global Expansion at a Crossroads

Happy Lamb International Catering Chain (Happy Lamb) was an international hot pot restaurant chain, founded in Boston in 2016 and since steadily expanding to 40 stores outside China. From inception, Happy Lamb remained committed to its core concept of...

Note on Growth Trajectories for Established Companies

Supplement for product W49957.Julian Birkinshaw is affiliated with Ivey Business School

Disneyland Paris: Designing a Strategic Roadmap for Europe

The Walt Disney Company (Disney) had entered Europe with the opening of Disneyland Paris in 1992. Despite initial financial losses and a mixed reception, after restructuring and rebranding it became profitable by 1995 and since grew into a major tourist...

Canada-USA Olympic Women's Hockey: Youth Versus Experience

On February 10, 2026, the Canadian women's hockey team lost 5-0 to the US in a preliminary round game at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. As this marked their seventh consecutive defeat at the hands of the Americans, it sparked a debate in the press about...

In Need of a Booster: Vaccination Clinic Revamp at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health

In July 2025, Julie Richard, a public health nurse and the newly appointed manager at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), was tasked with her first major assignment: launching a new series of vaccination clinics ahead of the upcoming flu...

CARtech: Implementing a Finance-First Integration Strategy

Cartech Technology Development Co. Ltd. (CARtech) was a fast-growing used car platform based in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, that connected consumers, car dealerships, and financing partners through a data-driven marketplace. In spring 2023, Chief...

Yisi Changtian's Growth Strategy: Scale or Specialize

Yisi Changtian (Nanjing) Digital Intelligence Technology Co. Ltd. was an artificial intelligence (AI) start-up in Nanjing, China, focused on automated machine learning. By March 2025, it had validated demand through its consumer-end (C-end)...

KaspaCom: Capturing Value from the Kaspa Blockchain

KaspaCom was a decentralized finance platform built on the Kaspa blockchain, led by founder and chief executive officer Sione Milhem. By early 2026, the company had emerged as the dominant decentralized finance hub within the Kaspa ecosystem, offering an...

A Note on Relative Valuation

This technical note explores how finance professionals estimate firm value using relative valuation rather than intrinsic cash flow models. It places valuation decisions in contexts such as investment analysis, mergers and acquisitions, IPO pricing, and...

Zomato: Channel Conflict in the Indian Food Delivery Market

In 2025, Zomato-India's leading food delivery platform-faced a channel conflict with its restaurant partners, represented by the National Restaurant Association of India. The conflict arose after Zomato launched its quick food delivery app, Bistro, which...