Most popular ESMT case studies
Auchan in Syldavia: Formulating a strategy for the new subsidiary
Francis Bidault and Genevie Féraud
CEEMAN Prize Winner 2009
Michel Portal, an executive with Auchan in France, has been appointed to head up a new acquired subsidiary in the imaginary country of Syldavia. Auchan Syldava is typical of a “taking charge” case where participants are expected to help Michel Portal, the new CEO, to develop a strategy for his new assignment for a company that he is expected to turn-around in a relatively short time span. The case provides a detailed description of the Grünfeld group which Auchan has acquired as well as the strategic, organizational and cultural context.
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Celtel Nigeria: Towards serving the rural poor
Martin Kupp and Jamie Anderson
EFMD Prize Winner 2009
This two-part case study explores Celtel Nigeria's innovative approach to serving the rural poor. The company has experienced considerable success in serving Nigeria's cities, but has only recently shifted its attention to serving poorer consumers in rural areas, a massive but as of yet under tapped market. This shift from urban to rural has not been easy, and although some 50% of Nigeria's population lives in rural regions, the challenges of reaching them sometimes seem overwhelming.
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Damien Hirst and the contemporary art market
Martin Kupp, Jörg Reckhenrich, and Jamie Anderson
The case provides an overview of Hirst’s career as an artist and the circumstances that supported his success. The case study enables students to develop a good understanding of the elements of a strategic innovation, and how an individual (or organization) can shake up an established industry merely by framing and answering the fundamental strategic questions “Who is the customer,” “What do I offer this customer,” and “How do I create value for the customer - and ultimately myself” differently.
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Do you really think we are so stupid? A letter to the CEO of Deutsche Telekom
Konstantin Korotov, Ulf Schäfer, and Urs Müller
ecch best-selling case 2011
This three-part case illustrates key concepts and lessons about leading adaptive change in organizations in the context of turning around Deutsche Telekom, one of the world’s largest telecommunication companies. It portrays some of the efforts undertaken by Deutsche Telekom under the leadership of René Obermann after his ascent to the CEO position in that organization. It illustrates the challenges associated with resistance to adaptive change, management of expectations of organizational members from their leaders, and the psychological challenges of leading necessary, but unpopular, change efforts under the conditions of pressure from organizational stakeholders.
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Sitting pretty: Customer-driven innovation at Faurecia car seating
Alessio Castello and Francis Bidault
EFMD Prize Winner 2006
The case presents the situation faced by Faurecia over the last few years in terms of strategic direction and operations management in the highly competitive environment of car seating. In a consolidating market, in which survival is based on cost containment and performance excellence, Faurecia, the third largest car seat supplier worldwide, decided to launch an ambitious program to promote innovation and to optimize the new product development process.
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Smart Communications Inc: Case (A-B)
Jamie Anderson and Arun Khan
EFMD Prize Winner 2006
The case series explores Smart Telecommunication Inc's innovative approach to serving low-income customers in the Philippines. The case introduces a framework for developing strategies to serve low-income customers in developing countries - the 4A's. This framework is an adaptation of the classic 4P's of marketing. Case (A) provides an overview of the mobile phone market in the Philippines as of early 2003, as well as demographic and socioeconomic information. The CEO of Smart, Napoleon L Nazareno asks if it might be profitable to serve the massive but still untapped pool of low-income consumers, or whether his company should focus on pursuing market development opportunities to increase revenues from existing customers.
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Tchibo Ideas: Leveraging the creativity of customers
Francine Espinoza, Luc Wathieu, Sven Petersen
In 2008, the German coffee and consumer goods corporation Tchibo has launched Tchibo Ideas, an internet platform where customers can share their product/design ideas with the company. The tension in the case emerges from the uncertainty regarding Tchibo’s intentions with Tchibo Ideas. While some people perceive this move as a genuine attempt to establish closer interactions with customers, some people see it simply as a marketing gimmick. The case describes the challenges and benefits that Tchibo Ideas is encountering to foster a discussion on the value of a co-creation strategy.
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Voith Paper: Transforming sales costs into consulting revenue
Olaf Plötner
Voith Paper, one of the two largest international suppliers of premium, technically complex machines for paper production, has to improve its profitability. This also affects Mr. Kohl, senior sales executive of the product division with the highest turnover. He, however, does not want to save the additional millions through cost or personnel reduction. Instead, he plans to sell the consulting services of his sales engineers and thus meet the financial target.
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Waltraud Ziervogel at Konnopke's Imbiss: Re-inventing a Berlin icon
Urs Müller and Veit Etzold
EFMD Prize Winner 2011
The case describes a critical external incident which will have fundamental consequences for a small but very successful family business. At the beginning of 2010, Konnopke’s Imbiss was considered to be one of the, if not the, most famous snack bars in Berlin. This family-owned business was especially famous for the legendary “Currywurst,” a Berlin invention, which consists of a sausage fried in hot oil and served with ketchup, chili sauce, curry powder and French fries. Konnopke’s had become a Berlin fast food icon, winning critical acclaim in almost all major Berlin travel guides. But at the same time, the snack bar did not any longer seem to fit to its environment, which had changed from a working class district to a posh neighborhood mainly consisting of young freelancers and tourists.
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Zopa.com
Jamie Anderson and Martin Kupp
Best-selling case 2008 and 2009 at ecch
Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company represents a new business model in the retail financial services industry, and since Zopa is not technically a bank and does not lend money itself, the capital requirements to run the business are relatively small. Compared to a traditional full service bank Zopa concentrates on only a few steps of the value chain. This case provides an overview of the financial service industry, especially banks, in the UK in 2006 and how Zopa, a value innovator, has developed a unique position in the market through an innovative business model.
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