Case Studies

The SAP Design Thinking case follows the path of Sam Yen, Chief Design Officer at SAP, on his quest to infuse design thinking into the SAP organization. Through a series of programs and events, Yen...

“Carlypso: Overcoming Bumps in the Road in the Used Car Industry” explores various challenges associated with scaling a start-up.  In 2013, Christopher Coleman and Nicholas Hinrichsen cofounded Carlypso, a company that simplified the process of...

In January 2015, Jennifer Carolan, who had served as the managing director of the NewSchools Venture Fund Seed Fund (“Seed Fund”), spun off from the nonprofit venture philanthropy firm to create a for-profit social impact...

In 2015, Generation Investment Management celebrated the successful 10-year track record of its flagship Global Equity Fund, which outperformed its benchmark index by over 500 basis points per year.  A mainstream investment firm whose founders...

At the end of 2011, Microsoft was closing its acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion.  Skype had more than 500 million registered users, revenue exceeded $600 million, and the company accounted for 40 percent of...

In 2016, Santa Clara County was launching a six-year project aimed at reducing the enormous costs of treating its most acute mental health care patients − $45 million a year − while improving their treatment...

It is September 2013.  The new Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon launch his tour in Central Asia.  On this tour, the President is deciding whether to launch a grand investment strategy, which he calls...

In December 2015, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and the de facto leader of the EU, faced the challenge of formulating an effective policy response to Europe’s migration crisis. Merkel must decide whether Germany can...

The Mary Chowning case examines several managerial challenges that Mary Chowning encountered during her first year as chief financial officer (CFO) of the fictitious company Nutrigenics.  Through Chowning’s tribulations, the case provides an opportunity for...