harvard business case study pdf

• Utility Menu

harvardchan_logo.png

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Case-Based Teaching & Learning Initiative

Teaching cases & active learning resources for public health education, the case study handbook, revised edition: a student's guide.

Publisher's Version

Using our case library

Access to cases.

Many of our cases are available for sale through Harvard Business Publishing in the  Harvard T.H. Chan case collection . Others are free to download through this website .

Cases in this collection may be used free of charge by Harvard Chan course instructors in their teaching. Contact  Allison Bodznick , Harvard Chan Case Library administrator, for access.

Access to teaching notes

Teaching notes are available as supporting material to many of the cases in the Harvard Chan Case Library. Teaching notes provide an overview of the case and suggested discussion questions, as well as a roadmap for using the case in the classroom.

Access to teaching notes is limited to course instructors only.

• Teaching notes for cases available through  Harvard Business Publishing may be downloaded after registering for an Educator account .
• To request teaching notes for cases that are available for free through this website, look for the "Teaching note  available for faculty/instructors " link accompanying the abstract for the case you are interested in; you'll be asked to complete a brief survey verifying your affiliation as an instructor.

Using the Harvard Business Publishing site

Faculty and instructors with university affiliations can register for Educator access on the Harvard Business Publishing website,  where many of our cases are available . An Educator account provides access to teaching notes, full-text review copies of cases, articles, simulations, course planning tools, and discounted pricing for your students.

Filter cases

Case format.

• Case (116) Apply Case filter
• Case book (5) Apply Case book filter
• Case collection (2) Apply Case collection filter
• Industry or background note (1) Apply Industry or background note filter
• Simulation or role play (4) Apply Simulation or role play filter
• Teaching example (1) Apply Teaching example filter
• Teaching pack (2) Apply Teaching pack filter

Case availability & pricing

• Available for purchase from Harvard Business Publishing (73) Apply Available for purchase from Harvard Business Publishing filter
• Download free of charge (50) Apply Download free of charge filter
• Request from author (4) Apply Request from author filter

Case discipline/subject

• Child & adolescent health (15) Apply Child & adolescent health filter
• Maternal & child health (1) Apply Maternal & child health filter
• Human rights & health (11) Apply Human rights & health filter
• Women, gender, & health (11) Apply Women, gender, & health filter
• Social & behavioral sciences (41) Apply Social & behavioral sciences filter
• Social innovation & entrepreneurship (11) Apply Social innovation & entrepreneurship filter
• Finance & accounting (10) Apply Finance & accounting filter
• Environmental health (12) Apply Environmental health filter
• Epidemiology (6) Apply Epidemiology filter
• Ethics (5) Apply Ethics filter
• Global health (28) Apply Global health filter
• Health policy (35) Apply Health policy filter
• Healthcare management (55) Apply Healthcare management filter
• Life sciences (5) Apply Life sciences filter
• Marketing (15) Apply Marketing filter
• Multidisciplinary (16) Apply Multidisciplinary filter
• Nutrition (6) Apply Nutrition filter
• Population health (8) Apply Population health filter
• Quality improvement (4) Apply Quality improvement filter
• Quantative methods (3) Apply Quantative methods filter
• Social medicine (7) Apply Social medicine filter
• Technology (6) Apply Technology filter

Geographic focus

• Cambodia (1) Apply Cambodia filter
• Australia (1) Apply Australia filter
• Bangladesh (2) Apply Bangladesh filter
• China (1) Apply China filter
• Egypt (1) Apply Egypt filter
• El Salvador (1) Apply El Salvador filter
• Guatemala (2) Apply Guatemala filter
• Haiti (2) Apply Haiti filter
• Honduras (1) Apply Honduras filter
• India (3) Apply India filter
• International/multiple countries (11) Apply International/multiple countries filter
• Israel (3) Apply Israel filter
• Japan (2) Apply Japan filter
• Kenya (2) Apply Kenya filter
• Liberia (1) Apply Liberia filter
• Mexico (4) Apply Mexico filter
• Nigeria (1) Apply Nigeria filter
• Pakistan (1) Apply Pakistan filter
• Philippines (1) Apply Philippines filter
• Rhode Island (1) Apply Rhode Island filter
• South Africa (2) Apply South Africa filter
• Turkey (1) Apply Turkey filter
• Uganda (2) Apply Uganda filter
• United Kingdom (2) Apply United Kingdom filter
• United States (63) Apply United States filter
• California (6) Apply California filter
• Colorado (2) Apply Colorado filter
• Connecticut (1) Apply Connecticut filter
• Louisiana (1) Apply Louisiana filter
• Maine (1) Apply Maine filter
• Massachusetts (14) Apply Massachusetts filter
• Michigan (1) Apply Michigan filter
• Minnesota (1) Apply Minnesota filter
• New Jersey (1) Apply New Jersey filter
• New York (3) Apply New York filter
• Washington DC (1) Apply Washington DC filter
• Washington state (2) Apply Washington state filter
• Zambia (1) Apply Zambia filter

Case keywords

• Financial analysis & accounting practices (1) Apply Financial analysis & accounting practices filter
• Law & policy (2) Apply Law & policy filter
• Sexual & reproductive health & rights (2) Apply Sexual & reproductive health & rights filter
• Cigarettes & e-cigarettes (1) Apply Cigarettes & e-cigarettes filter
• Occupational health & safety (2) Apply Occupational health & safety filter
• Bullying & cyber-bullying (1) Apply Bullying & cyber-bullying filter
• Sports & athletics (1) Apply Sports & athletics filter
• Women's health (1) Apply Women's health filter
• Anchor mission (1) Apply Anchor mission filter
• Board of directors (1) Apply Board of directors filter
• Body mass index (1) Apply Body mass index filter
• Carbon pollution (1) Apply Carbon pollution filter
• Child protection (2) Apply Child protection filter
• Collective impact (1) Apply Collective impact filter
• Colorism (1) Apply Colorism filter
• Community health (3) Apply Community health filter
• Community organizing (2) Apply Community organizing filter
• Corporate social responsibility (2) Apply Corporate social responsibility filter
• Crisis communications (2) Apply Crisis communications filter
• DDT (1) Apply DDT filter
• Dietary supplements (1) Apply Dietary supplements filter
• Education (3) Apply Education filter
• Higher education (1) Apply Higher education filter
• Electronic medical records (1) Apply Electronic medical records filter
• Air pollution (1) Apply Air pollution filter
• Lead poisoning (1) Apply Lead poisoning filter
• Gender-based violence (3) Apply Gender-based violence filter
• Genetic testing (1) Apply Genetic testing filter
• Geriatrics (1) Apply Geriatrics filter
• Global health (3) Apply Global health filter
• Health (in)equity (6) Apply Health (in)equity filter
• Health care delivery (3) Apply Health care delivery filter
• Health reform (1) Apply Health reform filter
• Homelessness (3) Apply Homelessness filter
• Housing (1) Apply Housing filter
• Insecticide (1) Apply Insecticide filter
• Legislation (2) Apply Legislation filter
• Management issues (4) Apply Management issues filter
• Cost accounting (1) Apply Cost accounting filter
• Differential analysis (1) Apply Differential analysis filter
• Queuing analysis (1) Apply Queuing analysis filter
• Marketing (5) Apply Marketing filter
• Mergers (3) Apply Mergers filter
• Strategic planning (6) Apply Strategic planning filter
• Marijuana (1) Apply Marijuana filter
• Maternal and child health (2) Apply Maternal and child health filter
• Medical Spending (1) Apply Medical Spending filter
• Mental health (1) Apply Mental health filter
• Mercury (1) Apply Mercury filter
• Monitoring and Evaluation (1) Apply Monitoring and Evaluation filter
• Non-profit hospital (1) Apply Non-profit hospital filter
• Pharmaceuticals (5) Apply Pharmaceuticals filter
• Power plants (2) Apply Power plants filter
• Prevention (1) Apply Prevention filter
• Public safety (4) Apply Public safety filter
• Racism (1) Apply Racism filter
• Radiation (1) Apply Radiation filter
• Research practices (1) Apply Research practices filter
• Rural hospital (2) Apply Rural hospital filter
• Salmonella (1) Apply Salmonella filter
• Sanitation (1) Apply Sanitation filter
• Seafood (1) Apply Seafood filter
• Skin tanning (1) Apply Skin tanning filter
• Social business (1) Apply Social business filter
• Social determinants of health (9) Apply Social determinants of health filter
• Social Impact Bonds (1) Apply Social Impact Bonds filter
• Social media (2) Apply Social media filter
• State governance (2) Apply State governance filter
• Statistics (1) Apply Statistics filter
• Surveillance (3) Apply Surveillance filter
• United Nations (1) Apply United Nations filter
• Vaccination (4) Apply Vaccination filter
• Water (3) Apply Water filter
• Wellness (1) Apply Wellness filter
• Workplace/employee health (4) Apply Workplace/employee health filter
• World Health Organization (3) Apply World Health Organization filter

Supplemental teaching material

• Additional teaching materials available (12) Apply Additional teaching materials available filter
• Simulation (2) Apply Simulation filter
• Multi-part case (18) Apply Multi-part case filter
• Teaching note available (70) Apply Teaching note available filter

Author affiliation

• Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University (12) Apply Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University filter
• Harvard Business School (22) Apply Harvard Business School filter
• Harvard Kennedy School of Government (1) Apply Harvard Kennedy School of Government filter
• Harvard Malaria Initiative (1) Apply Harvard Malaria Initiative filter
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (98) Apply Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health filter
• Social Medicine Consortium (8) Apply Social Medicine Consortium filter
• Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) (11) Apply Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) filter
• Women, Gender, and Health interdisciplinary concentration (1) Apply Women, Gender, and Health interdisciplinary concentration filter

Health condition

• Alcohol & drug use (1) Apply Alcohol & drug use filter
• Opioids (1) Apply Opioids filter
• Asthma (1) Apply Asthma filter
• Breast implants (1) Apply Breast implants filter
• Cancer (3) Apply Cancer filter
• Breast cancer (2) Apply Breast cancer filter
• Cervical cancer (1) Apply Cervical cancer filter
• Cardiovascular disease (1) Apply Cardiovascular disease filter
• Cholera (1) Apply Cholera filter
• COVID-19 (3) Apply COVID-19 filter
• Disordered eating (2) Apply Disordered eating filter
• Ebola (2) Apply Ebola filter
• Food poisoning (1) Apply Food poisoning filter
• HPV (1) Apply HPV filter
• Influenza (2) Apply Influenza filter
• Injury (2) Apply Injury filter
• Road traffic injury (1) Apply Road traffic injury filter
• Sharps injury (1) Apply Sharps injury filter
• Malaria (2) Apply Malaria filter
• Malnutrition (1) Apply Malnutrition filter
• Meningitis (1) Apply Meningitis filter
• Obesity (3) Apply Obesity filter
• Psychological trauma (1) Apply Psychological trauma filter
• Skin bleaching (1) Apply Skin bleaching filter

Filter resources

Resource format.

• Article (15) Apply Article filter
• Video (8) Apply Video filter
• Blog or post (7) Apply Blog or post filter
• Slide deck or presentation (5) Apply Slide deck or presentation filter
• Book (2) Apply Book filter
• Digital resource (2) Apply Digital resource filter
• Peer-reviewed research (2) Apply Peer-reviewed research filter
• Publication (2) Apply Publication filter
• Conference proceedings (1) Apply Conference proceedings filter
• Internal Harvard resource (1) Apply Internal Harvard resource filter

Resource topic

• Teaching, learning, & pedagogy (33) Apply Teaching, learning, & pedagogy filter
• Teaching & learning with the case method (14) Apply Teaching & learning with the case method filter
• Active learning (12) Apply Active learning filter
• Leading discussion (10) Apply Leading discussion filter
• Case writing (9) Apply Case writing filter
• Writing a case (8) Apply Writing a case filter
• Asking effective questions (5) Apply Asking effective questions filter
• Engaging students (5) Apply Engaging students filter
• Managing the classroom (4) Apply Managing the classroom filter
• Writing a teaching note (4) Apply Writing a teaching note filter
• Teaching inclusively (3) Apply Teaching inclusively filter
• Active listening (1) Apply Active listening filter
• Assessing learning (1) Apply Assessing learning filter
• Planning a course (1) Apply Planning a course filter
• Problem-based learning (1) Apply Problem-based learning filter
• Abare, Marce (1)
• Abdallah, Mouin (1)
• Abell, Derek (1)
• Abo Kweder, Amir (1)
• Al Kasir, Ahmad (1)
• Alidina, Shehnaz (3)
• Ammerman, Colleen (1)
• Andersen, Espen (1)
• Anyona, Mamka (1)
• Arnold, Brittany (1)

The Case Study Handbook: A Student's Guide

William ellet.

Revision includes study guides and new insight for students

The business case study is a powerful learning tool. This practical guide provides students with a potent approach to:

• Recognize case situations and apply appropriate tools to solve problems, make decisions, or develop evaluations
• Quickly establish a base of knowledge about a case
• Write persuasive case-based essays
• Talk about cases effectively in class

The Case Study Handbook comes with downloadable study guides for analyzing and writing about different types of cases, whether they require a decision, an evaluation, or problem diagnosis.

Individual chapters are available in PDF for purchase or to assign in a class.

Downloadable Study Guides

About the Author

William Ellet has worked with MBA students for over thirty years. He has taught at Harvard Business School, Brandeis University, George Washington University, and the University of Miami. He has facilitated case teaching seminars for Harvard Business Publishing and as a consultant in China, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Brazil. His publications include an online course (Management Communication), this book, cases, and a video, all published by Harvard Business School or Harvard Business Publishing.

With cases, you need to change how you read and, ultimately, how you think. Cases are a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces arranged in a confusing pattern. You need to take the pieces and fit them into a pattern that helps you understand the main issue and think about the optimal ways to address it. You need to be comfortable with less than perfect information and an irreducible level of uncertainty. You need to be able to filter the noise of irrelevant or relatively unimportant information. You need to focus on key tasks that allow you to put pieces together in a meaningful pattern, which in turn will give you a better understanding of the main issue and put you in a position to make impactful recommendations. The Case Reading Process Read the first and last sections of the case. What do they tell you about the core scenario of the case? These sections typically give you the clues needed to identify the core scenario. Take a quick look at the other sections and the exhibits to determine what information the case contains. The purpose is to learn what information is in the case and where. Avoid reading sections slowly and trying to memorize the content. Stop! Now is the time to think rather than read. What is the core scenario of the case? What does the main character have to do? What is the major uncertainty? Identify the core scenario by asking the 2 questions. Once you are reasonably certain of the core scenario—decision, evaluation, or problem diagnosis—you can use the relevant framework to ask the questions in the next step. Those questions will give you a specific agenda for productively exploring the case. What do you need to know to accomplish what the main character has to do or to resolve the major uncertainty? List the things you need to know about the situation. Don’t worry about being wrong. This is probably the most important step of the entire process. If you don’t know what you’re looking for in the case, you won’t find it. The right core scenario framework will prompt you to list things that you need to explore. For example, for a decision scenario case, you should think about the best criteria the main character can use to make the decision. To determine criteria, think about quantitative and qualitative tools you’ve learned that can help you. Go through the case, skim sections, and mark places or takes notes about where you find information that corresponds to the list of things you need to know. You’re ready for a deep dive into the case. Carefully read and analyze the information you’ve identified that is relevant to the things you need to know. As you proceed in your analysis, ask, How does what I’m learning help me understand the main issue? The most efficient and least confusing way to read and analyze is to peel the onion—to study one issue at a time. For instance, let’s say that a decision has financial and marketing criteria. Analyzing the financial issues separately from marketing is far less confusing than trying to switch back and forth. As your analysis moves from issue to issue, you may discover gaps in your knowledge and have to add items to your list of what you need to know. Your ultimate goal is to arrive at a position or conclusion about the case’s main issue, backed by evidence from the case. Remember, there are usually no objectively right answers to a case. The best answer is the one with the strongest evidence backing it. As you learn more, ask, How does what I know help me understand the main issue? When you are preparing a case for class discussion, consider alternative positions. Finally, take some time to think about actions that support your position. What actions does your position support or require? In the real world, analysis is often followed by action. A decision obviously has to be implemented. Usually the entire point of a problem diagnosis is to target action that will solve the problem. And even evaluation has an important action component: sustaining the strengths and shoring up the weaknesses that it has revealed.

Case Studies

Case studies are written by professors at HBS and at renowned business programs worldwide and offer slices of business life, focusing on actual problems and decisions companies face.

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...

Carnival Corp: Cruising In the Time of Covid

Korea Venture Investment Corporation

Korea Venture Investment Corporation is the venture capital arm of the Korean government with a founding mission to build a domestic startup ecosystem that would be as competitive as Silicon Valley. KVIC manages a basket of funds-of-funds and has become...

SundaySky: Changing Customer Experiences Through Personalized Video

In June 2023, SundaySky CEO Jim Dicso considers growth strategies. The software-as-a-service company provided software to create advertising videos, customer service videos, and other videos, like employee training modules, and had begun to pilot a new...

Open Source Machine Learning at Google

Set in early 2023, the case exposes students to the challenges of managing open source software at Google. The case focuses on the challenges for Alex Spinelli, Vice President of Product Management for Core Machine Learning. He must set priorities for...

Is Rice Climate's Next Petrol? Sustainability at Loc Troi Vietnam

Could rice become as crucial as petrol in the fight against climate change? In 2023, Nguyen Duy Thuan, General Director of Loc Troi Group (Loc Troi) Vietnam, was sceptical. His company, the largest rice producer in the country, faced a pivotal moment in...

All Home CA: Ending Homelessness Easy as 1-2-4?

The case reveals how Porsche has become one of the world's leading car companies. Central to Porsche's growth strategy is creating great products, including its legendary 911 Carrera sportscar, and offering innovative customer experiences. As the...

Lowe's: Improving the Total Home Strategy

In 2023, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe's, contemplated enhancements to the company's Total Home Strategy to accelerate performance and grow market share. In the last five years since becoming CEO, Ellison had championed a turnaround of the company,...

RMZ 4.0: "How fast do we want to run?"

In 2023, RMZ Corporation ("RMZ") a large family-owned real estate firm based in Bengaluru, India, announced plans to transform from a commercial real estate developer to a diversified alternative asset owner. Over the next 5 years, RMZ looked to grow its...

ASA Philippines: Making Financial Inclusion Possible

Kamrul Tarafder was the President and CEO of ASA Philippines Foundation, a social enterprise dedicated to empowering women by providing microloans for them to start or run small businesses. Unlike traditional microfinance models, these loans are...

Your True Moral Compass

Taffi: Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

Taffi was a tech-enabled fashion styling startup founded by Shahad Geoffrey in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Within three years of operating, Geoffrey had pivoted the business multiple times. In 2023, Geoffrey was attempting the business's most ambitious pivot...

Biogen and the Aduhelm Melee

Alzheimer's Disease is a devastating condition affecting millions of Americans. At this time, there is no cure. In 2021, Biogen's Aduhelm (aducanumab) received FDA approval under the accelerated approval pathway after a controversial approval process. ...

Dabur India Ltd.: Building Efficiency and Optimizing Retail Performance

In August 2022, a senior sales executive at Dabur India Ltd. was facing mounting pressure to meet the company's sales and distribution key performance indicators. He was responsible for urban retail expansion, as well as promoting new products in a...

WayCool: Reimagining the Food Supply Chain

Founded in 2015, WayCool, is an Indian agri-tech start-up that built a B2B operation acquiring fruits and vegetables from product-specific agriculture companies and small-holding farmers. It sold them to business customers, such as local retail stores,...

Adventures Inc: 21st Century Brand Building

Founded in 2020, Adventures worked with celebrities in Brazil to create and launch digitally native brands. The idea was to match the celebrity's skill in creating content and entertaining fans with Adventures' skill in consumer packaged goods marketing...

Jubilee Enterprises of Thailand: Growing through insights

Unyarat Pornprakit (Unya) is the youthful chief executive officer of Jubilee Enterprise PLC, a diamond jewelry retailer. Since Unya became CEO in 2008, she has expanded the chain to 128 stores and grown the revenue to $400 million. She has managed to...

Seed Stage Fund: Dispute in Venture Capital (B) - Paul Chambers

This role-play exercise presents students with a realistic and complex negotiation challenge: it asks them to participate in a quantifiable negotiation between managing partners in a venture capital fund who are embroiled in a co-founder dispute. The...

Code Tenderloin: A Small Black-Led Nonprofit Tackling Tough Social Issues in San Francisco

In late 2020, Maria Judice and the other members of the senior leadership team of Code Tenderloin (CT), a Black-led, nonprofit community support organization based in San Francisco, were wrestling with several challenges, especially around hiring to...

Beirut International Model United Nations: Conference-Planning System

On a day in early June 2017, Fadi Kanaan, a member of the organizing committee of the Beirut International Model United Nations (BEYMUN) conference at the American University of Beirut (AUB), sat in front of college hall feeling very excited yet worried...

Hampstead Tea: Coping with Brexit

In March 2021, the founder of Hampstead Tea, a specialty-tea processor based in London, United Kingdom, found herself at a crossroads. Since 1995, the founder had been exporting packaged tea to countries in the European Union (EU) as well as selling it...

Orange Sky: Balancing Commitment to Cause and Well-Being

Orange Sky Australia evolved as an entrepreneurial non-profit organization offering two primary services for the homeless: mobile laundering of clothes and engaging in genuine, individual, face-to-face connections through conversation. In February 2024,...

Bauer Hockey: Navigating a Sponsorship Crisis - Epilogue (B)

On October 10, 2022, Mary-Kay Messier, vice-president global marketing of Bauer Hockey (Bauer), was faced with a difficult decision on the future of Bauer's sponsorship of Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada was experiencing widespread fallout from sexual...

Bauer Hockey: Navigating a Sponsorship Crisis (A)

Co-operate or Control? Credit Union Wealth Management in Canada

In November 2016, the chief executive officer of Credit Union Central of Manitoba was reading the report Credit Union Wealth Management Strategic Option Assessment, which he had commissioned several months earlier. He saw the report as the best and...

Simira Diagnostics: Is Crafting the Brand Identity Enough?

In January 2023, the diagnostic services provider Simira Diagnostics (Simira), founded in Navi Mumbai, India, in 2017, decided to launch a company-wide rebranding project. When unveiling the new logo to the team, the co-founder emphasized the need to...

Vimto Arabia: Navigating Cultural Marketing Landscapes

The UK brand Vimto was successfully integrated with the Ramadan season in the Persian Gulf region, which presented a compelling narrative of strategic brand adaptation and cultural sensitivity. Through a strategic partnership between the British company...

Zoho Corporation: The Tale of a Purpose-Driven Profit-Making Firm

Zoho Corporation Ltd. (Zoho) was a privately held technology company that provided a suite of software applications for businesses of all sizes. The company was founded in 1996 with the aim of providing affordable, easy-to-use software applications to...

Worxogo: Nudging for High Employee Performance

Based on their extensive consulting and advisory experience in large-scale consulting transformations for various large enterprises, Ramesh Srinivas and his colleagues at Worxogo Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Worxogo) in Bengaluru, India, had launched an...

Norfolk Housing Association: Social Enterprise Considers Growth Opportunity

As Chief Executive Officer Maya Kambeitz sat in her Calgary office preparing for the upcoming mid-2018 board meeting, she considered a potential growth strategy for Norfolk Housing Association (Norfolk Housing) that would align with its core values: to...

ITC Limited: Diversification Strategy

Present-day ITC Limited (ITC) is a well-diversified company with a presence in various businesses, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), hotels, agribusiness, paperboards and paper, and packaging. The 113-year-old India-based company has de-risked...

New World Development: Balancing Sustainability and Financial Stability

In January 2023, the chief executive officer of New World Development Co. Ltd. (New World Development) faced a critical decision. With travel set to resume between Hong Kong and Mainland China, opportunities and challenges emerged in the post-pandemic...

ToTrade: Optimizing Performance through the Supply Chain Finance Network

By early 2022, Zhongguang Yiyun Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd. had spent six years developing its supply chain management (SCM) and supply chain finance (SCF) platform, ToTrade. The platform collaborated with multiple banks and focal companies to...

Dassai: Opening a Sake Brewery in the United States

The Japanese sake market witnessed a 40-year decline, fueled by shifting consumer preferences and an aging customer base. Asahi Shuzo Co. Ltd. (Asahi Shuzo), a once-struggling brewery from Yamaguchi, defied the trend with the success of its singular...

Transforming Tradition: The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer

In their final year of studies, many engineering students in Canada eagerly anticipate reciting their obligation and receiving their "ring" as part of the century-old iron ring ceremony (i.e., the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer). Most students are...

Silicon Valley Bank: Bargain Buy or a Bankrupt?

On March 8, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) disclosed its plans to raise USD 1.75 billion to seal a hole in its balance sheet from an unsuccessful sale of a fixed-income portfolio that had reportedly resulted in substantial losses. This unexpected move...

Influencer's Image: Crafting a Strong Career and Personal Brand

In 2023, Vasudha Rai had positioned herself as a brand in the health, wellness, and beauty market in India, with a cumulative 92,000 followers across platforms. To strengthen her personal brand moving forward, she conducted a brand audit. Basedon the...

Maersk's Sailing Routes: Reroute, Reorganize, or Relax

A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S (Maersk) dominated the shipping business as the world's second-largest container shipping company in terms of fleet size and capacity of handling cargo. In December 2023, Houthi attacks on various Maersk vessels passing through...

Ben & Jerry's in Israel: A Board Pitted against the Parent

In January 2024, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc. (Ben & Jerry's), a subsidiary of Unilever, was facing several critical decisions. It had been over a year since the company had been sued by its independent board about the company's decision to sell...

Chandos Construction: Bringing Humanity to Building

Established in 1980, Chandos Construction (Chandos), a Canadian general contractor, prioritized inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation. As the largest B Corporation-certified commercial builder in North America, Chandos aimed to create a legacy and...

Copyright Permissions

If you'd like to share this PDF, you can purchase copyright permissions by increasing the quantity.

Order for your team and save!

Case collection: Harvard Business Publishing

About Harvard Business Publishing

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) is the leading provider of teaching materials for management education.

HBP was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University, reporting into Harvard Business School. HBP's mission is to improve the practice of management in a changing world. This mission influences how they approach what they do and what they believe is important.

With approximately 450 employees, primarily based in Boston, with offices in New York City, India, Singapore, Qatar and the United Kingdom, HBP serves as a bridge between academia and enterprises around the globe through its publications and multiple platforms for content delivery, and its reach into three markets: academic, corporate, and individual managers. HBP has a conventional governance structure comprising a  Board of Directors , an internal  Executive Committee , and Business Unit Directors.

About the collection

The Case Centre distributes a comprehensive range of materials including the complete collection of more than 7,500 Harvard Business School case studies, teaching notes, background notes, case videos, and a selection of software ancillaries.

Also included are:

• Brief Cases that are rigorous and compact with five-eight pages and three-four exhibits
• case studies that are popular for undergraduate-level courses
• executive education cases that provide rich yet efficient learning for managers at every level.

Additional top quality HBP teaching materials available from The Case Centre include:

• articles from the  Harvard Business Review  and other top management journals
• case method books from the Harvard Business School Press
• over 2,000  individual chapters  from popular Harvard Business School Press books
• newsletter articles  from Harvard Management Update, Strategy & Innovation, Negotiation, and Balanced Scorecard Report
• Core Curriculum Readings  that cover the foundational concepts, theories, and frameworks that business students must learn. Authored by faculty at Harvard Business School, each Reading includes a teaching note, related course materials, and exhibit slides. Many include test banks, practice questions, video clips, and Interactive Illustrations to enhance student comprehension of specific topics.

HBP also offer a number of free cases.  Browse here

Collection contact

For any queries related to the Harvard Business Publishing collection, please visit:

Travis Stewart e [email protected]

Browse the full collection Browse prize-winning cases

Available from the case centre.

The HBP collection of over 16,000 cases, and their accompanying instructor materials, software and videos, 7,000 management articles and 2,000 individual book chapters are available from The Case Centre.

See what's available

There are restrictions on the distribution of some items. To see any restrictions login to our site (or register if you've not already done so) and use our online search to find the item you're interested in. Any restrictions will be shown alongside the product.

Materials from Harvard Business Publishing are not available to customers at corporate organisations or at organisations in China.

www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators

Top ten bestselling cases

Browse the top ten bestselling cases from Harvard Business Publishing in 2023.

Browse the full collection

View all case collections

Learning with cases can be a challenging experience.

Our interactive study guide takes students through the process, providing practical tips, tricks and tools.

Discover more

Register now for Free Access to Case Studies from Harvard and Other Renowned Institutions

Your free harvard business publishing educator account includes.

- Access to over 50,000 learning materials - Latest ideas from Harvard Business Review - Digital access to teaching guides & resources - Simulations with real-world choices and outcomes

Our catalog includes a variety of learning topics such as

• General Management
• Business Ethics
• Finance & Accounting
• Operations Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Information Technology
• Entrepreneurship
• HR Management
• International Business

What are Other Business Educators Saying about Our Collection?

“I can’t imagine a more versatile resource than Harvard Business Publishing - everything from cases, videos to simulations are available. The advantage of teaching with HBP materials is twofold: ease of mind for the faculty and credibility for the students.”

“After 35 years as an academic, I have come to the conclusion that there is a magic in the way Harvard cases are written. Cases go from specific to general, to show students that business situations are amenable to hardheaded analysis that then generalize to larger theoretical insights. The students love it!”

“For almost 25 years, I’ve used HBP’s cases, articles and simulations in my MBA classes. The material is always updated, so that new company stories are featured alongside some of the most classic articles.”

We offer access to learning materials from 50+ partners including:

• Boston University Libraries

Business Case Studies

• Harvard Business School Cases
• Getting Started

Licensing Restrictions

Harvard business review.

• Diverse Business Cases
• Databases with Cases
• Journals with Cases
• Books with Cases
• Open Access Cases
• Case Analysis
• Case Interviews
• Case Method (Teaching)
• Writing Case Studies
• Citing Business Sources

Due to licensing restrictions, Harvard Business School Case Studies are limited to classroom use by individual students. The BU Libraries (including Pardee Library) cannot purchase cases for the library’s collections, or obtain cases through Interlibrary Loan. Individuals may purchase copies of cases for their own personal use directly from Harvard Business Publishing .

Instructors that assign Harvard Business School cases to their students can set up course packs directly with Harvard Business Publishing . Students will need to pay a fee to access the course pack and cost will vary depending on number of cases involved.

If you would rather not pay a fee for cases, please review this guide further for cases available through existing library resources or Open Access Cases (free).

A small number of case studies can be found in Harvard Business Review via our Business Source Complete subscription (1922-present) or in print at Pardee Library (1990-present). To limit your search results in Business Source Complete to case studies, select "Case Study" for the Document Type. Another source for business cases is Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (2007-present). You should also select "Case Study" for the Document Type to limit search results to case studies.

In August 2013, HBR designated 500 of their most popular articles as "read-only" and restricted the ability to print or download those articles in Business Source Complete. While it may change over time, the original list of articles is available here: HBR 500 . If you need an article that is part of the HBR 500, you may be able to access it through our Harvard Business Review print subscription at Pardee Library.

*Faculty: Please note that HBR articles from our Business Source Complete subscription may not be linked to course management systems due to licensing restrictions, however, articles can be purchased directly from Harvard Business School Publishing for inclusion in course packs.

• << Previous: Getting Started
• Next: Diverse Business Cases >>
• Last Updated: Aug 17, 2024 10:10 AM
• URL: https://library.bu.edu/business-case-studies

• Harvard Business School →
• Faculty & Research →
• HBS Case Collection

Apple Inc. in 2020

• Format: Print
• | Language: English
• | Pages: 31

About The Author

David B. Yoffie

Related work.

• December 2020
• Faculty Research
• January 2022

Apple Inc. in 2020 – Select Market Data

• Apple Inc. in 2020  By: David B. Yoffie
• Apple Inc. in 2020 – Select Market Data  By: David B. Yoffie