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Chapters 2 and 3 Corporate and Business Strategy Decisions and their Marketing
Implications
Case: BRAINLAB (A)
Author(s): Mullins, J; Lloyd, J;
Publisher: London Business School
Publication Date: 2005
Reference: 805-056-1
Abstract: It was a warm summer day in 1999 at his favourite beer garden in Munich, and Stefan
Vilsmeier had just returned to his native Bavaria from yet another trip to the United States. In
less than ten years, Vilsmeier and his team had taken BrainLAB from a raw start-up in a
one-room office to being courted by one of the leading medical technology companies in the
world as an acquisition candidate. ‘Courted’ was not exactly the right word, however, as
Medtronic, the proposed acquirer, had also sued BrainLAB for patent infringement and was
aggressively competing with BrainLAB for market share. If Medtronic’s lawsuit were successful,
BrainLAB might be put out of business. Even if BrainLAB could fend off the lawsuit from its
deep-pocketed competitor, it still faced an uphill battle with Medtronic and others in the
marketplace for its innovative image-guided surgery systems and other software-based medical
technology advances that Vilsmeier believed could revolutionize medical practice. Since
Vilsmeier himself owned more than 60 percent of BrainLAB’s shares, the decision about whether
or not to sell to Medtronic ultimately fell on his shoulders. At an exorbitant price, Medtronic’s
proposal was nothing to take lightly.
Case: Silverglide Surgical Technologies (A)
Author(s): Mullins, J
Publisher: London Business School
Publication Date: 2004; Revised 2005
Reference: CS04-004
Abstract: From a rocky perch above the city of Boulder, Colorado, Jon Thorne gazed across the
city and onto the great plains that stretched eastward before him. “There’s nothing like a
vigorous mountain bike ride into the hills,” Thorne thought, “when crucial decisions have to be
deliberated.” It was a summer afternoon in 1999, and Thorne had devoted much of the past three
years to developing and taking to market a surgical instrument that he thought had the potential
to significantly improve surgical practice. Though the feed-back from surgeons had been
excellent, Thorne’s company, Silverglide Surgical Technologies, Inc, had little to show for its
efforts. The $80,000 in start-up capital that Thorne had raised was nearly gone and his
company’s sales to date “rounded to zero,” as a member of his Advisory Board had remarked at a
board meeting earlier that week. Was it time to broaden his company’s market focus from plastic
surgeons into other surgical specialities? Was it time to abandon the probe and develop a new
product line? Or should he abandon his entrepreneurial dream and return to a salaried job in the
medical products industry from which he had come?
Case: Growth, Strategy, and Slotting at No Pudge! Foods, Inc.
Author(s): Robertson, Chris
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Publication Date: 2003
Reference: 9B03M033
Abstract: The health and fitness trend that started in the 1980s and became a staple of American
lifestyle in the 1990s created numerous opportunities for new firms to introduce niche products.
The founder of No Pudge! Brownies worked with a consultant to develop a fat-free brownie mix.
She then designed a lean organization where production, distribution and Internet orders were all
outsourced. Immediately she is faced with her 'Achilles heel', the slotting fees required by
supermarkets to obtain shelf space. After two years of negotiating with supermarkets, an
important grocery chain finally agrees to carry her product without any slotting fees. By 1997
sales totaled a meager $250,000. Aggressive lobbying with the National Food Distributors
Association and a multi-pronged strategy for dealing with slotting eventually pushed sales above
the $2 million mark. No Pudge! is at a major decision point. New growth opportunities, such as
muffin mix and fast-food distribution of pre-made brownies are abundant. Slotting continues to
be a source of frustration for the firm, and No Pudge! is now on the radar screen as a possible
acquisition target by major food purveyors.
Case: The Black & Decker Corp. (A): Power Tools Division
Author(s): Dolan, Robert J.
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Publication Date: 1995 Revision Date: 2001
Reference: 9-595-057
Abstract: Presents Black & Decker’s performance against a Japanese competitor and others in
the power tools market. Black & Decker is anxious to regain its market share leadership in
particular segments of the market. Teaching Purpose: Allows exploration of issues of brand
equity, product positioning, and competitive strategy in the context of international competition,
by Robert J. Dolan
Case: Brewing Change at Breckenridge Brewery
Author(s): Mullins, J.W.; Sittig, S; Leidich, G.D.
Publisher: Case Research Journal
Publication Date: 2000
Reference:
Abstract: Richard Squire is Founder and President of Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado, USA. He
faces some crucial decisions on how to achieve profitability in the very competitive micro
brewing industry and restaurant business. Amongst other issues he is contemplating the possible
integration of the company’s activities and the kind of leadership that is required to take the
company forward.
Teaching purpose: to encourage students to examine the basis of competitive advantage and to
emphasise the importance of leadership.
Case: Bonny Doon Vineyards
Author(s): Hillman AJ; Keim G; Glasgow K
Publisher: Richard Ivey
Publication Date: 2000
Reference: 9B00A018
Abstract: A small, founder-centered business, increasingly facing competitive imitation of their
core activities, is at a crossroads. Expansion opportunities for the winery include branching into
retail, expanding its offerings of wines made to their specifications in Europe, and expanding
their direct sales network of end customers to include non-Bonny Doon wines.
Case: Toyota Motor Corporation: Launching Prius
Author(s): Reinhardt, F; Yao, D; Egawa, M
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Publication Date: 2006
Reference: 9-706-458
Abstract: In 1995, Hiroshi Okuda, President of Toyota Motor Corp, considers whether to push
for a more aggressive launch of the Toyota Prius - an automobile that incorporates Toyota's new
and technically advanced hybrid power train. This launch decision allows discussion of the
importance of the Prius in Toyota's overall product strategy and explores issues ranging from
market structure to competitive advantage and competitive dynamics.
Chapters 2 and 3 Corporate and Business Strategy Decisions and their Marketing
Implications
Case: BRAINLAB (A)
Author(s): Mullins, J; Lloyd, J;
Publisher: London Business School
Publication Date: 2005
Reference: 805-056-1
Abstract: It was a warm summer day in 1999 at his favourite beer garden in Munich, and Stefan
Vilsmeier had just returned to his native Bavaria from yet another trip to the United States. In
less than ten years, Vilsmeier and his team had taken BrainLAB from a raw start-up in a
one-room office to being courted by one of the leading medical technology companies in the
world as an acquisition candidate. ‘Courted’ was not exactly the right word, however, as
Medtronic, the proposed acquirer, had also sued BrainLAB for patent infringement and was
aggressively competing with BrainLAB for market share. If Medtronic’s lawsuit were successful,
BrainLAB might be put out of business. Even if BrainLAB could fend off the lawsuit from its
deep-pocketed competitor, it still faced an uphill battle with Medtronic and others in the
marketplace for its innovative image-guided surgery systems and other software-based medical
technology advances that Vilsmeier believed could revolutionize medical practice. Since
Vilsmeier himself owned more than 60 percent of BrainLAB’s shares, the decision about whether
or not to sell to Medtronic ultimately fell on his shoulders. At an exorbitant price, Medtronic’s
proposal was nothing to take lightly.
Case: Silverglide Surgical Technologies (A)
Author(s): Mullins, J
Publisher: London Business School
Publication Date: 2004; Revised 2005
Reference: CS04-004
Abstract: From a rocky perch above the city of Boulder, Colorado, Jon Thorne gazed across the
city and onto the great plains that stretched eastward before him. “There’s nothing like a
vigorous mountain bike ride into the hills,” Thorne thought, “when crucial decisions have to be
deliberated.” It was a summer afternoon in 1999, and Thorne had devoted much of the past three
years to developing and taking to market a surgical instrument that he thought had the potential
to significantly improve surgical practice. Though the feed-back from surgeons had been
excellent, Thorne’s company, Silverglide Surgical Technologies, Inc, had little to show for its
efforts. The $80,000 in start-up capital that Thorne had raised was nearly gone and his
company’s sales to date “rounded to zero,” as a member of his Advisory Board had remarked at a
board meeting earlier that week. Was it time to broaden his company’s market focus from plastic
surgeons into other surgical specialities? Was it time to abandon the probe and develop a new
product line? Or should he abandon his entrepreneurial dream and return to a salaried job in the
medical products industry from which he had come?
Case: Growth, Strategy, and Slotting at No Pudge! Foods, Inc.
Author(s): Robertson, Chris
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Publication Date: 2003
Reference: 9B03M033
Abstract: The health and fitness trend that started in the 1980s and became a staple of American
lifestyle in the 1990s created numerous opportunities for new firms to introduce niche products.
The founder of No Pudge! Brownies worked with a consultant to develop a fat-free brownie mix.
She then designed a lean organization where production, distribution and Internet orders were all
outsourced. Immediately she is faced with her 'Achilles heel', the slotting fees required by
supermarkets to obtain shelf space. After two years of negotiating with supermarkets, an
important grocery chain finally agrees to carry her product without any slotting fees. By 1997
sales totaled a meager $250,000. Aggressive lobbying with the National Food Distributors
Association and a multi-pronged strategy for dealing with slotting eventually pushed sales above
the $2 million mark. No Pudge! is at a major decision point. New growth opportunities, such as
muffin mix and fast-food distribution of pre-made brownies are abundant. Slotting continues to
be a source of frustration for the firm, and No Pudge! is now on the radar screen as a possible
acquisition target by major food purveyors.
Case: The Black & Decker Corp. (A): Power Tools Division
Author(s): Dolan, Robert J.
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Publication Date: 1995 Revision Date: 2001
Reference: 9-595-057
Abstract: Presents Black & Decker’s performance against a Japanese competitor and others in
the power tools market. Black & Decker is anxious to regain its market share leadership in
particular segments of the market. Teaching Purpose: Allows exploration of issues of brand
equity, product positioning, and competitive strategy in the context of international competition,
by Robert J. Dolan
Case: Brewing Change at Breckenridge Brewery
Author(s): Mullins, J.W.; Sittig, S; Leidich, G.D.
Publisher: Case Research Journal
Publication Date: 2000
Reference:
Abstract: Richard Squire is Founder and President of Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado, USA. He
faces some crucial decisions on how to achieve profitability in the very competitive micro
brewing industry and restaurant business. Amongst other issues he is contemplating the possible
integration of the company’s activities and the kind of leadership that is required to take the
company forward.
Teaching purpose: to encourage students to examine the basis of competitive advantage and to
emphasise the importance of leadership.
Case: Bonny Doon Vineyards
Author(s): Hillman AJ; Keim G; Glasgow K
Publisher: Richard Ivey
Publication Date: 2000
Reference: 9B00A018
Abstract: A small, founder-centered business, increasingly facing competitive imitation of their
core activities, is at a crossroads. Expansion opportunities for the winery include branching into
retail, expanding its offerings of wines made to their specifications in Europe, and expanding
their direct sales network of end customers to include non-Bonny Doon wines.
Case: Toyota Motor Corporation: Launching Prius
Author(s): Reinhardt, F; Yao, D; Egawa, M
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Publication Date: 2006
Reference: 9-706-458
Abstract: In 1995, Hiroshi Okuda, President of Toyota Motor Corp, considers whether to push
for a more aggressive launch of the Toyota Prius - an automobile that incorporates Toyota's new
and technically advanced hybrid power train. This launch decision allows discussion of the
importance of the Prius in Toyota's overall product strategy and explores issues ranging from
market structure to competitive advantage and competitive dynamics.
