978-0078028946 Chapter 2 Case

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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.