bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
At Ford, Turnaround Is Job One
Authors: Shein James B. , Bell Matt 
Published: March 2017

The case opens with the Ford Motor Company seemingly on the path toward bankruptcy. Ford had been bleeding red ink for more than ten years when it decided in 2006 that continuing the same turnaround attempts was not going to right the ship. The company was facing significant external challenges, such as intense competition and changing consumer preferences, as well as internal challenges, such as quality and design issues and a stifling level of corporate complexity. As the case begins, CEO Bill Ford has taken the unusual step of hiring an auto industry outsider as his replacement. Alan Mulally, a thirty-seven-year Boeing veteran and principal architect of the venerable airplane manufacturer's own massive and successful turnaround, wasted little time in getting about the business of remaking Ford. He developed a plan to: focus on the Ford brand and divest the numerous other brands the company had acquired over the years; simplify and streamline the company's manufacturing operations; and remake the corporate culture from one of fiefdoms and false optimism to collaboration and facing reality. With an ardent belief in the plan's viability, Mulally raised nearly $24 billion and began to put his plan into motion. The case explores the many causes of this once-great company's decline and the steps it took to beat the odds and get back on the path of profitability.This case demonstrates that internal issues alone can derail a company and emphasizes the importance of leadership in fostering the right corporate culture to turn a company around. Students will identify the key internal and external factors that can contribute to a company's decline and learn the importance of diagnosing issues within each of three major aspects of a company-strategy, operations, and financials-in order to develop a successful turnaround plan.
Doug Cook: Acquiring a Business (A)
Authors: Rogers Steven , Whitaker Scott T. 
Published: March 2017

Doug Cook, an MBA graduate, was wrestling with one of the most important career decisions of his life: Which one of three seemingly promising businesses should he acquire? Each acquisition was a viable opportunity, and each had potential to be a successful business. Cook, however, had heard numerous disconcerting stories about other entrepreneurs going through this process. He realized that until this time the biggest purchase he had made in his life was a $250,000 condominium in downtown Chicago. Acquiring one of these companies would require a financial and personal commitment greater than anything he had ever attempted. He felt a window of opportunity was closing. If he did not act now, he might find himself in the corporate world forever. Cook began by writing up a personal criteria list for his acquisition, then researching online and media sources for businesses for sale. Frustrated with that process, he hired a business broker. With the broker's help, Cook found three promising candidates from which to choose: Luxury Tassels, Inc.; Feldco Windows and Doors, Inc.; and Coyote Consulting Company. The (A) case includes income statements, pro forma forecasts, balance sheets, and organization charts for each company, in addition to Cook's financial analyses and valuation of each company. The (B) case features the letter of intent that Cook gave the owner of the company he selected. Ultimately he did purchase the company, and in the (C) case, Cook examines pathways to growing his newly acquired company.How to be entrepreneurial through acquiring a business The importance of establishing their own decision criteria regarding the type of company they would like to acquire How to research businesses for sale The issues in working with a business broker How to analyze financial statement in the context of buying the company How to make decisions and use financial analysis to support their decisions
Green Fields Investments: Evaluating Biofuels Investment Options
Authors: Kiesling Lynne , Hunnewell Jeremy 
Published: March 2017

Green Fields Investments is a socially responsible investment firm. The student is faced with the management decision of whether or not to invest in a new ethanol plant being built. The pros and cons of ethanol as a fuel source and the production process are presented, and alternatives are considered. The student is expected to perform a cost/benefit analysis to inform their decision, but due to the intangible and indirect costs, much of the learning should come from simply quantifying the elements that go into the decision, rather than the go/no go decision that is the outcome of the analysis.Students will conduct an NPV analysis of an investment decision, taking into account a number of direct and indirect costs, especially those that pertain to environmental sustainability.
Old Spice: Repeating Success in the Face of Competitive Threat
Authors: Rucker Derek D. , O'Connell Mauricio 
Published: March 2017

In 2009–2010 Procter & Gamble’s Old Spice brand had to respond to two important challenges. First, after a successful rebranding of the Glacial Falls scent into Swagger (see Kellogg Case #5-411-752), Old Spice’s core brand team had to determine its next step in advertising. The options being considered included continuing to advertise Swagger, switching to advertising a different scent, advertising the umbrella brand, or placing an emphasis on body wash instead of on deodorant. This decision also involved proposing both the messaging and the media buy for the option selected. Second, in conjunction with this issue, the brand team had to decide whether the messaging of its advertising should respond to competitor Unilever’s new advertising for Dove for Men, which would be kicked off in an upcoming Super Bowl spot. Students will step into the shoes of Mauricio O’Connell—one of the assistant brand managers of Old Spice—as he and his team brainstorm how to position the brand for another big success.After reading, analyzing, and discussing the case, students should be able to:

Ask critical questions to help decide among multiple advertising strategies
Describe issues for a brand that relate to managing advertising across its portfolio
Understand how competitive behavior can affect a brand's decision
Ontela PicDeck (A): Customer Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Authors: Sawhney Mohanbir , Grayson Kent , Duprss Patrick , Hsu Christine , Metzger Ryan , Obuchi Fuminari , Sundaram Arun , Wilson Kari 
Published: March 2017

Ontela, a technology start-up company, has introduced an innovative service called PicDeck that improves the mobile imaging experience for wireless subscribers. Ontela sells PicDeck to wireless carriers, who in turn private-label the service to their subscribers. Ontela must decide which customer segments it should target for the service and how to create a positioning strategy and a marketing communication plan to promote it. It must also consider the value proposition of the PicDeck service for wireless carriers (its direct customers), who need to be convinced that the service will lead to higher monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) and/or increased subscriber loyalty. Part A of the case provides qualitative information on customer personae that represent different customer segments. Students are asked to develop a targeting and positioning strategy based on this qualitative information. Part B provides quantitative data on customer preferences that can be used to identify response-based customer segments, as well as demographic and media habits information that can be used to profile the segments. Students are asked to revise their recommendations based on the additional quantitative data.The case reinforces the principles of data-driven customer segmentation, discusses the appropriate criteria for selecting segments, and provides a deeper understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches to identifying and evaluating segments. The case illustrates how the results of data-driven segmentation may run counter to approaches that rely on “gut feel” or qualitative information alone.
Shilling & Smith Acquisition of Xteria Inc.: Data Center Technology Leasing
Authors: Jeffery Mark , Shield Cassidy , Ekici H. Nevin , Conley Mike 
Published: March 2017

The case centers on Shilling & Smith's acquisition of Xteria Inc. and the resulting need to quickly scale the company's IT infrastructure to accommodate the acquisition. The case is based on a real leasing problem faced by a major retail firm in the Chicago area when it purchased a small credit card processing firm and scaled the operations to handle the retail firm's credit card transactions. The CIO of Shilling & Smith needs to determine which lease option is the best means of providing the technical infrastructure needed to support the firm after the acquisition of Xteria. Several issues will drive this decision, including the value and useful life of the equipment, as well as the strategic context of the firm. This case examines how to evaluate different lease options when acquiring data center information technology infrastructure. Specifically, the case addresses software vs. hardware leasing, different lease terms, and choosing between different lease structures depending on the strategy and needs of a company. This case enables students to understand the different types of technology leases and in which situations these leases would be employed.The Shilling & Smith case examines how to evaluate different lease options when acquiring data center information technology infrastructure. Specifically, students learn software vs. hardware leasing, different lease terms, and how to choose between different lease structures depending on the strategy and needs of the company. A secondary objective of the case is to teach students the important components and relative costs of information technology infrastructure.
Sony Targets Laptop Consumers in China: Segment Global or Local?
Authors: Grayson Kent , Waikar Sachin 
Published: March 2017

The manager of the Sony VAIO personal computer in China has been given two segmentation studies. One study is country-specific and product-specific. The other is a global segmentation study, which covers all regions and all of Sony's many consumer electronics. Which segmentation study should the manager rely on---or is there a way to rely on both? After deciding which study is best, which consumer should the manager target, and with what position?To provide a basis for students (with the help of their lecturer or professor) to answer the following questions: What are the general purposes of a market segmentation study, and what are some of the associated challenges? Is it better for a segmentation study to provide information about the likelihood of category purchase or the likelihood of brand purchase? What are the plusses and minuses of a global versus local segmentation study, and what are the marketing implications of each?
The Case of Synthroid (A): Marketing a Drug Coming Off Patent
Authors: Tybout Alice M. , Hennessy Julie , Fahey Natalie , Snyder Charlotte 
Published: March 2017

The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case introduces students to the pharmaceutical industry, its practices, and some of the complexities of pricing and drug choice, with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists, and patients all playing a role. It also provides a primer on hypothyroidism, its symptoms, and its treatment.Because Synthroid was developed and introduced before FDA regulations and drug standards of identity were fully established, it was difficult for competitors to get their drugs certified as identical to Synthroid. Through a series of efforts with physicians, especially endocrinologists, Synthroid's owners were able to maintain the perception for forty-six years that Synthroid was uniquely effective. In 2004, however, the FDA declared several competitive products to be bioequivalent to Synthroid, which posed a significant challenge to its owner, Abbott Laboratories. Students are challenged to consider options to maintain the drug's unit volume, revenue, and/or profit in these difficult circumstances.The case is written in two parts. The (A) case provides background on the history of the drug, the pharmaceutical industry and its marketing practices, and hypothyroidism and its treatment, and it concludes in 2004 as Abbott's marketers face the impending challenge of defending the Synthroid business against generic competition. The (B) case describes what Abbott actually did to maintain its share in the United States and outlines its strategy in India, a market without patent protection for pharmaceuticals.After analyzing the case students should be able to:

Describe strategies that branded competitors can use to defend their business from lower-priced competition
Understand the basics of pharmaceutical marketing and pricing, including the global challenge of defending branded drugs against generic equivalents
Discuss ethical issues in the marketing of high-margin branded products that have lower-priced alternatives, especially in the healthcare industry
The effects of platform as a technology standard on platform-based repurchases
Authors: Kim Hongbum , Shin Dong-Hee 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
Using the critical incident technique, this study aims to identify the attributes of a platform as a technology standard and to investigate their effects on platform-based repurchases.

Design/methodology/approach
Smartphone users’ personal experiences and levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction were collected and categorized into technology standard attributes to estimate those factors affecting consumers’ intention to purchase platform-based products and services.

Findings
The study findings show the importance of understanding which attributes are important to promoting future platform-based purchases and maximizing positive experiences when using platform-based products and services.

Research limitations/implications
Given the effect of the platform vendor on repurchases, and that various lock-in strategies are being implemented, firms attempting to be leaders in the information and communications technology (ICT) ecosystem should seek appropriate strategies to lock-in their installed base.

Originality/value
Including discussions on the competition in the ICT ecosystem, this study also provides some policy suggestions and contributions for applicability to an integrated approach.
A reconciliation proposal of demand-driven growth models in open economies
Authors: Ribeiro Rafael Saulo Marques , McCombie John S.L. , Tadeu Lima Gilberto 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on demand-driven Keynesian growth in open economies by developing a formal model that combines Dixon and Thirlwall’s (1975) export-led growth model and Thirlwall’s (1979) balance-of-payments constrained growth model into a more general specification. Then, based on the model developed in this paper, the authors analyse more broadly some important issues concerning the net impact of currency depreciation on the short-run growth.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors build upon Dixon and Thirlwall’s (1975) export-led growth model and Thirlwall’s (1979) balance-of-payments constrained growth model in order to develop the theoretical framework. The authors also run numerical simulations to illustrate the net impact of devaluation on the short-run growth rate in different scenarios.

Findings
The authors demonstrate that the net impact of currency devaluation on growth can go either way, depending on some structural conditions such as the average share of imported intermediate inputs in prime costs of domestic firms and the institutional capacity of trade unions to set nominal wages through the bargaining process. The model also shows that the effectiveness of a competitive real exchange rate to promote growth is higher in countries where the share of labour in domestic income is also higher.

Research limitations/implications
This paper provides a coherent formal starting-point for further theoretical developments on the interrelatedness between currency devaluation, income distribution and growth. These findings provide empirically testable hypothesis for future research.

Originality/value
The present study proposes an alternative formal solution for the theoretical problem of imposing a balance-of-payments constraint on the process of cumulative causation often incorporated in Kaldorian growth models. In terms of policy, the framework sheds further light on the relevance of income distribution and the labour market institutional framework for the dynamics of the exchange rate pass-through mechanism and allows us to map out related conditions under which currency devaluation can promote growth.
Sustainable apparel design strategies regenerated from traditional costumes of the Chosun Dynasty
Authors: Min Seoha , Koo Helen 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
This study aims to provide insights to designers for seeking innovative ways to design sustainable clothes and appeal to consumers by enhancing sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the research purpose, the researchers went through a design process and designed three prototypes. The experts’ evaluation on the prototypes was positive.

Findings
Various design strategies derived from the Korean traditional costume were explored. Based on the strategies, three prototypes were developed, and the design experts’ evaluation on the prototypes was positive.

Originality/value
The research has implications as follows. The sustainable design process and methods used in this research for developing designs inspired from cultural costumes will provide insights to designers who want to create sustainable garments inspired by a certain culture. In addition, the design and sustainable design strategies, derived from the Chosun Dynasty, will guide apparel designers to create sustainable designs and broaden their perspectives. Furthermore, the research will provide guidance to following researchers who are interested in the topic of sustainability in apparel design. The researchers explored sustainable design strategies from the Korean culture, applied them in their design process and evaluated the design outcomes. By doing so, merits and limitations of the design strategies were more clearly understood.
Oil and Regional Development in Chad: Assessment of the Impact of the Doba Oil Project on Poverty in the Host Region
Authors: Aristide Mabali , Moundigbaye Mantobaye 
Published: March 2017

AbstractIn 1999, the Chad Government passed Law No. 001/PR/1999, establishing rules for allocating and managing the expected oil income from the Doba Oil project. The oil producing region's share amounts to 5 per cent of royalties, in addition to other benefits related to its status as an oil producing region, in order to mitigate negative effects from the oil project. This paper assesses the poverty profile in the Logone Oriental region, by combining a double difference estimator with propensity score matching methods. Data from two panels of the Survey on Consumption and the Informal Sector in Chad carried out in 2003 and 2011 show that monetary poverty increased in the oil producing region compared to the control regions. No evidence was found that non‐monetary poverty decreased in the oil producing region, as large investments in social infrastructure in the region might have suggested. In addition, it was found that household expenditure for temptation goods increased in this region compared with other regions. Finally, spillover effects were observed — the oil producing region's neighboring regions are more likely to experience poverty. These results cast doubt on the effectiveness of the law and of its replication for newly discovered oil fields.
Clinical and computed tomography findings in Chinese lung cancer patients with HIV infection: A multi‐center study
Authors: Cheng Zenghui , Shan Fei , Liu Jinxin , Shi Yuxin , Zhang Zhiyong , Wu Guowei 
Published: March 2017

BackgroundThe study was conducted to investigate clinical and computed tomography (CT) features in Chinese lung cancer patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).MethodsForty consecutive lung cancer patients with HIV were included. Clinical data were collected, and CT features were reviewed and measured. The factors associated with stages of cancer and the CT features with opportunistic pulmonary infections (OPIs) were also analyzed.ResultsThirty‐four of the patients were men (85%), and the mean age was 57.5 years. The mean CD4 count was 288 cells/μL, and 23 patients received highly active antiretroviral therapy. OPIs were common (50%). The major histological type (85%) was non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and 15 NSCLC patients (44%) were in stages IIIb and IV. NSCLC patients with an OPI were more common in the advanced stages compared with those without an OPI (P = 0.04). There were no significant differences in advanced and non‐advanced stages in terms of CD4 level, highly active antiretroviral therapy, and smoking (P = 0.31, P = 1.00; P = 0.49, respectively). The average size of tumors was 4.5 cm. Irregularly shaped or larger sized tumors were associated with OPIs (P = 0.03, P = 0.04, respectively).ConclusionsThe persistence of locally irregular and large lesions in middle‐aged men with HIV and a history of OPIs should be an alert for lung cancer, and clinical management is needed.
Preconception TSH and pregnancy outcomes: a population‐based cohort study in 184 611 women
Authors: Chen Shi , Zhou Xiang , Zhu Huijuan , Yang Hongbo , Gong Fengying , Wang Linjie , Zhang Man , Jiang Yu , Yan Chengsheng , Li Jianqiang , Wang Qing , Zhang Shikun , Pan Hui 
Published: March 2017

SummaryBackgroundWhether subclinical hypothyroidism adversely impacts pregnancy outcomes is inconclusive, and limited data are available on the optimal TSH range in women planning pregnancy.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between maternal preconception TSH levels and pregnancy outcomes.DesignPopulation‐based cohort study.MethodsFrom 2010 to 2012, the free National Pre‐pregnancy Checkups Project recruited 248 501 pairs of volunteer couples across China, of which 184 611 women, who subsequently became pregnant, were studied. Maternal TSH was measured within 6 months prior to conception. Participants were grouped according to TSH: 0·48–2·49 mIU/l (n = 133 232, 72%), 2·50–4·28 mIU/l (n = 44 239, 24%) and 4·29–10·0 mIU/l (n = 7140, 4%). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to study the association between TSH and pregnancy outcomes.Main outcomesPregnancy loss, gestational age (GA), delivery modes and birthweight.ResultsThe overall incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes was 28·6%. Compared with TSH 0·48–2·50 mIU/l, TSH 2·50–4·29 mIU/l was associated with spontaneous abortion [aOR: 1·10, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1·03–1·18], preterm birth (aOR: 1·09, 95% CI: 1·04–1·15) and operative vaginal delivery (aOR: 1·15, 95% CI: 1·09–1·21), while TSH 4·29–10 mIU/l was correlated with spontaneous abortion (aOR: 1·15, 95% CI: 1·10–1·22), stillbirth (aOR: 1·58, 95% CI: 1·10–2·28), preterm birth (aOR: 1·20, 95% CI: 1·08–1·34), caesarean section (aOR: 1·15, 95% CI: 1·10–1·22) and large for gestational age (LGA) infants (aOR: 1·12, 95% CI: 1·04–1·21).ConclusionPreconception TSH elevation was associated with increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, even within the normal nonpregnant range.