Completed Case Studies

Alibaba Group: Leveraging the advantages of its ecosystem during the COVID-19 pandemic

At the beginning of 2020, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba was facing its biggest challenge yet with the dire economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In financial distress, and up against a supply shortage, reduced logistics capacity, and a low willingness-to-consume on the part of its customer base, the company's core business was in need of help. What happened next can serve as a lesson for the e-commerce industry as a whole. Several of Alibaba's business units bucked the downward trend were able to leverage circumstances to their advantage. They managed to continue to support the SMEs who are the lifeblood of the platform and in turn help Alibaba weather the storm. The case provides insight into the power and resilience of an ecosystem business model in a time of crisis.

Published 2020, soon accessible online in SAGE business cases collection.

Fixposition: A tech start-up in search of a compass

Fixposition, a tech startup based in Switzerland, was founded in 2017 at the Incubator Lab of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ). In less than three years’ time, it has established a name for itself with its autonomous navigation technology. As the company expands, it also recently secured a seed-round investment from a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. Fixposition’s CEO, and one of its founders, Dr. Su, finds himself at a point where there is a need to assess where Fixposition stands in the marketplace and to consider what should be the company’s next move. In order for Fixposition to achieve a leading position in a very fast-changing sector, especially since his company operates within a volatile and immature market given the kind of technology it develops, the question continues to pressure Su: Which market(s) will be the most fruitful to pursue with the technology his company has to offer?

Published 2020, soon accessible online in SAGE business cases collection.

Swiss China Link AG: The ALL SWISS venture to China (A)

This case documents the efforts of Mr Rolf Gubler, a young Swiss entrepreneur, to realize his dream of opening an exclusive Swiss brand store in China. The case follows Rolf’s work from the inception of the idea through various business plans until the eventual sale of the brand store to a Chinese investor. The case demonstrates the importance of proof-of-concept even in small-sized projects, such as the All SWISS enterprise.

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Published 2020

Swiss China Link AG: The ALL SWISS venture to China (B)

In Part B, Rolf makes the decision to finally embark on his Beijing venture. In reality, Rolf faced various challenges and drew many lessons from the experience. Rolf ran the shop from 2012 to 2014, but eventually sold the business to one of his employees and returned to Switzerland for personal reasons.

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Published 2020

Goldmyk – Born Global (A)

This case is about Ma Shuhua, CEO of Goldmyk headwear, a Chinese manufacture in Qingdao, north east China. As production costs rise in China due to greater environmental regulation and the increasing cost of land, as well as the looming threat of a possible trade war between the U.S.A and china, Ma Shuhua must consider whether he should relocate his business to a country with cheaper production costs or focus on domestic markets rather than exporting goods to Europe and USA

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Published 2020

Goldmyk – Born Global (B)

Part B is the follow-up story of the decision Ma took in 2019 after the trade war between China and the United States became a reality. Facing mounting pressure from the surging tariffs imposed on exporting Chinese textiles and apparel products, Ma eventually opted for refocusing the company’s business to the domestic Chinese market. Still, new challenges emerged during this shift in strategy and Ma had to adapt Goldmyk as well as himself to the new business landscape.

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Published 2020

Maurice Lacroix — Growing a niche brand in the luxury watch segment

The watchmaker Maurice Lacroix is a relatively late arrival in the Swiss luxury watch industry. Yet, in its less than 45-year history, it has managed to establish itself in the crowded global field of Swiss luxury watch brands. The brand’s Managing Director Stefane Waser, however, has been thinking over his growth strategy, in particular that for the Chinese market. With limited resources to expend the question arises: should he target the Chinese market which comes with huge potential or stay focused on the existing, more stable, European markets? If he decides to focus on expanding the Chinese market, which marketing approach should he take in order to increase the brand’s sales volume in China? Also, should he move the brand’s price positioning upward and offer more expensive watches, or continue to target the mid-range consumer?

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Published 2020

Destination Unknown: A Chinese expat contemplates his next move

After living and working in Switzerland for three years, serving as the Group Vice President, Head of Human Resources Manager at a Fortune 500 company, the protagonist of the case, a Chinese national currently residing in Switzerland, is facing a tough decision regarding his career path: Should he stay on at the company’s headquarters in Switzerland where there isn’t much promise of any further promotion, or should he go back to China where he’s likely to be offered a higher position at either the company he currently works for or another large enterprise?

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Published 2020

Starbucks: Managing a racism scandal

On April 12, 2018, two African-American men were arrested, marched out of the Starbucks in handcuffs after being rejected to use the bathroom without any purchase at a Starbucks store in Philadelphia. The incident was caught on video and posted to social media where it went viral, creating an outrage at the treatment of the two men. Right away, though, Starbucks’ leadership stepped up. Starbucks publicly admitted its wrong doing on Twitter, and explicitly stated that what had happened in their store in Philadelphia went against their values. Both the CEO and the executive chairman apologized personally to the two men and offered to support their entrepreneurial pursuit. To demonstrate its commitment to its fundamental principle of “Everyone is welcome”, and as a response to the incident, Starbucks adopted an open bathroom policy, which in itself brought new challenges for the leadership.

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Published 2019

Boeing: The 737 MAX crisis

After two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft within five months, killing all 346 people aboard both planes, the Chicago-based U.S. aviation giant Boeing Co. was faced with a major crisis. In March 2019, aviation authorities around the world grounded the Boeing 737 MAX passenger airliner. Public trust in Boeing had fallen to its lowest point in its over 100 years’ of storied history. However, the way Boeing and its top management handled the crisis has led to distrust and disappointment with both the public and stakeholders. The belated response by its CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the company’s reluctance to shoulder responsibilities, and inconsistent public statements all have contributed to a deepening lack of confidence in Boeing.

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Published 2019

holo|one: A Swiss tech startup ventures to China

By developed the first functional Mixed Reality (MR) platform solution, “sphere”, for the B2B market, holo|one, a young Swiss tech startup based in Lenzburg, Switzerland has been winning some major innovation awards and expanding its territory to key international markets.To open up the new market in China, Dominik Trost, one of the founders of the company and the Chief Marketing Officer of holo|one, recruited a Chinese national Jeffrey Li as the General Manager to assist the business development and oversee daily operations of the new company. As time went by, Dominik observed the fine differences between managing in China and in Switzerland, and he had a burning issue to address: that is, how the young startup could scale up its business to secure a foothold in China.

Published 2019, soon accessible online in SAGE business cases collection.

Post-acquisition Challenges for Corum

After the acquisition of Montres Corum Sàrl in April 2013 – commonly referred to as Corum, a traditional luxury watch manufacturer located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland – by Citychamp Watches and Jewellery Group Ltd based in Hong Kong, the company has experienced several setbacks including underperformance, the departure of its long-serving CEO and several experienced employees. Mr Tao Li, Executive Director at Citychamp and Executive Chairman of Citychamp European Board, was called upon to deal with Corum’s challenges.

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Published 2019

Huawei - The Challenges of Going Global (A)

The first part of the case Huawei presents a labor law issue that the company faced five years after opening its branch office in Switzerland. Huawei was caught in trouble with Swiss authorities. What was the truth behind the lawsuit? How did the press and the market handle the news? And more importantly, how did Huawei react to the incident? To understand the company’s behavior in this situation, Part A reviews briefly the company’s history and core values. It describes Huawei’s development from a humble sales agency into a global technology giant.

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Published 2019

Huawei - The Challenges of Going Global (B)

The second part provides an update two years after the incident and describes Huawei’s official reaction to the allegations. Huawei was proved to be not guilty and all the charges have been removed. According to Swiss labor law, it is legal for short-term visitors to have business meetings for developing projects. This was exactly Huawei did. The second part of the case describes Huawei’s communication style by underling its founder’s strategy and focus, and it provides some additional details on the company’s efforts to strengthen its positive corporate image and brand perception.

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Published 2019

Football Fever in China (A)

The 2015 acquisition of the French Ligue 2 football club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (FCSM) by the Hong Kong-based lighting company LEDUS Club Limited exemplifies the political and commercial goals of Chinese football investment. FCSM has failed to secure promotion to the French top flight (Ligue 1) over the last two seasons. Wing Sang Li, the new owner and president of FCSM, has never abandoned his unshaken commitment to FCSM, attending matches regularly. Ilja Kaenzig, the CEO of FCSM, was hired to achieve Li’s aim of reaching Ligue 1. He has been reminding Li of the unpredictable nature of football and the need to be patient, as objectives in football cannot be set out in a five-year plan.

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Published 2019

Football Fever in China (B)

Six months after the club’s takeover by Li’s LEDUS Club Limited, questions and doubts were still lingering in the air. Confidence in the FCSM fell sharply as shares in Tech Pro Technology Development Limited – the parent company of LEDUS Club Limited – plunged 90 per cent in Hong Kong.By the end of the third season, FCSM still had no progress in its ranking. The future of the club is cloudy.Can Chinese investment in European football clubs be successful?

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Published 2019

Geely's Acquisition of Volvo (A)

This case presents the widely circulated skeptics on and concerns about the future of Volvo outside the company after the acquisition, largely due to the great discrepancy in cultural differences, experiences, brand equity, management philosophies between Volvo and the Chinese acquirer Geely. Internally, however, the switch of the American ownership to the Chinese ownership was embraced and recognized by Volvo employees as Volvo enjoyed a high degree of autonomy after the acquisition under Li Shufu’s “Geely is Geely; Volvo is Volvo” principle. Meanwhile, the acquisition has brought opportunities for rejuvenation as well as integration and market challenges for Volvo.

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Published 2019

Geely's Acquisition of Volvo (B)

The second part in the Volvo series compares and contrasts Volvo’s corporate cultures prior to and after the acquisition. Whilst corporate culture of Volvo under Ford’s ownership had been characterised by micromanagement and low efficiency, its post-acquisition corporate culture under Chinese Geely’s ownership, to the surprise of many, demonstrated flat organizational structure, proactivity and customer centric management.

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Published 2019

Geely's Acquisition of Volvo (C)

The third part in the Volvo series discusses Volvo’s outlook in the Chinese market after the acquisition and raises the question that to what extent should Volvo adapt its tradition of focusing on safety and quality to the distinct taste of the new Chinese market, where luxurious design and high-end configuration are preferred. Despite of the positive growth after the acquisition, Volvo failed to achieve its initial sales goals in China due to its late arrival and mismatched USPs in the Chinese market.

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Published 2019

Berlinger Group: Tradition Meets Transformation

This case provides an analysis of how Berlinger Group, a family-owned and managed Swiss manufacturing company, copes with the challenges of keeping pace with the changing business environment while preserving tradition and its core values throughout a 150 years of history. This case highlights the issues of business transformation faced by a family business within a changing industrial landscape.

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Published 2019

Kambly – A Small Thank You to Life

This case covers the connection between cultural heritage and innovation from the perspective of a family business in Switzerland with a long tradition and sustainable, dynamic growth. The central question of the case is: "Is acquiring foreign companies central to sustaining growth?" By studying the feasibility of a cross-border acquisition (Tekrum) that was meant to secure Kambly’s assets in the Eurozone in the times of a particularly strong Swiss Franc, students have the chance to familiarize themselves with concepts such as due diligence, strategic fit and culture fit.

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Published 2018

Aeris: The Mission to Clean Beijing’s Air

This case tells the story of three Swiss entrepreneurs who set up Aeris, a manufacturer of air purifiers in Beijing to combat air pollution. The case lays out the challenges the entrepreneurs faced when entering the Chinese market and asks the students to consider whether the company should focus on its core market in China or expand and begin selling air purifiers in North America and Europe too.

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Published 2018

ChemChina - The Making of a Global Acquirer

This case details how John-James Farquharson came to move to China to work for ChemChina, a state owned manufacturer of chemicals, as an HR executive. Through John-James’ experiences students learn about the differences in culture, the difficulties of working in China from a Western perspective and how state-owned Chinese businesses operate in a radically different manner to conventional for-profit Western companies.

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Published 2018

Victorinox: Cultural Heritage and Brand Innovation (A)

This case explains how Victorinox, the manufacture of the Swiss Army Knife, survived the 2001 crisis, which reduced its sales of knives in airports and planes to zero. The company continued on with a policy of diversification begun in 1989 after cheap knock off designs of the Swiss Army Knife flooded the market. Carl Elsner must now decide if the company should continue to diversify its portfolio of products or focus on its core competency.

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Published 2016

Victorinox: Cultural Heritage and Brand Innovation (B)

The second case in the Victorinox series details how Victorinox, the manufacturer of the swiss army knife, changed its policy of diversifying its product portfolio and instead focused on its core competency of manufacturing pocket knives.

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Published 2017

A Bittersweet Swiss Venture Into China: Suteria’s Chocolate Mission

This case centers on a Swiss chocolate and confectionary manufacturer, Suteria’s decision to enter the Chinese market in the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang province. After two years operating in the market Suteria is still struggling to meet sales targets at its Chinese retail point and the CEO must decide if Suteria should pull out of China or not.

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Published 2017

Surfing the IPO Wave: A Chinese Luxury Brand Bets on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

This case examines the disastrous initial public offering of the fictional luxury brand company Mastery AG on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Master AG’s shares have fallen dramatically as the Chinese economy slows and the luxury goods market begins to contract in the face of new anti-bribery legislation. Mastery AG’s shares are now close to worthless and the company wishes to delist yet can’t as it does not own 95% of the shares. Faced with a collapsing market and the high cost of listing Mastery AG on the German stock exchange, the company must now decide what to do.

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Published 2017