Publication database

Michel Portal, an executive with Auchan in France, has been appointed to head up a new acquired subsidiary in the imaginary country of Syldavia. This case is based on a real situation that has been disguised to ensure confidentiality of the persons involved. Syldavia, as a the host country is depicted as a economy in transition, and as such could be considered as one of the eastern and central European countries, although the case that inspired this situation is not situated in this part of the world. Auchan Syldava is typical of a "taking charge" case study where participants are expected to help Michel Portal, the new CEO, to develop a strategy for his new assignment for a company that he is expected to turn-around in a relatively short time span. The case provides a detailed description of the Grünfeld group which Auchan has acquired as well as the strategic, organizational and cultural context both at the mother company and the new subsidiary.

Critical Mass is a common feature of technology diffusion processes. We develop a structural model of demand with network effects to provide a rigorous definition of critical mass as a function of installed base, price and network effects. Using data from the digital cellular telephony market, we identify critical mass phenomena and find that differences in the critical mass point in different countries rest mainly on different countries' socioeconomic characteristics and the extent of competition in a country. This application illustrates that our demand model can be operationalized easily and can generate theoretically grounded empirical insights about critical mass phenomena.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

I develop a structural demand model for mobile telephony that facilitates the identification of network effects and inter-network compatibility. Network effects are measured as the dependence of consumer willingness to pay on the installed base of subscribers, compatibility as the relative extent of cross- and own-network effects. Estimating the model using quarterly panel data from the Polish mobile telephone market for the period 1996-2001, I find strong network effects and, despite full interconnection of the mobile telephone networks, low compatibility. I also show that ignoring network effects leads to overestimation of demand elasticity.

With permission of Elsevier

In mature markets, heavy competition has a commoditizing effect, and customers become increasingly fixated on price. When marketers refer to "commoditization," they typically mean diminishing differences among offerings. But it's also a psycholocgical state: Consumers fall into a mind-set that makes them less receptive to innovation or marketing campaigns. Paradoxically, one of the most imprtant levers managers can use to revive consumer interest is price. The authors dexcribe four pricing movest that can call attention to how an offering is different - and why it deserves to fetch a premium.

Die Kosten- und Erlösrechnung ist ein unverzichtbarer Bestandteil des betrieblichen Rechnungswesens und stellt - neben dem externen Rechnungswesen - eine wesentliche Grundlage zur Planung und Kontrolle der Geschäftstätigkeit dar. Kenntnisse zur Erfassung und zum Management von Kosten und Erlösen gehören somit zum Kernbereich betriebswirtschaftlichen Wissens. Das Buch bietet eine anwendungsorientierte, lehr- und lernfreundliche Einführung sowohl für Studierende wirtschaftswissenschaftlicher Fächer als auch für Praktikerinnen und Praktiker, die ihre Kenntnisse in diesem Bereich erweitern wollen. Aufgaben, Ziele und Ablauf der Konzepte der Kosten- und Erlösrechnung werden in den Kapiteln schrittweise erläutert und anhand von Fallbeispielen und Rechenaufgaben verdeutlicht. Kernsätze fassen die Inhalte der Kapitel zusammen, und Interviews mit Managern geben Einblicke in die Praxis. Dadurch vermittelt das Buch konsequent, wofür die Ergebnisse der Kosten- und Erlösrechnung in der Praxis benötigt werden.

"It takes two to speak the truth - one who speaks and one to hear." (Thoreau) This 19-minute video case-study documents scenes from a workshop of the Critical Orchestra (Das Kritische Orchester), a music ensemble consisting of very experienced musicians who are joining once a year for very special rehearsing sessions. The musicians - from such world class ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, or the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig - work and have worked with the world's leading conductors: Karajan, Bernstein, Kleiber, Abbado, Rattle, Barenboim etc. In this special workshop they will, however, be led by rather inexperienced conductors in their late twenties or early thirties. These young conductors are given the chance to rehearse selected pieces with the orchestra - only to then be given feedback by these very experienced, world-class musicians. The case study owns much of its force to the double-reversed setup vis-a-vis expectations: Senior, experienced musicians being led by rookie conductors; and the musicians in the orchestra telling the conductors what to do. The case study can be used to illustrate the concept of feedback, focusing on the challenge of making this process effective for the parties involved. It allows for reflections on giving and receiving feedback and may be used in courses covering issues related to feedback or coaching (individual consultations, group coaching, or peer coaching). It can also be used to introduce feedback and coaching elements into programs then serving as an introduction and lead-up to these program elements.

The “drawbridge” is the short story of a baroness who, despite orders by her husband not to leave the castle, pays a servant so that she can leave the castle to visit a lover overnight. On her way back to the castle, she is killed by a madman after she unsuccessfully tried to get help from her lover, a boatman, and a friend. The half-page story has been circulating for more than three decades and is widely used for educational purposes throughout the world. Even though it is a classic, it has not been used as a case study in the context of management and leadership classes. It is available as a text version or comic strip.

There is an increasing interest in “responsible leadership” and “responsible business.” This case is an ideal opening for such topics. It may also be used as an introduction to leadership or general management programs, as an illustration of case work (different perspectives, no right and wrong answers, participants “doing” the work, discussion rather than lecture), as an illustration of the fuzziness of language, which we deal with in many (management) contexts (e.g. guilt vs. accountability vs. responsibility vs. fault), and/or as an illustration of how people look at the same context or phenomenon, but reach very different interpretations and judgments.