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Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2014

Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal

by Nancy F. Koehn, Kelly McNamara, Nora N. Khan and Elizabeth Legris

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Abstract

Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal analyzes the turnaround and reconstruction of Starbucks Coffee Company from 2008 to 2014 as led by CEO and co-founder Howard Schultz. The case offers executives and students an opportunity to examine in depth how Schultz and his team saved Starbucks from near-collapse, by both executing a deep, comprehensive return to its core values and, at the same time, investing in a range of new products, customer experiences and organizational capabilities designed to make the company fit for enduring success in a turbulent global economy. Set against the backdrop of the Great Recession, the case also considers the impact of unprecedented important shifts in consumer spending and confidence as well as new competitive forces on Starbucks' transformation. The case concludes by examining Schultz's own leadership journey, the lessons he learned personally during Starbucks transformation, and how he is using these lessons—within Starbucks and on the national stage—to redefine the roles and responsibilities of a public corporation in the 21st century.

Based on extensive interviews conducted with Schultz and other Starbucks executives from 2011 to 2014, the case offers a range of vital lessons on leadership, organizational transformation, restructuring, strategy, innovation, entrepreneurial vision, and customer service.

Keywords: Howard Schultz; Starbucks; transformation; turnaround; Change; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Leadership; Organizations; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Value; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia; South America; Middle East; Latin America;

Language: English Format: Print 71 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Koehn, Nancy F., Kelly McNamara, Nora N. Khan, and Elizabeth Legris. "Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal." Harvard Business School Case 314-068, June 2014.

Related Work

  1. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | June 2014 (Revised March 2016)

    Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal

    Nancy F. Koehn

    Keywords: general management; Corporate Change and Sustainability; leadership; turnaround; Howard Schultz; leading change; Starbucks; Change; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Growth and Development; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Management; Organizations; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Value; Retail Industry; Service Industry; North and Central America; Asia; Europe; South America;

    Citation:

    Koehn, Nancy F. "Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 314-143, June 2014. (Revised March 2016.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

About the Author

Photo
Nancy F. Koehn
James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration
General Management

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More from the Author

  • Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2014 (Revised October 2019)

    Should Corporate Profits Be Taxed? (A)

    Matthew Weinzierl, Katrina Flanagan and Michael Cianellli

    Taxing corporations is popular, but why? Corporations do not bear the burden of taxes, people do, and the incidence of the corporate income tax burden is likely to be far different from what many of its supporters assume.
    Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

    Keywords: Economic versus statutory incidence; Basics of corporate taxation; Business Ventures; Taxation; Profit;

    Citation:

    Weinzierl, Matthew, Katrina Flanagan, and Michael Cianellli. "Should Corporate Profits Be Taxed? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 714-033, February 2014. (Revised October 2019.)  View Details
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  • Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    Should Corporate Profits Be Taxed? (B)

    Matthew C. Weinzierl and Michael Cianelli

    Citation:

    Weinzierl, Matthew C., and Michael Cianelli. "Should Corporate Profits Be Taxed? (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 720-015, October 2019.  View Details
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  • Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2015 (Revised August 2019)

    Equality of Opportunity and Outcome in the U.S.

    Matthew Weinzierl and Alastair Su

    Equality of opportunity is endorsed universally even though, or more likely because, it can mean such different things to different people. What definition of equality of opportunity ought to figure into policy decisions? How close, or far, is the United States from providing equal opportunity?
    Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

    Keywords: equality of opportunity; justice; Opportunities; Equality and Inequality; Policy; United States;

    Citation:

    Weinzierl, Matthew, and Alastair Su. "Equality of Opportunity and Outcome in the U.S." Harvard Business School Case 715-028, February 2015. (Revised August 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
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