More from the Author

• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2019

  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Shaping the Vaccine Manufacturing Ecosystem (Abridged)

  Willy Shih

  This case describes the efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lower the cost of producing vaccines to prevent polio infections. It is an abridged version of HBS Case No. 620-021 with less emphasis on comparison between traditional and the new compact modular process developed with the Foundation's funding. It focuses more on the lowering of entry barriers to vaccine manufacture and some of the perceived risks associated with that.

  Keywords: vaccine; manufacturing; Barriers to entry; Production; Cost; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Pharmaceutical Industry;

  Citation:

  Shih, Willy. "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Shaping the Vaccine Manufacturing Ecosystem (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 620-071, December 2019.  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2007 (Revised November 2019)

  Dollar General (A)

  Willy Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and Rebecca McKillican

  Dollar General Corporation (DG) operates one of the leading chains of extreme value retailers in the United States. 2006 revenues reached $9.2 billion, making DG the 6th largest mass retailer in the country. With revenues growing at 9% annually over the five-year period up to 2005, DG had the distinction of being only one of three retailers to outperform Wal-Mart in both revenue and profit growth in that time. Life in a Dollar General store paints a vivid picture of the roots and historical focus of the company. Opportunistic buying has given the stores an eclectic merchandise mix. Analysts often referred to this category as "treasure hunt" SKUs. Offers an opportunity to examine a company's business model, particularly since DG has been so successful competing with Wal-Mart where so many other retailers have not. While it started out as a family business in the five-and-dime tradition, it evolved to a close-out retail model where its unique low-overhead operations were advantageous. As it added highly consumable categories its mix shifted, but it managed to retain its low-overhead model. Interestingly, the mix shift was likely more an emergency strategy driven by store-level operations than by top-down driven strategy. Frames the growth options available to DG's CEO as he grapples with how to maintain growth.

  Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Shih, Willy, Stephen P. Kaufman, and Rebecca McKillican. "Dollar General (A)." Harvard Business School Case 607-140, May 2007. (Revised November 2019.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019 (Revised November 2019)

  Pinduoduo

  Feng Zhu, Krishna G. Palepu, Bonnie Yining Cao and Dawn H. Lau

  Founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur, Colin Huang, Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) had become China’s fastest-growing e-commerce platform in history. PDD pioneered a new approach to online shopping that allowed shoppers to share products, invite friends to form shopping teams, and purchase together at discounted prices. The company’s rapid development helped it debut on the Nasdaq in July 2018, only three years after its inception. The fast growth was partly boosted by PDD’s heavy investment in marketing and branding, such as through coupons and promotions. How should the company make its competitive advantages more sustainable? Could its business model be replicated outside China?

  Keywords: e-commerce; Market Platforms; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Strategy;

  Citation:

  Zhu, Feng, Krishna G. Palepu, Bonnie Yining Cao, and Dawn H. Lau. "Pinduoduo." Harvard Business School Case 620-040, September 2019. (Revised November 2019.)  View Details

  CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase

  Related