California-based Intel Corporation (Intel) was one of the world’s leading semiconductor circuit firms. In July 2020, manufacturing delays with Intel’s 10 nanometre (nm) and 7 nm chips were adversely affecting the company’s customers at a time when demand for personal computers and laptops was at its peak. Unlike its competitors, Intel was vertically integrated. Competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. had outsourced their chip manufacturing .....more

Teaching note for product W25607.

Teaching note for product W25879.

In 2015, Sundar Pichai was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of California-based Google LLC (Google), and by December 2019 had also become the CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. By June 2021, thirty-six vice-presidents out of 400 executives had quit Alphabet Inc., and Pichai faced criticism from the senior leadership team for his risk-averse decision-making style. Senior executives believed Pichai had made Google more bureaucratic .....more

Virginia-based Aspetto Inc. integrated fashion into its ballistic clothing, which was considered the lightest and strongest in the world. Its customers included the United States Air Force, the United States Marine Corps, the US Department of State, and various law enforcement agencies, as well as civilian consumers. By October 2020, demand for body armour in the civilian market in the United States was increasing, given the growing number of mass .....more

On April 17, 2021, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released an “urgent” warning to consumers regarding the Peloton Tread+ after thirty-nine incidents had been reported related to the treadmill in which children and pets were injured. The treadmill was sold by Peloton Interactive Inc. (Peloton), a US company that sold fitness equipment such as exercise bikes and treadmills, as well as on-demand fitness classes. According .....more

Teaching note for product W25392.

Teaching note for product 9B21M058.

Moderna, Inc. (Moderna), a US biotech start-up, was a contender in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. On November 23, 2020, Moderna announced success in the third-stage clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, soon after larger rival Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer), partnering with BioNTech SE, had reported the successful clinical trial results of its own vaccine. However, large-scale vaccine production was a challenge for Moderna, and its chief executive .....more

Teaching note for product 9B21M039.