In August 2024, Richard Kung, the newly appointed director of Asian business at Akira Spring Co. Ltd. (Akira Spring), faced a critical negotiation. Akira Spring, a Japanese automotive springs manufacturer, was competing to provide components for a power back door system to Kern, a leading German automotive parts supplier. The deal was valued at €27 million and had potential for continued collaboration worldwide. What began as product specification .....more

In late 2023, Birkenstock Holding Plc (Birkenstock), the 250-year-old German shoemaker, stood at a crossroads as its Connecticut-based private equity (PE) owner L Catterton prepared the company for its initial public offering (IPO). Under the PE firm’s stewardship, Birkenstock had rapidly expanded its direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales channels, fueling growth and enhancing profitability, while rebranding itself for a new generation of global consumers. .....more

Carlsberg Breweries A/S, a global brewing leader based in Denmark, aimed to reduce the environmental impact of traditional draught beer systems, which contributed to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through the use of CO2 tanks and the transportation of heavy steel kegs. Carlsberg developed the DraughtMaster system, which replaced CO2 tanks with recyclable plastic kegs, reducing emissions but raising concerns about plastic waste. In late 2021, Carlsberg’s .....more

Faced with being one of the largest industrial emitters of CO2 in Germany, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG launched the tkH2Steel project. The project was a €3 billion initiative to replace traditional coal-based blast furnaces with hydrogen-based direct reduction technology. The goal of the project was to significantly reduce emissions while spearheading the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy and green steel production. However, this transformation was .....more

As head of the Technical University (TU) of Brunswick, Professor Schmitz faced demands from the Ministry of Education to accept the appointment of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as professor at the university. The proposal had exclusively political objectives, specifically to fulfill a legal precondition for Hitler to be able to stand in the forthcoming presidential elections of the country. The professors of the university were appalled by the proposal .....more

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This case examines the fundamental transformation challenges facing Volkswagen Group as it navigates the intersection of deglobalization and industry disruption. Through chief executive officer Oliver Blume’s perspective, we see how traditionally successful global strategies can become vulnerable when the underlying assumptions of globalization are challenged. The automotive industry was transforming due to technological changes, new consumer preferences, .....more

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. had been, up until 2024, growing at an accelerated pace while achieving industry-leading profit margins and related cash flow in the fuel convenience store industry globally. Its growth had been fuelled by acquisition, which in its case meant paying a premium to purchase large groups of stations in current and new markets, primarily in Europe, the United States, and Canada—a global success story. However, the company's .....more

Cofounders of the Berlin-based startup Bone Brox developed a traditional bone broth made from organic, pasture-fed cattle and free-range chickens. Although they had a polarizing product, the founders tapped into the health and awareness trend and managed to gain market attention and secure government funding. The startup defined itself with a flat hierarchy, open communication, and shared decision-making. However, the company faced challenges, such .....more

This case addresses managing critical mineral supply chains by focusing on cobalt used in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and the impact of mining operations in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Minespider, a Berlin-based start-up, tackled these issues with a blockchain platform. Following blockchain’s evolution since Bitcoin in 2009 and Ethereum in 2015, Minespider developed the digital battery passport (DBP). .....more