James Chen’s Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens

This three-part case study examines the evolution of Adlens, a commercial company, and Vision for a Nation as a social enterprise developed in parallel. The entrepreneur’s strategy is to profitably sell Adlens innovative optical products in middle- to high-income economies, while Vision for a Nation is dedicated to improving eyesight in developing countries, starting with …

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Kiwi Transportation Company

The transition of a business from parent to child can often lead to new strategic directions for a business. New leaders must face past problems and new challenges facing the company. One of the most fundamental problems second-generation leaders face is evaluating new opportunities. Which ones are feasible, which ones are not, and how do …

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Corporate Transformation at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

When Stefan Oschmann became CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in 2016, the company had begun its transformation from a traditional mid-size German industrial company to a modern, global science and technology company. The portfolio restructuring and reorganization spearheaded by Oschmann’s predecessor, Karl-Ludwig Kley since 2007, had been approved …

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Thai Union: The Making of a World-Leading Seafood Company

Thai Union has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1977 as a Thai supplier of private label canned tuna to American importers. In four short decades, it had grown to become one of the world’s leading seafood companies, with sales of $ 3.8 billion in 2016. Thiraphong Chansiri, the CEO, had brilliantly …

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Northwest Security Services

Research the problems of a third-generation family business. Northwest Security Services (NSS) is a 55-year-old company with a rich history since it was founded by Ernest Wilson, a less social patriarch with a college education. Most of the process focuses on various NSS business challenges that are unique to family businesses, including bringing younger generation …

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Genomics in the Family Office

Alice Anane is a member of a large and wealthy family who together run a multi-pronged family business in Israel. When she discovers mid-pregnancy that the rapidly degenerative brain disease her father succumbed to now threatens her and potentially all members of her family, she must decide how to incorporate a comprehensive plan to control …

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Kohl Industries

Describes a compensation dilemma with a father and three children working in various family holding companies. The father, James Kohl, must determine the remuneration that corresponds to the needs of the family and the company.