Cases

Finance

Polish Wind Farm: Giant Business Opportunity or Tilting at Windmills?

Moszoro, Marian

Two Polish entrepreneurs were so passionate about windmills that their friends nicknamed them "Don Quixote." Their plan to make money through free wind energy convinced banks to back their ambitious wind farm project. But when the project encounters delays, some begin to question whether they have adequately accounted for all the risks associated with such a large-scale capital project. Were these two about to live up to their deluded eponym?

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Entrepreneurship

El Ganso: How to Build a Global Brand?

Arana, Sergio; Echaniz, Ignacio; Pascual, Julio; Prats Moreno, Mª Julia

Jeremy Stanford shoes helped the clothing brand El Ganso get up and running. But after seven years of expansion, and with 32 outlets in five countries, the company had to rethink its business model and growth strategy. The question was whether it should stay independent and keep financing itself with its own money, or turn to outside investors in order to expand faster.

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Corporate Governance

Bankia: What Now for the Ailing Giant?

Soley Sans, Jorge; Sánchez de León, Carlos

The Bankia case raises many questions. IESE Prof. Jorge Soley and Carlos Sánchez de León analyze the savings bank, from its creation and IPO, to its nationalization and restructuring, which has seen branch closures, layoffs and a new commercial strategy. How much wiggle room does a nationalized bank have? And how will Bankia's woes affect the rest of the Spanish banking system?

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Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Does a Good Cause Justify an Ethically Questionable Act?

del Potro, Eloy; Stein Martínez, Guido; Pin Arboledas, José R.; Vázquez-Dodero de Bonifaz, Juan Carlos

What would you do if your refusal to engage in bribery threatened the viability of your business project? Is extortion ever justifiable if it's for a good cause? This award-winning IESE case study explores the real-life dilemma a European company faced when trying to bring electricity to a central African country.

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Marketing

Amanco Brazil: From Second Best to Market Leader

Sauerbronn Jacinto, Rodrigo; Cerquinho, Fábio; Rocha e Oliveira, Paulo

What can a company do when it enters a foreign market that is already dominated by an entrenched market leader? This is a common problem for companies seeking to expand their business to overseas markets. A case study on pipe manufacturer Amanco's struggles to expand its market share in Brazil offers lessons on how companies can take on and even overcome a domestic market leader.

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