Study Questions for Cases

BUS 189
Instructor: Yeonji No

** Questions with bold fonts are both for individual analysis (extra credit), and teams are responsible
to answer all study questions.

Lululemon
Study Questions:
1. How an incoming CEO can exert leadership at an organization in transition? Can you
think of any successful CEO who worked in transition that Christine Day can model of?
What advice would you give to Christine Day? In general, what are required for a
person to become a good/successful leader?
2. Identify the strategy, the vision and mission of lululemon. What did Advent
International and Highland Capital see in lululemon? What are distinctive characters
that LLL has?
3. What other important actors can you think of for LLL?

Cola Wars
Study Questions:
1. Why has the soft drink industry been historically so profitable? Assess the five forces
of the soft drink industry and explain the profitability of the soft drink industry.
2. Compare the economics of the concentrate business to the bottling business. Why is the
profitability so different?

Tesla
Study Questions:
1. Conduct a PESTEL analysis to identify the forces affecting car manufacturing of
alternate energy vehicles.
2. Using VRIO analysis, evaluate whether Tesla has a sustainable competitive advantage.
3. What are the primary elements of Tesla’s internal and external environment that need
to be addressed for it to achieve a sustained competitive advantage?

Trader Joe’s
Study Questions:
1. How do firms in the supermarket industry make money?
o Please conduct a financial ratio analysis using the data in Exhibit 2. How do results
reflect the different strategies pursued by those four firms?
o What do the results say about how firms in this industry can deliver strong
financial returns in different ways?
2. What are the key sources of Trader Joe’s competitive advantage?
3. What are the main threats to Trader Joe’s competitive advantage? Is their advantage
sustainable?
4. How would you modify Trader Joe’s strategy moving forward?

Kodak
Study Questions:
1. Describe and Kodak’s digital imaging strategy during 1992-2012. Why did the Kodak’s
strategy fail? Was there a better alternative? Contrast with their strategy in traditional
photography. What are the main structural differences (i.e. value chain and value
 Study Questions for Cases
BUS 189
Instructor: Yeonji No

appreciation)?
2. What advice would you give to the Kodak board about its’ next step?

The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King

Study Questions:
1. Why has Disney been successful for so long?
2. What businesses Disney compete in? For example, why is Disney in hotel business? Do
you think Disney has competitive advantage? Identify the center of Disney’s
competitive advantage.
3. What do you think of Disney’s diversification? Do theses make sense to you?

Lululemon 2
Study Questions:
1. How important is LLL’s culture?
a. Where does it come from?
b. What value does this culture add to this company’s performance?
c. What are the benefits and costs of a strong culture?
2. How fast can LLL grow while still maintaining its culture?
3. What does organizational culture mean to you?