Cases
Case 1A–Joint Venture #1: The Corning-Vitro Divorce
This case analyzes the business venture and subsequent breakup of Corning Glass Works, and American company, and Vitro, a Mexican firm.
Suggested Questions for Class Discussion
1. Did Vitro and Corning do enough research before engaging in a joint venture?
2. Was it wise to start with such a large venture?
3. Could some of the problems have been mitigated through cultural training during the joint venture?
4. Was two and one half years long enough to try to make the joint venture work? Was it too long?
5. What can the two companies do to prevent such situations from occurring in the future?
Case 1B–Joint Venture #2: The Volvo-Renault Marriage
This case presents an overview of the successful alliance between two automobile makers, Volvo and Renault.
Suggested questions for class discussion:
1. How does this case differ from the situation presented in Case 1, the Corning/Vitro joint venture?
2. Did the “chemistry” between the two top executives contribute to the overall success of the venture?
3. Did not having a provision in the agreement for dissolving the relationship contribute to its success?
4. Did the purchase of each other’s stock help ensure success?
Case 2–Moto Coming to America
This case gives a detailed account of the “courtship” that occurred between an American company (Allmack) and a Japanese company (KKD) before an agreement was finally signed.
Case Questions
1. What was Moto’s purpose and agenda for the first meeting with Crowell? How does he try to implement his agenda?
Although not specifically stated in the text, it appears that Moto intended for his first meeting with Crowell to be a “getting to know each other” session, during which they could find some commonality. Hence, the reason for choosing a gift that had a connection to the hilly, snowy places where both men grew up.
2. What happened to introduce “noise” in the communication from Moto to Crowell,