IESE Insight

KLM: Gaining Altitude With Alliances

Jordan Mitchell; Africa Ariño; Pinar Ozcan When one thinks of alliances, airlines often spring to mind. Though they seem like they have been around forever, global airline alliances such as SkyTeam, OneWorld and Star are relatively recent phenomena, having only really taken off in the late 90s. KLM was one of the first to give wings to these alliances that have been commonplace ever since.

Paul Polman: "We need to serve multiple stakeholders"

Jordi Canals Paul Polman, member of IESE's International Advisory Board and until recently CEO of Unilever, reflects on corporate governance, the work of the CEO and board of directors, and the need to manage for the long term.

What kind of relationship should I have with Amazon?

Joan Jané Getting onto Amazon's e-commerce platform usually sends sales skyrocketing. But, let the seller beware: there are strings attached.

Barcelona Sells: BCN Brand's Rapid Ascent

Xavier Oliver; Sara Sicart Eternal summer? An urban, stylish lifestyle? What does Barcelona evoke for you? BCN Brand plays to the public imagination of the city of Gaudí and beauty on the beach, selling everything from colorful sneakers to fire extinguishers. The case study, "BCN Brand: Selling Barcelona Around the World," tracks the marketing moves and asks what comes next.

Pau Gasol: Courting a Successful Career

Santiago Álvarez de Mon; Juan Enrique Flores Alonso Now playing with the Chicago Bulls, the Spanish basketball player has managed to fill his career with successes. Which have been his best moves? Santiago Álvarez de Mon and Juan Enrique Flores look at Gasol's professional trajectory, taking into account the game plans, contract terms and more.

Aernnova: Where in the World?

Eduard Calvo; Jesús Arturo Orozco; Miguel Estrada In 2007, Spain's leading maker of aircraft structures, Aernnova, planned to internationalize its operations and become more cost competitive in the process. Where in the world should the company go? To China, where its clients were heading, or to Mexico, with its cultural similarities and other benefits? Eduardo Calvo, Jesús Arturo Orozco and Miguel Estrada analyze the dilemma.

Suchard: This Christmas, a Farewell to Traditional Advertising?

Julián Villanueva; Rocío Güell; Santiago Sánchez-Lozano For decades, the chocolate turrón of Suchard has been a fixture on the Christmas tables of Spanish consumers. Although the Suchard brand was well known for its traditional ad campaign each holiday season, a new management team considered changing the communication strategy dramatically. Would a change in tack pay off?

Teaming: Solidarity as a Business Model

Jaime Lucea; Alberto Ribera Teaming is an online platform for an altruistic initiative with lofty goals built on micro-donations. A case study traces Teaming from the personal story of its founder, through celebrity boosts by singer Shakira and former Barça coach Frank Rijkaard, to ambitious expansion plans -- modeled on solidarity.

Picture This: Olapic Catches the Next Wave of e-Commerce

Joan Roure Parera; Juan Luis Segurado Buying a jacket online? Whose photographs are you more likely to trust: the brand's catalog shots or crowdsourced images, uploaded by unbiased customers? If you opt for the latter, you're not alone -- and you're one of the reasons that Olapic is growing so fast. An IESE case study follows the story, from three business school students to a successful startup.

Working in Iraq: The Choice Between Safe and Right?

Ammar Al-Rikabi; Alberto Ribera In February 2015, Baghdad's decade-old curfew was finally lifted -- a sign that life might be getting back to normal. But the same day, violence once again gripped the nation. In a very personal case study, IESE MBA grad Ammar Al-Rikabi reflects on the time he spent working in his home country and the dilemma it caused him.

Cases