IMD has eight cases featured in The Case Centre’s list of Top 50 bestselling cases from the past 50 years and has landed the number 1 spot with a case on easyJet by former IMD Professor Nirmalya Kumar and Research Associate Brian Rogers.
Case studies, which explore real-life business situations, are popular teaching resources in executive education to help hone learners’ ability to analyze effectively. The Case Centre distributes over 73,000 cases, making a place in the Top 50, an incredible achievement.
With eight cases in the Top 50 list, which was compiled to celebrate The Case Centre’s 50th anniversary, IMD is the third most successful institution after Harvard Business School (22 cases) and INSEAD (14 cases).
The most in-demand case study on The Case Centre from the period 1973 – 2023 was easyJet: The Web’s Favourite Airline by former IMD Professor Nirmalya Kumar and Research Associate Brian Rogers. The case describes how Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou transformed easyJet from a start-up into one of Europe’s leading low-cost airlines by adopting an efficiency-driven operating model, maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction, and creating brand awareness.
“The reason why I think it’s been so successful is because it’s a great story, with a colorful protagonist and an easy to identify category, elucidating a strategy for low-cost airlines that were just emerging in Europe”
– Former IMD Professor Nirmalya Kumar
Kumar, who has two IMD cases in the Top 50, said he had always written case studies for fun and because he liked teaching his own material.
“The reason why I think it’s been so successful is because it’s a great story, with a colorful protagonist and an easy to identify category, elucidating a strategy for low-cost airlines that were just emerging in Europe,” said Kumar. “It was also a case that could be used by faculty in a variety of disciplines like strategy, marketing, operations, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, it was easy to read and with a detailed teaching note. The first time I taught it, the student reaction told me that we had a hit. But for it to be so successful is incredible as there are so many great cases.”
Kumar’s other IMD case study, Medi-Cult: Pricing a Radical Innovation, also written with Rogers, features at number 28 on the list. The case highlights the issues involved in the launch of an infertility product and procedure and raises questions around how to best price the product.
“This was a unique case that checked all the boxes for teaching pricing for professors,” said Kumar. “It has real-world data that could be used analytically to derive demand curves and demonstrated how, in the absence of historical data, one could use expert judgments to determine optimal profit-maximizing prices. Finally, the global-versus-multinational pricing strategy considerations added another interesting wrinkle to the case for class discussions.”
IMD’s eight cases in the Top 50 list are:
- No. 1 – easyJet: The Web’s Favourite Airline by former IMD Professor Nirmalya Kumar and Brian Rogers
- No. 16 – Nestlé-Rowntree (A) by James Ellert, Professor Emeritus of Finance and Strategy, Dana Hyde and Peter Killing, Professor Emeritus of Strategy
- No. 21 – Nestlé-Rowntree (B) by James Ellert, Dana Hyde and Peter Killing
- No. 28 – Medi-Cult: Pricing a Radical Innovation by Nirmalya Kumar and Brian Rogers
- No. 32 – Tetra Pak (A): The Challenge of Intimacy with a Key Customer by Kamran Kashani, Professor Emeritus of Marketing and Global Strategy, and Janet Shaner
- No. 35 – Mediquip SA ® by Kamran Kashani
- No. 45 – Sunwind AB (A) by Robert Collins, Professor Emeritus of Manufacturing Management and Strategy
- No. 49 – Colgate-Palmolive: Cleopatra by Sandra Vandermerwe and J. Carter Powis
The following cases co-authored by Sophie Coughlan, Associate Director, IMD Global Board Center and Frédéric Dalsace, Professor of Marketing and Strategy, also made the Top 50 list.
- No. 14 – Red Bull: The Anti-Brand Brand (London Business School) by Sophie Coughlan, Nirmalya Kumar and Nader Tavassoli
- No. 34 – Michelin Fleet Solutions: From Selling Tires to Selling Kilometers (HEC Paris) by Chloé Renault, Frédéric Dalsace and Wolfgang Ulaga
The Case Centre (TCC) hosts the world’s largest and most diverse collection of management cases, articles, book chapters, and teaching materials, making it the premier go-to resource for business students. For more than 50 years, IMD’s faculty have written cases studies that have proven to be a timeless tool for developing the leadership skills and capabilities of executives and students.
