Progressive Corporation –

What are the different segments within the automobile insurance industry? How do they differ?

Describe the various activities of Progressive’s value chain?

What level of fit do you observe in Progressive? How are they different from competitors?

Would you continue Progressive’s strategy?

Southwest Airlines: In a Different World –

Why has Southwest been so much more successful than its competitors?

How has the original strategy been altered in recent years? How, if at all, have these changes affected Southwest’s key success factors?

What kinds of things over which Southwest’s leadership has some control could go wrong? What should be done to make sure they don’t happen?

Based on your response to question 3, what further changes, if any, need to be made by Southwest’s leadership in the face of competitive moves and general economic conditions?

Would you recommend that Southwest Airlines acquire the gates and slots available at LaGuardia Airport? Why?

The Marvel Way: Restoring a Blue Ocean –

There have been several attempts to explain Marvel’s success via competitive strategy but they fall flat: competitive strategy, with this specific case, neither predicts nor explains the outcome. Why?

If Marvel had spent more to hire top-tier movie stars, well-known directors, and moved forward the Hollywood Way, would the movies have performed better?

Why do or don’t you think Marvel broke the value/cost trade-off?

Explain the difference between value extraction and value innovation as well as the longterm financial impact.

Who were the noncustomers Marvel targeted?