Case studies add depth to our approach, making the Stigler Center a sought-after destination for students and educators looking for a well-rounded view of the business world.
The Stigler Center produces case studies independently, providing an unbiased and comprehensive perspective on issues pertaining to regulatory capture, crony capitalism, and the various forms of subversion of competition by special-interest groups.
Each case is supported by a Teaching Note, which serves as a guide to teaching the case. If you are affiliated with a qualified institution, you may request a teaching note.
Theme: How the collapse of the Genoa Bridge in August 2018 ignited a media crisis and political storm
During a torrential rainstorm on August 14, 2018, a 210-metre (690 ft) section of the Ponte Morandi bridge collapsed. The Ponte Morandi, also known as the Genoa Bridge, forms a critical artery of European route E80 linking Italy and France. In the collapse, between 30 to 35 cars and three trucks were reported to have fallen from the bridge. The disaster caused a major political controversy about the poor state of infrastructure in Italy and the privatization of Italy’s highways. The Genoa Bridge was part of a motorway system operated by Autostrade, a subsidiary of the Atlantia holding company controlled by the Benetton Family, one of the most powerful family business dynasties in Italy. The media crisis and political storm that followed threatened the concession under which Autostrade operated the motorways in Italy.
Suitable Courses: Regulation, Public Policy, Privatization, Political Economy of Regulation, the Media, Media Crisis Communications.
Bigger picture: The Atlantia case study addresses the political economy of regulation and the media in a democratic market economy. The case highlights a media crisis faced by a large Italian company that happens to be controlled by one of the wealthiest and most famous families in the country. A media crisis presents a rare opportunity to understand the dynamics between big businesses, politicians, regulatory agencies, and the news media. The Italian media and politicians intensely scrutinized the collapse of a bridge on an Italian highway operated by Autostrade, ultimately shedding light on the concession terms through which the company operated a large part of the highway network in the country.
Published: June 2020
Length: 50 pages; English PDF
Theme: How can firms be effective in lobbying for progressive policy changes while benefiting their own bottom lines?
Early on, Hewlett Packard (HP) embraced several costly environmental initiatives around reducing the harmful impact of electronic waste resulting from their products at the end of their lives. Despite these well-intentioned efforts at environmental sustainability, through internalizing negative externalities, they were not financially sustainable for HP vis-à-vis competitors who did nothing to offset their harm. Policymakers in California attempted to address the broader problem of e-waste through legislation proposing to tax all manufacturers of products that resulted in toxic e-waste. This left HP in a challenging position of whether or not to support the tax of manufacturers or to oppose it in favor of alternative legislation around e-waste.
Suitable Courses: Nonmarket Strategy, Corporate Political Strategy, Business and Public Policy, Business and Society, Corporate Social Responsibility, Applied Political Economy, Regulation
Bigger Picture: This case illustrates how firms can use lobbying strategies to complement socially responsible activities that are cost centers and turn them into a competitive advantage by aligning business activities with public policies they craft, which are more promarket than some policymakers’ best efforts to create policy that reduces firms’ negative externalities—and allows politicians to claim a win with constituents.
Published: September 2019
Length: Part A - 12 pages, English; Part B - 4 pages, English
Download the Case: Hewlett-Packard and e-Waste Regulation, Part A
Download the Case: Hewlett-Packard and e-Waste Regulation, Part B
Theme: What should the Entertainment Software Ratings Board do in the face of new proposed legislation that may impact various parties in the video game industry?
The video game industry has long self-regulated through the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, assigning ratings to games and prohibiting sales of certain games to minors. But in light of recent events, including mass shootings, there are calls for government regulation of the industry.
This case examines how the industry should respond to proposed legislation and whether the best form of regulation is from the government, the industry, or individual firms.
Suitable Courses: The case appeals to courses on regulation and political economy, and the relationships among business, politics, and corporate social responsibility. It works well in a nonmarket environment module where the discussion centers on decentralized self-regulation vis-à-vis centralized regulations by the government.
Bigger Picture: The natural debate that emerges from the case is, which is the entity that is most suitable to regulate: the government though public policy, firms themselves, or industry groups?
Published: January 2019
Length: 19 pages, English
Download the Case: Entertainment Software Ratings Board
Theme: How much of the Disney Company’s business model is riding on its ability to change US copyright laws?
A significant portion of Disney’s revenues depend on the company constantly extending its copyright protections. Whenever the Mickey Mouse copyright is set to expire, Disney lobbies heavily—and successfully—to change federal laws and extend its protections.
This case explores how policies meant to incentivize innovation can be co-opted to stifle it. It raises questions about intellectual property protection: how much is too much from a societal perspective, and who gets to decide?
Suitable Courses: The case appeals to courses on business strategy, the entertainment industry, and intellectual property, as well as regulation and political economy.
Bigger Picture: Raises issues of intellectual property protection: How much is too much from a societal perspective? And who gets to dictate the answers?
Published: November 14, 2017
Length: 15 pages, English
Download the Case: Disney’s Fight to Keep Mickey
Theme: How regulation is used to prevent entry, especially in developing countries.
Cumplo, a peer-to-peer lender, broke into the oligopolistic world of consumer financing in Chile. Threatened incumbents pressured regulators to criminally indict Cumplo for violating banking laws. Cumplo survived, and is poised to become the main peer-to-peer lending platform in Latin America, by promoting a positive self-image through local and international media.
This case illustrates how new business models, which challenge powerful incumbent industries, need to adopt a media strategy parallel to their business strategy.
Suitable Courses: Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Media, Political Economy
Bigger Picture: The case illustrates how new business models, which challenge powerful incumbent industries, need to adopt a media strategy parallel to their business strategy.
Published: June 16, 2017
Length: 26 pages, English; 25 pages, Spanish
Download the English-Language Case: Cumplo
Download the Spanish-Language Case: Cumplo
Theme: Bucking the trend in the media industry
Mediapart is a hard-hitting investigative French news site that has managed to become highly profitable—practically unheard of for an online investigative news outlet—despite relying solely on subscription revenues. It does this while producing expensive long-form journalism and not just clickbait.
It is an example of a successful entrepreneurship in a very difficult industry and an alternative business model for investigative journalism. This study examines the drivers of this seeming success story.
Suitable Courses: Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Media
Bigger Picture: It is both an example of successful entrepreneurship in a very difficult industry and an alternative business model for investigative journalism.
Published: April 13, 2017
Length: 27 pages, English; 29 pages, French
Download the English-Language Case: Bucking the trend in the media industry
Download the French-Language Case: Bucking the trend in the media industry
Theme: Less than a year since launching Tally, a fintech app that helps users manage and pay down their credit-card debt, its founders had to make important decisions regarding financing and regulation.
In late 2015, Tally’s founders faced their most important decision: how best to finance the lines of credit Tally would extend to customers. Doing so profitably meant finding credit at a reasonable cost; but unlike banks, Tally had no deposits and—given its lack of history—would be subject to hard-to-predict payment streams. Unfortunately, financing was not the only problem for Tally. As this young California startup was poised to expand its offering nationwide, its founders had to decide how to navigate the treacherous waters of US interstate banking regulation.
Suitable Courses: Entrepreneurial Finance, Fintech, Banking
Bigger Picture: Financing and regulation were key for the growth of Tally. If successful, Tally would have disrupted one of established banks’ more profitable markets, meaning that incumbent players would not be shy about pushing regulators to come after the startup. This, in turn, would increase Tally’s financing costs.
Theme: Corporate fraud and institutionalized corruption
In September 2014, testimonials from the Federal Police of Brazil’s Operation Car Wash brought to surface a massive corruption scandal involving politicians, company executives, and major engineering companies in Brazil. The Car Wash operation began in March of that year and shook Brazil’s politics like never before. The largest corruption investigation in the world revealed the functioning, in the period between 2004 and 2014, of a new criminal organization involving companies, contractors, shipyards, and other service providers inside Petrobras, Brazil’s oil company. The crimes practiced include a cartel among the largest contractors that participate in state events, avoiding competitiveness. What started as a small targeted investigation led to the discovery of what was believed to be the biggest corruption scandal in the country’s history. The case is set in October 2014, when PwC, Petrobras’s external auditor, refused to sign off on the company’s quarterly audited results. Statements of directors inside the company made PwC question its decision for this refusal. PwC had been the auditor of Petrobras since 2012, but the investigation was getting too big and the external auditors alleged they had no means to properly assess asset values of certain refineries.
Suitable Courses: Corporate Strategy with emphasis on Global Strategy, Business Ethics, General Management, and Strategic Challenges in Emerging Markets. In an Accounting course, the case fits well in a module of impairment of long-lived assets and the key differences in fair values between US, GAAP, and IFRS.
Bigger Picture: The case illustrates the role of external auditors in detecting corporate fraud as well as their degree of involvement in detecting malfeasance of public officials. The case questions the role of external auditors in terms of the changing accounting interpretations vis-à-vis rules. The refusal to sign off on the audited financial statements prompted a set of negative events for Petrobras, which included the triggering of bond covenants and cross-default clauses, and a lack of access to capital markets. This set of events affected the Brazilian economy. The case highlights how institutional voids, in this case lack of infrastructure, intensify to reveal systemic institutionalized corruption.
Theme: How banking regulators benefit banks
In the middle of the Cyprus solvency crisis, the Greek bank of Piraeus received a large windfall in the form of Greek branches of a Cypriot bank. A tour behind the scenes reveals just how much thought and resources were invested in assuring that the public would finance this gift to Piraeus: advertising, charitable contributions, and personal connections.
This course fleshes out EU politics and general “soft capture” dynamics: advertising as lobbying, corporate philanthropy as co-optation, and so forth.
Suitable Courses: Finance/banking, Macroeconomics, Media
Bigger Picture: Fleshes out EU politics, and general “soft capture” dynamics: advertising as lobbying, corporate philanthropy as co-optation, and so forth.
