Live Cases are based on the concept of the ongoing study of leading companies, and they are focused on critical issues associated with technology as a source of competitive advantage.  The Live Cases Initiative is based on an open source model so that access is granted to any and all who make valuable contributions to the case and to management knowledge.

The Live Cases Portal

The Henry J. Leir and Ridgefield Foundations have generously supported the School of Management’s live case initiative. The Portal features updated cases developed by the School’s faculty and students on prominent companies doing business in New Jersey such as UPS and Pfizer.  We invite contributions and extensions from interested students and faculty from business schools and related academic programs throughpout the world.

Go the the Live Cases Portal at www.livecases.org

More Information About Live Cases

Business schools have incorporated cases into their curriculums for years. The approach permeates business textbooks too. But these cases are usually focused on a particular situation facing a specific decision-maker at a point in time. The real business world, however, is continuous and complex. So new contexts, history and path dependency generally matter. Further, decisions often involve actors from other parts of the firm as well as customers and suppliers. These decisions can also be actively analyzed retrospectively to understand why a firm was actually successful or unsuccessful. Indeed, firms often learn from their successes and mistakes.        

Yet,  existing cases frequently avoid making judgments or keeping current.  Technology, though, has allowed the School to explore a different approach to case presentation. With support from the Leir and Ridgefield Foundations, it has launched the “Live Case” portal that allows for continuous updates of the cases through additions and comments by contributors across a range of disciplines from inside and outside the NJIT community. The portal was developed by a team of undergraduate students under the guidance of Professor Passerini. The cases on UPS were written by group working with Professor Rapp, Henry J. Leir Chair in International Business, and those on Pfizer were developed by a group working with Professor Passerini. Other cases will be added over the next few months on IBM, Dendrite and Toyota.  All have significant operations in New Jersey.

We welcome your comments on the cases and the Live Case portal approach.