Product details

This is the first of a two-case series (IMD-4-0229 and IMD-4-0230). From the mid-1980s, Oticon A/S, a Danish manufacturer of high-quality hearing aids, begins to experience significant losses and falls from its number one market position to third position. A newly named Chief Executive Officer, Lars Kolind, initiates a significant cost reduction and product line rationalisation programme, which leads to a dramatic turnaround restoring the company once again to profitability. Lars Kolind, however, does not think that these changes have led to sustainable competitive advantage, and he further introduces a vision for Oticon A/S headquarters that would entail a fundamental restructuring and transformation of the organisation. Management and employees revolt, and refuse a planned move of headquarters. Should Lars Kolind proceed with the proposed change, or has this recent turnaround been sufficient to restore radical Opticon to its number one position?