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faqs
What is the most successful case of all time?
How much does a case cost to buy?
How may cases did ecch distribute in 2009?
Do all business schools support the production and use of cases?
What does a case look like?
Will all cases be electronic in time?
What are the benefits for case authors?
Which schools produce the most cases?
Which schools use the most cases?


What is the most successful case of all time?


One way of measuring the success of a case is the number of copies distributed by ecch, this does not include the use of the case at the authoring school, as it can use its own case directly, as owner of the copyright. The top 25 at the beginning of 2010 are as follows:

Rank Date of case publication Case title Number sold School
1 2000 EASYJET: THE WEB'S FAVOURITE AIRLINE
39,110 IMD
2 1989 SCANDANAVIAN AIRLINE SYSTEMS (SAS) 1988 30,517 INSEAD
3 1972 BENIHANA OF TOKYO 26,516 HBS
4 2003 SHOULDICE HOSPITAL LIMITED 22,547 HBS
5 1995 VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS: TEN YEARS AFTER 21,757 INSEAD
6 1992 ANDERSEN CONSULTING (EUROPE): ENTERING THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS INTEGRATION
21,571 INSEAD
7 1985 KOMATSU LTD
20,416 HBS
8 1985 CATERPILLAR TRACTOR CO 19,976 HBS
9 1983 HONDA (A) 19,964 HBS
10 1992 APPLE COMPUTER - 1992 18,846 HBS
11 1983 HONDA (B) 18,468 HBS
12 1983 PEOPLE EXPRESS (A) 18,053 HBS
13 1990 ELECTROLUX: THE ACQUISITION & INTEGRATION OF ZANUSSI
17,735 INSEAD
14 1983 PROCTER & GAMBLE EUROPE: VIZIR LAUNCH
17,351 HBS
15 1997 WOLFGANG KELLER AT KONIGSBRAU-TAK (A) 17,197 HBS
16 1995 BRANSON'S VIRGIN: THE COMING OF AGE OF A COUNTER-CULTURAL ENTERPRISE
16,642 INSEAD
17 1992 CANON: COMPETING ON CAPABILITIES 16,590 INSEAD
18 1999 GE's TWO-DECADE TRANSFORMATION: JACK WELCH'S LEADERSHIP 16,366 HBS
19 1992 ZANTAC (A) 15,820 INSEAD
20 2002 AQUALISA QUARTZ: SIMPLY A BETTER SHOWER 15,649 HBS
21 1995 CHARLOTTE BEERS AT OGILVY & MATHER WORLDWIDE (A) 15,061 HBS
22 1987 SWATCH 14,975 INSEAD
23 1991 BODY SHOP INTERNATIONAL 14,862 HBS
24 1992 TOYOTA MOTOR MANUFACTURING, USA, INC 14,723 HBS
25 1994 BANCO COMERCIAL PORTUGUES (1993) 14,366 INSEAD


How much does a case cost to buy?

To academic users a paper copy of a case costs EUR4.45/GBP3.40 per copy; to corporate users EUR7.50/GBP5.75 per copy.
Electronic copies cost EUR4.05/GBP3.10 per copy to academic users and EUR6.90/GBP5.30 per copy to corporate users.


How many cases did ecch distribute in 2009?

855,906 to customers at over 1,381 organisations.


Do all business schools support the production and use of cases?

No. Some schools rely entirely on alternative, more traditional methods of teaching and case writing is done by a relatively small number of faculty worldwide. However, in ecch's experience, there has been significant growth in case usage worldwide since it was established thirty years ago.


What does a case look like?

Generally, a case is an A4 paper document of between 10 and 30 pages on average. Sometimes, depending on the subject matter, cases may contain colour illustrations. Cases may also be accompanied by audiovisual items, such as videos, slides or CD-ROMs. Some interactive cases have been produced in electronic format. Cases may come in two or even three parts (A,B & C). They may also be supplied with a teaching note, which is also an A4 document of an average 10 pages.


Will all cases be electronic in time?

The use of the case in a paper format still predominates but ecch holds 75% of the case collection in digital format.


What are the benefits for case authors?

Case authors do not usually receive academic credit for case writing. However, if their institution is a member of ecch they may receive royalties from the sales of their cases. This will depend on the policy adopted by their institution (some forward royalties to the case authors whereas others retain them).


Which schools produce the most cases?

The top five case producing schools in 2009 were Harvard Business Publishing, The Richard Ivey School of Business, Darden Graduate School of Business, ecch authors (various) and ICMR Center for Management Research.


Which schools use the most cases?

ecch distributes most cases to
London Business School (LBS), Cass Business School, UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business, RSM Erasmus Graduate School of Business, Cranfield University, Warwick Business School, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Manchester Business School (MBS), Lagos Business School and Imperial College London.

Major case producing schools such as Harvard Business School, IMD and INSEAD are also heavy case using schools, but they use their own cases directly and only use cases from other institutions via ecch.