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Case Study

Alinghi and the 2003 America's Cup: Strategy to win

By Jean-Pierre Jeannet and Martha Lanning

37 pages

October 2005

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Reference: IMD-3-1450

This case describes the effort and project of Alinghi, the Swiss syndicate who won the America’s Cup in 2003 in New Zealand on the first try. Winning with only the 4th largest budget and based in a land-locked country, the team applied effective strategies on all fronts to outdo the competition: visioning process, team hiring, technology and design, sponsorship, race strategies, and many other aspects are described and supported by quotes from key members of the crew. This case has been effectively used in a number of class room settings where leadership or globalization were an issue. Allows for class to consider the key winning elements in the Alinghi challenge, and what they tell us about running international or global firms.

Keywords

Globalization, Strategy Implementation, Project Management, Sports Management, Sports Marketing, Sponsorship, Event Management, Sports

Settings

World/global
2003

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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