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Case Study

Dallara Automobili: Transforming a racing legend

By Benoit F. Leleux, Tawfik Jelassi, Giovanni Ravano, Maurizio Seletti and Fabio Tremolada

18 pages

November 2016

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Reference: IMD-7-1803

The Dallara Automobili case describes the success of a family run company that designed and built chassis for racing and sports cars. Established in 1972 by the legendary Gian Paolo Dallara, the company provided winning chassis for almost all major racing formulas. Initially the company’s success was based on two core capabilities: aerodynamics and carbon fiber manufacturing, a combination that allowed the company to produce fast, light and safe chassis. In 2007, when the founder turned 70, he brought on board a new CEO, Andrea Pontremoli (former CEO of IBM Italy), to support and develop the company’s long-term vision. Pontremoli led the company through an innovation journey that transformed Dallara from a pure high-end craftsmanship company into a modern engineering firm. Dallara pursued its original vocation and capabilities but it also developed new revenue streams, entering new customer segments beyond motorsports. The case describes the steps of this journey, focusing on how innovation impacted the traditional workflow within Dallara, opening up new business opportunities while maintaining the lead in its core business.

Learning Objective

Protecting and evolving core capabilities
Business model Innovation
Leveraging a cluster economy (no competing companies but competing territories)
Building distinctive competitive advantages based on knowledge and capabilities
Industry positioning (avoiding competition with key customers)
Emergent strategies
Family business succession

Keywords

Innovation Centre, Business Model, Strategy, Corporate Culture, Defense Mechanism, Organizational Design, Business Cluster, Digital Transformation, Technology Management, Growth Management, Motor Sport, Car Racing

Settings

Italy
Dallara Automobili, Automotive, Automobiles
1972 – 2016

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note, Video

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The price of innovation: Will Medacta compromise its DNA by embracing robotics?

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Case reference: IMD-2663 ©2025

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Reference IMD-2663

Organization Medacta Group

Industry Healthcare, Medical Device

Available Languages English

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