Abstract
Most cases on new business venturing tend to focus at entrepreneurial success. This case challenges students to analyse an entrepreneurial firm that sailed into rough waters. Van Dam BV has been a family business specialising in sheet metal since 1906. The company has flourished for almost a century. In the last decades its focus has been on innovation, as a result of which it has neglected efficiency and economies of scale. Focussing on a single customer made matters worse, resulting in major cash-flow problems in 2001 and 2002. The year 2002 is the first year the company should benefit from recent innovations, but cash has run out prematurely and the company is in desperate need of a financial injection. Will it obtain the funds it needs to survive?
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | Teaching case |
| Publisher | European Case Clearing House |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |