1. When Nike CEO Phil Knight stepped down and handed his job to Bill Perez, he stayed on as chairman of the board. In what ways could Knight’s continued presence on the board have created an informal structure that prevented Perez from achieving full and complete leadership of Nike?

2. How can Nike utilize both traditional and newer organization structures to support the firm’s heavy strategic commitment to outsourcing?

3. In what ways does Nike's in-house collaboration with ad agency Wieden + Kennedy qualify as a strategic alliance?

4. Further research—Gather information on Nike’s recent moves and accomplishments, and those of its rival, Adidas. Are both firms following the same strategies and using the same structures to support them? Or, is one doing something quite different from the other? Based on what you learn, what do you predict for the future? Will Nike stay on top, or is Adidas the next industry leader?

Nike is indisputably a giant in the athletics industry. But the Portland, Oregon, company has grown large precisely because it knows how to stay small. By focusing on its core competencies—and outsourcing all others—Nike has managed to become a sharply focused industry leader. But can it stay in front?

What Do You Call a Company of Thinkers?

It’s not a joke or a Buddhist riddle. Rather, it’s a conundrum about one of the most successful companies in the United States—a company known worldwide for its products, none of which it actually makes. Th is begs two questions: If you don’t make anything, what do you actually do? If you outsource everything, what’s left?

A whole lot of brand recognition, for starters. Nike, famous for its trademark Swoosh, is still among the most recognized brands in the world and is an industry leader in the $122 billion U.S. sports footwear and apparel market. And its 35% market share dominates the global athletic shoe market. Since captivating the shoe-buying public in the early 1980s with legendary spokesperson Michael Jordan, Nike continues to outpace the athletic shoe competition while spreading its brand through an everwidening universe of sports equipment, apparel, and paraphernalia.

Th e ever-present Swoosh graces everything from bumper stickers to sunglasses to high school sports uniforms.

Not long after Nike’s introduction of Air Jordans, the fi rst strains of the “Just Do It” ad campaign sealed the company’s reputation as a megabrand. When Nike made the strategic image shift from simply selling products to embodying a love of sport, discipline, ambition, practice, and all other desirable traits of athleticism, it became among the fi rst in a long line of brands to represent itself as aiding customers in their self-expression as part of its marketing strategy. …………………..