Case studies

To adapt to China's evolving market, McDonald's, an established giant in the Western fast-food industry, has advanced its digital transformation since 2016. McDonald's China collaborated with the company Target Social to develop algorithms that extract key information from big data, assisting marketers with social media insights, content creation, and influencer selection, achieving “circle-breaking” success in social media marketing. In today's rapidly developing technological landscape, digital marketing methods have become diverse and abundant. Why does McDonald's focus its social media marketing strategy on content “circle-breaking”? Can this strategy balance the goals of short-term sales and long-term brand mind-set?

BYD, a prominent automotive manufacturer, initially prioritized supplier certification compliance, and gradually evolveding to establish an integrated quality system. In pursuit of higher customer satisfaction and product quality, BYD underwent a progressive transformation in quality management encompassing four distinct phases by leveraging methodologies and tools such as Six Sigma, statistical quality control and Deming's Cycle. This case holds significant relevance within the realm of operational strategies in manufacturing, specifically pertaining to quality management.

In 2012, Vivian assumed the role of General Manager at the eBay China Development Center of Excellence (CCOE) with the objective of steering the growth of CCOE by initiating a cultural transformation plan. Vivian encountered numerous challenges in reshaping the organization as a new and female leader, especially facing her diminished authority when headquarters decided to realign reporting lines. This case, which illustrates real-world business scenarios, is designed to empower students to understand practices of organization transformation and leadership.

Be-Tiger Technology, a media technology supplier and advertising agency for car mobile intelligence established in 2015, is a hit in the taxi advertising industry. In response to intensifying competition, the founder Wang Jianfeng expands business from Shanghai to a nationwide scale, as well as reaching from business clients to individual customers. This case fits MBA and EMBA courses of marketing and business model innovation.

The Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Control Center, a public eye specialist hospital, is to introduce AI-based disease screening technology to facilitate examinations at community hospitals. By illustrating the difficulties encountered throughout pilot phase, implementation and promotion along with solutions, this case provides students with the dynamics of technology management and the impacts of technology adoption.

In 2007, Dr. Biwang Jiang, a scientist, returned to China to establish NanoMicro. For the first decade, he exemplified the spirit of a scientist by focusing intensively on the field of nanospheres. His perseverance in research and his breakthroughs in leading international technologies allowed him to identify two major application areas: flat panel displays and biopharmaceuticals. The flat panel display business helped his startup survive the initial years, while the rise of the biopharmaceutical sector provided the growth needed for the company's eventual listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Sci-Tech Innovation Board (SSE STAR Market). What distinguishes entrepreneurship by scientists? Should technology-driven companies find markets for their technologies, or should they develop technologies to meet market demands?

Nike rolled out the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing strategy to China market in 2021 in line with global strategy. Yang Ming, the VP of Direct Retail E-commerce in Nike Greater China, had to answer several questions: Would Nike China follow the headquarters' strategy or develop a localized plan? If localization was pursued, how did DTC strategies differ between China and the US, and which online sales channel to be selected as partner? This case highlights the trends in marketing channel in China to impress students with the concepts of digital transformation, supply chain and channel.

Smartbi is a nascent Chinese BI services provider in such a competitive and promising market. CEO Huafu Wu is contemplating a revision of its sales strategy: whether to prioritize customized products for key accounts or offer standardized services to a wider market. The shift of sales strategy brings a relevant question regarding targeting large customers or reaching mid-sized customers through distributors. This case can be used in marketing courses to illustrate the interplay between markets and products, the distinction between horizontal and vertical market expansion, and the complexities of channel management.

As the China retail market continues to evolve, traditional retail brands are seeking more effective channel management strategies, while emerging brands are exploring marketing models that transition from online to offline. This case, based on SO-IN Technology's digital service practices of “gig work + intelligent digitalization” in the China retail industry, delves into the business models of gig and crowdsourcing models as well as intelligent digital marketing services. It focuses on the strategic choices that SO-IN Technology faced: What challenges might SO-IN Technology's ‘gig economy + digital intelligence’ model face? What are the key factors that determine sustainable growth?

UCloud, a cloud computing startup founded in 2012, started with the gaming industry as target and later shifted its attention to serve traditional industries and government. After the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted the market, UCloud encountered the dilemma of the way it unfold its business: should the company prioritize strategic internet users who brought immediate scale profits, or developing traditional industries with huge potential but requiring more patience for payback? This case is relevant to strategy courses that cover topics of strategic management and target market.

The case was an application of a market demand and supply mechanism and its impact on the product’s price and focus on the following objectives:▪ Analyze the vegetable market in India and the challenges faced by the farmers (tomatoes) using demand and supply concepts.▪ Examine the impact of price elasticity on the revenue of the farmers.▪ Assess the challenges faced by the government in controlling prices of vegetables and food inflation.▪ Evaluate diversification strategies in agriculture to mitigate risk.

The market for tomatoes was highly cyclical because of erratic rainfall, and farmers went through a difficult time, especially when the prices fell below the cost of production. They moved out for crops that had stable prices. They expected government support for price stability. Government and policymakers considered price fluctuations a short-term phenomenon that required limited interventions when prices were high. This case was about Dilip, a farmer who was into farming tomatoes on a large scale in Karnataka, India. He was facing a dilemma as to whether he had to continue or move to other crops because of the low price of tomatoes in May 2023 or to diversify into some small but related business. He was worried at the same time, curious to understand the volatility in the prices of tomatoes, government responses, risks and returns associated with the cultivation of this crop and Agri-supply chain. Based on his understanding, he should make decisions to continue or diversify into some other farming or related business.

This case was written for microeconomics and managerial economics of undergraduate and postgraduate students. This case demonstrates the application of the demand and supply mechanism for a perishable product such as tomatoes. Price fluctuations are common in these markets because of various uncontrollable factors such as rain, pests and natural calamities. The case could show the relationship between the firm’s elasticities and revenue. This case also highlights the policy constraints in controlling the prices in the short run. This case could also be used for understanding macroeconomic concepts such as food inflation and its impact on general price inflation. The students or target audience with a background in the functioning of the markets could very well relate to the concepts discussed.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: Entrepreneurship (3); Management Science (7).

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand lead and lag indicators, understand job performance and its linkage with job satisfaction, calculate the cost of turnover and design solutions to the problem of attrition and low satisfaction.

Pace Control Gears was a small-scale enterprise based out of Sonipat, India. It was an entrepreneurial venture by Rajesh Kumar, who had set Pace in 2010 to manufacture low-voltage electrical apparatus. Recently, Pace had begun to experience issues with quality control that were largely the result of human error. The company was facing a drop in satisfaction levels and higher attrition levels among the employees. Kumar had to find a solution quickly to address the problem, as it had direct implications for the company’s margins and the assurance of quality that it was associated with in the market.

This case study is suited to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in human resource management and general management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human Resources Management.

The case describes a hypothetical hedge fund manager who is examining whether to invest in bitcoin. The case discusses potential risks and rewards of investing in bitcoin, the role of bitcoin and digital currencies more broadly, and financial innovation in the space, such as ICOs. It can be taught as part of a second-year MBA elective course in investments, financial institutions/capital markets, or fintech.

Few cases allow the student to understand the relationship between brand strategy, marketing strategy, implementation, and analysis. While some conceive of the process as being sequential, this case demonstrates that in fact, this process is more fluid, and that implementation and analysis impact subsequent strategy.

This field-based case provides a rare glimpse into the turnaround of a brand that was all but dead. After Buick suffered more than five decades of declining business results and an inferior brand image versus all rivals, few thought that the brand could be resuscitated. This case provides a valuable under-the-hood look at how the Buick team, over time, progresses through a series of marketing improvements all anchored on an evolved strategy. Specifically, Buick introduced a shift in brand strategy behind an evolved brand essence statement (i.e., brand positioning), improved product lineup, new-to-the-world innovation, enhanced dealership service, and more compelling advertising. The results led to a record number of product awards, significantly improved advertising measures, improved service ratings, and better business results.

Despite significant improvement across multiple dimensions of the business, Buick still trailed key competitors on one of the most important measures Buick tracked—the brand momentum rating—suggesting that there was still more work needed to complete the brand turnaround. The case introduces Molly Peck, the new marketing director on Buick, who is wondering what more, if anything, Buick should do. The material allows for instruction around marketing strategy and the process of converting it into implementation through the use of a creative brief.

This case replaces UVA-M-0837. It can be used in a variety of marketing and strategy classes to understand how (1) at a macro level, a shift in consumer and environmental factors can impact firm strategy and (2) at a micro level, an e-mail-based marketing campaign designed to address these changes can impact firm-level performance.

The case puts the students in the position of CEO Robert Huth as he is preparing for a board meeting. He had taken David's Bridal from a loss in 1996 to sales of over $1 billion by 2011, but he was concerned about future growth. People were waiting longer and longer to get married and, once they decided to, were spending much less than in the past, so the industry had seen year-over-year declines since 2007. How would David's Bridal establish its brand in the minds of a new generation of brides who shopped, purchased, and decided differently than had brides in past generations?

This public-sourced case describes the latest restructuring efforts by Deutsche Bank (DB) and gives a short history of prior restructuring efforts from the decade before. In July 2019, Christian Sewing, the new CEO of DB, announced a series of measures that included, among others, the elimination of global equity trading, the layoff of 18,000 employees, the creation of a “bad bank” to transfer noncore assets, and the suspension of dividends until 2022. The case describes key decisions a bank CEO makes when a bank needs to change course to return to profitability and growth. The case offers an opportunity to debate these key decisions, as well as discuss some of the prior ones during earlier restructuring efforts, and put the students in the CEO's shoes: What would you do and why? The case also describes key banking performance metrics (e.g., ROE, ROA) and other critical variables such as those reflecting capital health (Tier 1 ratio), as well as gives an overview of the bank business model and factors impacting bank profitability and value.

This case teaches students the importance of maintaining a strong FICO score by illustrating the consequences of paying bills late or not at all. The protagonist is David Molina, a waiter at a struggling Italian restaurant located down the block from where he lives. Money is tight for Molina right now—his limited income means he lives paycheck to paycheck. However, Molina knows things will be looking up for him soon because he recently accepted a job as a bank teller across town—his first desk job.

Molina has been putting off paying two of his bills: a cable bill and his Bank of America credit card bill, both of which are late and have been issued, this time, in the form of threats to impact Molina's credit score if he doesn't pay them. He has just enough money to afford the minimum payments on each overdue bill. But then he receives a phone call from his friend, Jim Lindsey, reminding him about an invitation to go to Myrtle Beach for the upcoming weekend. Molina knows he cannot afford it, but a woman he's attracted to, Jessica, will be there too. Should Molina put off the bills yet again, and if so, how exactly will being late on them hurt his credit score?

This case requires students to evaluate alternative dual-share-class corporate structures that allow companies and entrepreneurs to pursue profit with purpose. The case explores Impact Makers, an IT consulting company based in Richmond, Virginia. While original founders of the firm hold all voting rights, the cash flow rights belong to two nonprofits setting the stage for a Newman's Own model of management consulting. The case discusses whether and how the alternative corporate structure aids the firm's overall strategy to attract top-quality employees, pay them competitive salaries, and provide superior service to its clients while donating 100% of its lifetime value to charitable causes, largely through partnerships with various nonprofit organizations. More importantly, the case asks students to evaluate how such a dual-share-class and dual-purpose company can raise capital to fund continued growth.

The case opens with CEO Michael Pirron reminding himself of all the questions he had run through to execute a strategy to further grow Impact Makers' consulting business both through expanding a menu of services and through conquering new geographical markets. To do either, or both, the company needed a cash infusion. Internal cash was limited, as up to 40% of it flowed to charitable partners, demonstrating Impact Makers' commitment to its mission. Raising debt for a company without fixed assets was challenging and time consuming. Complicating it all was that being structured as a nonstock corporation rendered equity raising difficult. Could Impact Makers raise money to grow and stay true to community values at the same time?

South Africa had formally introduced a policy of inflation targeting (IT) in February 2000. By December 2001, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, after reading the latest statistics, was concerned with the disappointing economic data. Economic activity had slowed drastically, to the point that the country appeared to be heading for a recession. The gloomy statistics forced the governor to consider whether the country had pursued the right policy. Persistently high unemployment, one legacy of the apartheid era, meant that South Africa did not have the luxury of waiting for new policies to bear fruit. With the inflation forecast to exceed the mandated target, the governor would have to tighten monetary policy, which would further restrict investment. Was it is time for South Africa to change course?