Case studies

The learning outcomes of this study are as follows: identify key elements of luxury branding in the context of a new residential real estate brand; select target segment/s and outline the sales pitch for a luxury residential real estate brand; plot the pre-sales stage of the customer journey path (CJP) for a luxury residential real estate brand; and plan a pre-sales customer engagement strategy for a luxury residential real estate brand.

This case enumerates Aldeola de Siolim, Goa’s (ASG) pre-sales promotional challenges. ASG was an upcoming luxury residential property in Goa, India. Venky Infar – the developer of ASG – a family-owned civil construction firm – wanted to diversify into Goa’s vibrant luxury housing market. In India’s housing market, the success of a project often depends on the “pre-sales,” i.e. attracting target customers and maximizing the sales before the construction. V. Rama Rao, the project manager’s task, was challenging because ASG and Venky were new entrants in a mature and competitive market. However, Rao was determined to capture a slice of this lucrative market. The case discusses the following four points to help the students understand the marketing challenges and decision context. First, ASG’s key attractions, second, overview of the Indian real estate market, third, characteristics of Goa’s luxury home market and finally, Customer Journey Path for residential real estate purchase. The case elaborates on the nuances of strategic dilemmas and and presents competitors' practices and emerging consumer trends.

The case will help students analyze and formulate a pre-sales promotional plan for a luxury real estate product. It is suitable for marketing elective courses, e.g. branding, sales management and luxury management.

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CSS 8: Marketing

The readers will gain practical insights on the key attributes of a women entrepreneur, the role of innovative product design and usage, the core challenges and opportunities and the strategies to overcome entrepreneurial hurdles in the Moonj handicraft business.

The case is about “Rekhaakriti”, a handicraft artisan-oriented firm, which deals in the business of selling handicrafts items like traditional wooden toys, Moonj baskets, rice bowls and vermilion boxes, in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets. Incorporated as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in the year 2014, “Rekhaakriti” was founded with the purpose of preserving, promoting and advancing the Moonj handicraft. Throughout its formative years, the organization experienced several organizational and operational challenges and got almost on the edge of collapse. The dilemma that surrounded Rekha Sinha, a key founding member of “Rekhaakriti”, was whether to carry or dissolve the organization. But, after much contemplation, she decided to convert the organization to a sole proprietorship firm in the year 2017. However, the restructuring decision was also proving to become less effective in attaining the objectives for which the firm got established. This led the owner, Rekha Sinha, to further dug deep to identify obstacles (both internal and external) that impede her firm’s expansion and growth. This case narrates Rekha Sinha's intricate entrepreneurial path in building an innovative handicraft organization and explains how she overcame the overall organizational and operational obstacles. The case provides the context for students to assume the role of protagonist and explore creative strategies for overcoming market obstacles through upskilling, design intervention and product innovation.

The case study is intended for the students pursuing their graduation and post-graduation courses in business, management studies, marketing and entrepreneurship. The case also provides suitable insights to management trainees and executives.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to understand a new restaurant venture's target segment and create a consumer profile for the new restaurant; to design a positioning statement for the new restaurant; to appraise the marketing strategy and suggest improvements in the marketing mix of a new restaurant venture in the new normal; to discuss the augmentation of services by a new restaurant to compete effectively in the market; and to identify and discuss the vital marketing steps for opening a restaurant in the new normal.

Kelvin, an ambitious and budding restaurateur, had high aspirations with great plans. V café was his first running venture. The income from V café was not enough to improve his social position. He wanted to open a new restaurant (Haikou) and earn more. Kelvin was well aware of COVID-19's current condition and its severe implications for the restaurant business. He did not have any experience in marketing a restaurant. So he was puzzled about understanding the target segment, positioning and marketing mix of the proposed restaurant in the new normal.

The case will cater to business management students pursuing a postgraduate management program. The case can be applied in Marketing Management, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality Management and Services Marketing courses. The prerequisite for this case is a basic understanding of marketing concepts.

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CSS 8: Marketing

After reading the case, the students shall be able to explain the concept of insider trading and differentiate between illegal insider trading and legal insider trading, business ethics, financial institutions, financial markets and accounting; to interpret the legal framework for prevention of insider trading; to identify the role and significance of the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in detecting financial crimes such as insider trading; to demonstrate the association between information, stock trading and stock prices within the framework of efficient markets; and to appraise the ethical dilemma in a family-owned firm, where the family members of the promoter group are alleged to have indulged in a financial crime.

The case revolves around allegations of insider trading against the promoter and the promoter group of the family owned and controlled firm, Lux Industries Limited. On January 24, 2022, the SEBI, the regulator of securities markets in India, accused Udit Todi, the Executive Director of Lux Industries Limited, of engaging in insider trading through a chain of 14 connected parties. Udit Todi was also the son of the Managing Director, Pradip Kumar Todi, and the nephew of the Executive Chairman, Ashok Kumar Todi. In its interim order, SEBI alleged a breach of insider trading regulations by a group of 14 connected entities that had built up long positions starting from May 21, 2021, before the quarterly financial results (Q4) and the annual results of the financial year (FY) 2021 in the equity shares of Lux Industries Limited, with its registered office in Kolkata, India, were announced. Subsequently, they squared off the long positions to make a profit of ₹29.43m. To restore the confidence of the investors, the Executive Chairman, Ashok Kumar Todi, needed to review the matter expeditiously and impartially. Taking into consideration the family ties of the accused, it was not going to be an easy task, yet, it had to be done. The case highlights the role of the regulator, SEBI, in unearthing financial frauds such as insider trading in an emerging market such as India.

Postgraduate programs in management, Executive education programs.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

The learning outcomes of this study are as follows:

1. the benefits of differential pricing over uniform pricing;

2. the differences between second- and third-degree price discrimination;

3. the rationale for charging different prices for segments having different willingness to pay; and

4. how different prices for the same product can lead to perceptions of unfairness and how companies might manage such an issue.

This case outlines the decisions that Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India (Serum), had to make in late April 2021 concerning its pricing for the COVID-19 (Covid) vaccine. Serum was the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, and its Covishield vaccine had received regulatory approval, but faced an unusual challenge and opportunity. In most countries, governments had procured Covid vaccines from manufacturers and then delivered the vaccines to consumers free of cost. But in India, there was a three-tier pricing system. While the Government of India had committed to free vaccines in government-run public hospitals, it also allowed vaccine makers to directly sell vaccines to state governments, as well as private hospitals, who were at liberty to charge consumers for the vaccines. This created an interesting pricing dilemma for Serum: as different customers had different willingness to pay, should Serum use differential pricing? Would such a tiered pricing system be considered fair? How many different price points should Serum maintain? By exploring these and related decisions that Poonawalla had to make, the case is intended to teach price discrimination.

The case is intended for graduate-level courses in marketing, pricing and economics. This case illustrates the principles of differential pricing/price discrimination. More specifically, it highlights pricing strategies motivated by second- and third-degree price discrimination in an emerging market’s health-care context. From the information in the case, the student can learn to apply the concepts of second- and third-degree price discrimination in marketing. After working through the case and assignment questions, instructors will be able to help students understand the following concepts:

Teaching objective 1: the benefits of differential pricing over uniform pricing.

Teaching objective 2: the differences between second- and third-degree price discrimination.

Teaching objective 3: the rationale for charging different prices for segments having different willingness to pay.

Teaching objective 4: how different prices for the same product can lead to perceptions of unfairness and how companies might manage such an issue.

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CSS 8: Marketing

1. Probabilistic calculations of cost, and profit/loss using standard probability functions

2. Decision tree to find the expected monetary value (EMV) of different options.

3. Monte Carlo simulation for risk analysis.

4. Risk analysis in project management.

Learners will be able to understand and apply the following: how to approach uncertainty in business decisions using probabilistic calculations of cost, and profit/loss using standard probability functions; how to address uncertainty in business decisions by looking forward and reasoning backward, using the decision tree technique and the EMV of different decisions; how to analyse the risk inherent in business decisions by incorporating probability distributions for all critical variables in the form of Monte Carlo simulation; and appreciation of strategic considerations in risk analysis as it applies to project management

The case describes the challenge facing Vilas Birari, the owner and chief executive of Harsh Constructions, a construction company headquartered in Nasik, India. Birari had to decide on the bid for a construction project in September of 2021, during the COVID-19 (COVID) pandemic. Due to successive waves of the pandemic, the state and federal governments announced lockdowns intermittently, causing uncertainty in costs related to labor, material and project completion. The dilemma before Birari was how to set a bid price that was not so low as to incur a loss and not so high as to lose the bid to competitors. The uncertainty made Birari’s decision-making complex. The case invites students to help Birari find an optimum bid price by using various quantitative techniques, such as Monte Carlo simulation and decision trees.

This case is intended for students of management at a master’s level, in an elective course on management science, which is often also known as decision science. This compact case can be positioned in the second half of the course, when exploring risk management using computer simulation as a tool. The case serves both as an introduction to using simulation to manage uncertainty as well a contrast with simpler methods that are covered earlier in the course.

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CSS 7: Management Science.

The learning outcomes of this study are as follows:

1. comprehending foundational dimensions of brand equity and criteria to compare the use of traditional and new media in leading brand communication appropriateness and performance;

2. understanding and evaluating implications of leading brand communications during times of crises; and

3. creating recommendations for leading brand communication preparedness and response to crises.

On 16 August 2020, Dr Barbara Jensen Vorster, Senior Executive Manager, Communications and Marketing of the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA), in Midrand South Africa, considered her dilemma of adapting their communication approach during COVID-19 and beyond the current crisis. The GMA relied on traditional media and the crisis created an opportunity to rethink their entire communications approach. It was important to the GMA communications team to keep the Gautrain commuters connected even though they might not be using the Gautrain during the lockdown of COVID-19. Jensen Vorster believed that a brand should be adaptive and continue even when a service is not running. Jensen Vorster had to lead her communications team when they were all working from home, and they had to keep commuters informed of the requirements during the different levels of lockdown in South Africa. Their various campaigns during this time purposefully communicated with commuters and the various “staying home” initiatives with the intention of lifting spirits. The communication outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic switched over to social media communications out of necessity; however, was that ideal communication during a crisis? While most of the case focuses on this external communication, the case pays attention to some internal communication initiatives by Jensen Vorster with her own team and for the Gautrain’s staff. The question is whether brands should shift from traditional media to new media campaigns during the 21st-century crises? Students will get the opportunity to compare the use of traditional and new media during crisis times. How might they approach their brand communications during COVID-19 and in preparation for future crises?

Marketing and Business Communications and Leadership courses for MBA or executive education programs.

Masters level MBA.

The team of authors conducted face-to-face interviews prior to and during the lockdown in South Africa; the interviews were conducted online through Zoom. Interviews included Dr Barbara Jensen Vorster, Senior Executive Manager, Communications and Marketing of the Gautrain Management Agency and Kesagee Nayager, the Marketing and Communications Executive Manager at Bombela Concession Company. Viwe Mgedzi, Executive Manager for Knowledge Management, provided documents supporting the case. The researchers also conducted desktop research of secondary data, including media and press articles on the companies. The @Gautrain Twitter feed was very important for the researchers to investigate as part of the secondary data research, to triangulate the interview data.

For example, see one of the Twitter feeds on 17 March 2020, 5:37 pm.

The following Twitter feed on the Gautrain’s status confirmed the interview data: https://twitter.com/TheGautrain/status/1239938937885466633

The main resources of this case study were the interviews and the media articles to offer objective references. The authors used the following two newspaper articles to triangulate the information they gained from the interviews:

BusinessTech, March 18, 2020, accessed March 8, 2021 at https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/382707/south-african-coronavirus-cases-jumps-to-116-as-a-gautrain-exec-tests-positive/

Timeslive, www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-03-17-staff-in-self-isolation-after-executive-tests-positive-two-gautrain-stations-chemically-decontaminated/

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CSS 7: Management science; CSS 8: Marketing.

1. What are public goods? What are the defining characteristics of public goods?2. What is special about managing common resources like Markhors/Ibex (and other rare species)? What is the free rider problem?3. How the incentives-based system works?4. What are the consequences of Community Trophy Hunt Program (CTHP) in Pakistan?

Learning objectives are as follows:1. applying new approaches to manage common resources;2. understanding the various types of goods that society needs for its material progress;3. understanding the challenges associated with the management of common resources because of their particular nature; and4. understanding the need for incentive-based engagement in the management of public policies at the community level.

Management of shared resources is challenging. This case uses the problem of a forest officer who was given the task of managing the animal population of the region. The primary focus of the case is common resources and how it can be managed through incentive-based system. The case demonstrates how individual actions have external effects. These external effects are sometimes good for the community, but sometimes, they are bad. Many desirable outcomes require social cooperation, but they cannot be achieved because individual self-interest dominates collective well-being, the issue called Prisoners' Dilemma. Gulnar (the fictional forest officer) was convinced about the potential of managing common resources by means of a CTHP in the Gilgit–Baltistan region (in Pakistan). The CTHP provided not just environmental benefits but also substantial social and economic benefits to the local community. The financial gains from the initiative can be used in community projects that help locals become less reliant on their natural environment, create more space for wildlife and enhance the quality of life for people.

BS (Hons.) Economics, MS Economics (Public Policy), MBA (Business Economics)

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CSS 4: Environmental Management

The learning outcomes are as follows:

1. assess and evaluate the challenges affecting a mobile food aggregator platform’s business model and its effect on the customer journey in a developing market;

2. understand the relationship between the different stakeholders on such platform, namely, restaurants, end-users and the platform itself, and its implication on the customer journey; and

3. develop different potential marketing strategies under that business context that can be implemented and replicated in a given emerging market.

Zomato is an online restaurant aggregator and food delivery company that provides information, menus and user reviews of restaurants. While Zomato was growing exponentially in terms of number of users and listed restaurants, the platform had to constantly reinvent itself to stay competitive in light of increasingly aggressive competitors that were launching into the different markets it serves. Maya, the country manager of Zomato Lebanon, faced a key dilemma deciding which potential strategy to replicate from head office into the local market that would help her fend off rising competitors while still increasing the size of the market.

This case can be used mainly in senior undergraduate-level business school students. The case can be taught in courses covering marketing and strategy.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

▪ Students learn how an educational institute impacts water resources on the campus and its surrounding community.

▪ Students acquire knowledge on how decision-making, related to natural resources, is influenced by the institute’s obligations towards surrounding communities and the long-term sustainability of the resources.

▪ Students become acquainted with the decision-making process adopted by an educational institute for achieving resource-efficient development on the campus.

▪ Students learn how to design evaluation methods for investments related to water conservation at an educational institute.

▪ Students become proficient with the payback method specifically when evaluating water-enhancing projects at an educational campus.

Dr Ajit Parulekar, Director at Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Goa, India, was evaluating options to improve the sources of water at GIM at the beginning of 2021. He was reviewing the projects proposed to meet the water requirement at the campus for the next five years (2021–2025). The projects were recommended by consultants (ENV Consultants Pvt Ltd) who proposed a total expenditure of US$68,667 which involved storage enhancement and water table upgradation (See Case Exhibit 11). The maintenance department had studied the plans but their projections showed that the execution of these projects and initiatives would still lead to a deficit of water in the future. Dr Parulekar reviewed the reports and weighed the expected tangible and intangible benefits from the proposed projects. The projects had to be carefully selected, keeping in mind the multiple objectives to be met: an increase in water supply within a short time, a financially optimum investment and a minimum impact on the surrounding community. The selected projects had to meet the long-term sustainability objective of resource efficiency at the campus.

Students studying finance, project appraisal, campus sustainability at graduate or postgraduate management programs.

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CSS 4: Environmental Management.

At the end of the case students will be able to:

1. Relate risk as one of the 12 principles in project management contemplated in the international standards of the PMBOK Seventh Edition guide.

2. Determine high-level risks by articulating the WBS and RBS of a construction project.

3. Perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the probability and impact of risks through the heat map tool and the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) technique.

4. Propose the different response strategies contemplated in the risk management through the formulation of a response and contingency plan.

MORESA S.A.S was a family company founded in 1994, whose value proposition focused on construction and permanent advice for the execution of innovative and contemporary projects with more than 27 years of experience in the city of San José de Cucuta, department of Norte de Santander, Colombia. The objective of the case is to Relate risk as one of the 12 principles in project management contemplated in the international standards of the PMBOK Seventh Edition guide; Determine high-level risks by articulating the WBS and RBS of a construction project; Perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the probability and impact of risks through the heat map tool and the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) technique and propose the different response strategies contemplated in the risk management through the formulation of a response and contingency plan. The teaching case is designed for academic programs in areas of knowledge of civil engineering, architecture and at postgraduate level such as: Master’s in civil engineering, Master’s in risk management, Master in project management or MBA. For this case, an expert judgment was developed with professionals belonging to different areas of knowledge. Likewise, secondary information was collected from the organization's strategic documents and the analogous estimation through the historical records of the project portfolio developed by the construction company. Finally, the case, classified in the Built Environment, a challenge that project managers must face in VUCA environment through risk management.

The teaching case is designed for academic programs in areas of knowledge of civil engineering, architecture and at postgraduate level such as: Master’s in civil engineering, Master’s in risk management, Master’s in project management or MBA. In the modules of risk management, project management, international standards, the case guides the applicability of methods and artifacts used in risk management considering the process identification, quantitative, qualitative analysis, and development of response strategies and contingency plans.

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CSS 2: Built Environment.

The case demonstrated the importance of cultural peculiarities and mechanisms of customer learning in localizing global marketing campaigns. It introduced the consequences of unexpected spillover of viral marketing and PR scandals on the competition. It helps in developing the students’ ability to determine and assess the impact of viral marketing campaigns from the perspectives of various stakeholders of the organization.

In 2017, Nike Russia created one of the most successful and influential ad campaigns in the Russian women's sportswear market by encouraging young girls to try new sports. At the same time, Reebok launched a successful worldwide “be more human” campaign aimed at empowering women all around the globe. Two years later, Reebok Russia tried to localize the successful campaign while adjusting the message to be more assertive. As a result, the company met a country-wide outrage from both feminists and anti-feminists. The case centers around Nikolay Borisov, the CEO of Nike Russia, who was unexpectedly drawn into a provocative public discussion on the use of the female empowerment agenda for cause-related marketing. The case dilemma was set during mid-February 2019 and involved Borisov’s assessment of the impact of the competitor’s viral campaign on the market and choice of a reaction strategy to public outrage.

This case is appropriate for an undergraduate or graduate-level program curriculum for courses dedicated to or including topics related to positioning, doing business in emerging markets, corporate social responsibility and consumer behavior. Before engaging with the case, the students should be aware of basic management and economics-related concepts and terms, such as strategy, positioning, CSR and viral marketing.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

▪ Perform relevant analysis (financial and non-financial) related to investment decision-making.

▪ Make decision based on the analysis.

Jade Sdn. Bhd. (JADE), since its establishment, has been mainly involved in providing services in facility management and cleaning services. Apart from these main services, JADE was also involved in hospitality management, travel and tours, and agribusiness. The current involvements were already varied, and the Board was thinking of furthering the diversification activity to generate more revenues. As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JADE, Ahmad was required to conduct the necessary analysis and provide his recommendation to the Board whether JADE should proceed with the purchase of Tulip Garden Hotel (TULIP). He had one month to act before proposing his recommendation to the Board.

Undergraduate and Postgraduate

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

The primary learning objectives of the case are described below:1) Understanding the start-up market segment for an innovative product.2) Analyse the market expansion and diversification strategies of a start-up.3) Evaluate the business expansion through introduction of new product variants or through envisaging new distribution channels.

Cronos Ltd. was Iyer's first business endeavour after completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA). Iyer had aspired to be an entrepreneur since he was a youngster. In 2015, a first-generation entrepreneur with full conviction, he entered a market that was tough for a novice to access. Despite several challenges and uncertainties, he persisted and ventured into the company on the edge of extinction with a concept for affordable sanitiser sachets. Strong willpower, but no background, guidance or finances have made him struggle at each stage of his journey. He made this possible as he had understood the need for a specific lower-income segment of customers who could afford to buy the sanitiser sachets for as low as INR1 ($0.013). Until 2021 he was selling through the GT channel in central and western regions of India. He had planned for product extension by introducing three new products in the FMCG sector with manageable finance needs. Meanwhile, he had gotten an offer to enter into the MT channel to compete with big brands in the Gujarat region. Iyer needed substantial funds to expand his business in the MT channel and had to offer equity partnership to the investor, who would invest in the business.

Graduate and post-graduate in the topics of segmentations and market expansion in the marketing management subject.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

▪ Identify and explain the factors that contribute to the success of a restaurant business.

▪ Analyse different sources of entrepreneurial finance.

▪ Identify and explain local entrepreneur’s expectations from a funding agency.

▪ Evaluate investment decision-making criteria for entrepreneurial funding agencies.

Kartikey Rajput, the promoter of a food park Urban Chowk, was waiting for the Covid regulations in the country to be relaxed. The entrepreneur in him found a business opportunity to provide hygienic food with a beautiful ambience and floated a food park (Urban Chowk) with the support of his wife Nikita Agrawal in 2017 and the second edition amidst Covid in 2020. The business model was well-appreciated by food vendors as well as customers. Rajput could see future growth potential in urban India. But his aggressive business plan to open five food parks in different cities in the next three years was disrupted due to the Covid pandemic. The expansion required huge investments, and post-pandemic challenges were plenty. The decision to go beyond Ahmedabad required the selection of cities besides the major challenge of the financing choice. The new cities might have huge footfall potential but finding the right location at the right price was a different challenge. Rajput was also concerned with the sources of getting the required finances. The entrepreneur was contemplating and evaluating the alternative sources of finance available to a start-up.

This case is appropriate for a graduate and post-graduate level programme in the courses like entrepreneurial finance, entrepreneurship and strategy. This case can also be used in an executive programme on management and Management Development Programmes (MDPs) on entrepreneurship or entrepreneurial finance.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Students discussing the case will be able to:▪ Evaluate and decide the marketing strategy that will best align the organizational resources and capabilities with the external environment.▪ Demonstrate the process of segmentation and choose the most attractive target market.▪ Analyze the competition and develop an effective positioning strategy.▪ Evaluate and use different growth strategies in business situations.

The case demonstrated the decision-making process behind the post-pandemic strategy of ShakahariS by Awadhpuri, a restaurant in the emerging Indian market. The restaurant was situated in Ahmedabad, one of the fastest-growing mini-metro cites of the Indian restaurant industry. It was known for authentic Indian vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant, originally named Awadhpuri, was started in 2012 by Ms. Vandana Singh. It was positioned as a non-vegetarian restaurant providing Awadhi cuisine in the fine-dining segment known for its ambiance and authentic taste. However, due to the predominant vegetarian market in Ahmedabad city, the restaurant was rebranded and repositioned as ShakahariS by Awadhpuri, serving only vegetarian cuisine in 2018. The years 2019–2020 were very harsh due to the Covid-19 crisis. During the uncertain times when the lockdowns and the guidelines kept on changing, it was difficult for the restaurant to even recover their costs. It was a good time to explore the possibilities of the cloud kitchen format, and they came up with multiple kitchens offering different cuisines and targeted new customer segments. The case highlighted these survival strategies adopted by the restaurant during Covid. Post-pandemic, the protagonist was now contemplating a long-term growth strategy for the restaurant to target a new market with a new offering. The dilemma for the restaurant is whether (or not) to align the marketing strategy by repositioning again to cater to the new target segment.

Undergraduate courses on Business Management (BBA) and specific topics in introductory courses on marketing management and strategic management of the post-management programs.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

This case provides detailed information about digital technologies and business practices that may help offline retailers catch up with the trend of new retail. After studying the case and working on the assignment questions, students will be able to:▪ Understand new features of smart cash registers, including facial-recognition payment, purchase-sales-inventory management, customer profile and store management, which all are important for the long-term development of the retail business in the age of “new retail”.▪ Identify opportunities, practices and impacts of digital technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence, on contemporary retail businesses.▪ Identify problems of traditional retail and suggest solutions by applying the concepts and tools learned above.▪ Apply digital marketing approaches and tools (e.g., social media, livestreaming and online word-of-mouth) to design marketing campaigns; students should include basic elements such as the 6Ms for effective marketing communications (market, mission, message, media, money and measure).

This case describes difficult situations facing Leo Shoudong Pan, the founder and CEO of Yun Dong Jia Technologies Co Ltd (YDJ), in marketing communications. With a motto of “Making it easy to open stores anywhere”, YDJ develops and sells smart cash registers, which provide a self-developed operating system and cloud computing services. Pan targets small and micro retailers, who are technology laggards when digital transitions had swept the world. His goal is to build a network of 100,000 pieces of smart cash registers across China, but he has only sold 8,000 pieces since he founded YDJ in 2016. He must make a breakthrough in the business. To drive leads and sales, he feels the urgency of conducting effective marketing communications with target customers and enhance their understanding on the value that YDJ creates for them. Monetary incentives are tangible but not yet fully demonstrated YDJ’s value. With the traditional retail approach, brick-and-mortar stores, especially those small-scaled ones, are not able to meet the market change; instead, they must adopt digital techniques to catch up with the trend of new retail, which is necessary for a long-term business development rather than just a temporary measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pan must craft more compelling messages. What customer value should be chosen as incentives to motivate the target market? How to conduct effective marketing communications correspondingly?

Senior undergraduate; Postgraduate; MBA; EMBA.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The learning outcomes of this study are as follows:1. Learn to analyze a hostile takeover bid from the perspectives of the acquirer, target firm’s management and a large institutional investor in the target firm.2. Review the structuring, financing, valuation, mode of consideration, legal and regulatory aspects of a hostile takeover.3. Understand the role of the target firm’s board in a hostile takeover transaction.4. Address “to sell or not to sell” dilemma of a large institutional investor in the target firm in the event of a tender offer given financial and non-financial considerations.

On June 14, 2019, Pulak Prasad, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Nalanda Capital, in consultation with other managing partners at Nalanda Capital, had to decide whether to tender a 10.6% equity holding in Mindtree Ltd. in an unsolicited open offer made by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Ltd. Until then, Nalanda Capital, led by Prasad, had aligned with the Mindtree founders and had led a campaign to thwart L&T’s bid to acquire Mindtree; L&T’s offer to acquire 31% of Mindtree shares was because of open on June 17, 2019 and it is time for Prasad and the management team to take a reasoned call – whether to stay in Mindtree or to exit? Associated aspects included – What could be the consequences of not selling the stake? What could be L&T’s game plan? Could Mindtree continue to create wealth for its shareholders under L&T?

This case is appropriate for Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Financial Management courses in modules focused on structuring, financing and takeover defence techniques in a hostile takeover transaction. The case is appropriate for graduate MBA and EMBA programmes.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

The learning objectives of this case include:

▪ Outline the brand repositioning approaches that Equity Bank used in its various stages of growth.

▪ Identify the impact of Equity’s brand repositioning in supporting its growth.

▪ Develop a brand repositioning framework for Equity bank as a fintech.

▪ Identify the theoretical frameworks that informed Equity’s brand repositioning during the various growth stages.

▪ Suggest a theoretical framework that would help Equity to reposition the new brand in the market.

In March 2020, the Government of Kenya declared a lockdown to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown of entire economic sectors put pressure on the adoption of technology to deliver services such as education, training and financial services. Banks had to innovate ways of supporting customers transactions with minimal physical and cash contact. Equity Bank had been implementing a digital banking strategy which had demonstrated successful adoption. Covid-19 accelerated the adoption and usage of Equity Bank’s digital banking by consumers. The bank found itself in a new territory competing fiercely with new and more agile fintechs. Consequently, Dr James Mwangi, the Group Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group, was contemplating the possibility of bringing forward the bank's strategic intention of repositioning as a fintech. He was convinced that such a move would bring massive success to the bank’s digital banking strategy, achieve enhanced efficiency, improve customer experience and attract a new segment of digital-savvy customers. But he needed to carry the Board, his management team and customers along in this repositioning strategy without sacrificing the gains made in the consumers' minds about Equity's brand as a bank.

This case can be taught to graduate-level students of marketing courses. It can also be taught to participants of executive education undertaking short courses in in business management and entrepreneurship.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand how organizations can leverage the built-in brand equity; outline the challenges of extending a strong brand; and ability to think about the core-essence of the brand impact and its perception among customers before deciding to extend.

JML was a 74-year-old company and was a No.1 player in the domestic market and No. 4 globally. It maintained this leadership position through a robust product portfolio and serving new needs and opportunities. Customers associated JML's products (buses and trucks) with high-quality performance, sturdiness & reliability. JML had a well-established brand – “Callisto”, in the heavy bus segment but saw an opportunity in light buses, which could be used within the city and for school and office commute purposes. They launched Callisto Lite, a variant of successful Callisto buses, in 2015 for cashing this opportunity. Though initially, the brand showed positive signs but soon lost the novelty value and saw low returns on marketing investments. Callisto Lite was also diluting the strong brand equity of the successful parent brand. The management was undecided as to what to do. Should they move out of the segment or continue? Each had its own pros and consequences, and the decision was not easy.

The case can be used in an undergraduate or a post-graduate management program to teach the core concepts of branding and brand extension. The case can be used in an introductory marketing course or elective courses like Brand Management and Marketing Strategy.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.