Case studies

The case study used a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative data from interviews with Ross Black and quantitative data from company financials and market reports. The analysis focused on understanding the strategic decisions, operational challenges and market positioning of Get Simple Box.

Get Simple Box, led by Ross Black, specializes in versatile portable storage solutions, offering container rentals, sales, modifications and delivery services across seven locations. With a focus on simplicity and essential modifications like windows and AC units, the company has generated over $10m in revenue, primarily from container sales. Using a service-oriented approach, Get Simple Box emphasizes direct local business communication and cost-effective solutions, differentiating itself from competitors. Applying Oliver Gassmann’s Magic Triangle framework, the company targets diverse customers, maintains streamlined operations and provides practical value, positioning itself strongly in the growing market for shipping container solutions.

Undergraduate Business Students in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

This case builds on elements of project management (PM) – specifically project initiation – including the development of a project charter and stakeholder analysis.

The case was developed from secondary sources as well as first-hand knowledge of the project by one of the authors. This author was on faculty at a private university in the southeastern USA, teaching numerous courses in the pharmacy curriculum while also serving as the Community Practice Residency Director for community pharmacies around the state. While connecting with these organizations, additional revenue requirements and complementary services were frequent topics of attention, leading to a grant to assist pharmacies in building out such services. Through this grant, the author engaged in consultations with community pharmacies around the state, including the pharmacy highlighted via this case. Pseudonyms have been used for the business, and all individuals associated with it, to maintain anonymity. Secondary sources used for additional research include industry reports and related websites.

Richard has owned and operated a community pharmacy, Our Family Farmacy (OFF), for years. A changing industry climate has forced Richard to diversify the products and services he provides. In addition to the distribution of medicine and front-end sales of consumer goods, Richard is seeking to expand into a larger spectrum of healthcare services. After researching several different types of services, and after dealing with related personal family circumstances, Richard decided that OFF should begin their expansion by offering depression screening services. He turned initiation of the project over to his pharmacy intern, Caitlin.

This compact case is geared toward undergraduate- and graduate-level students taking courses in general management and, more specifically, PM. This case might also be used by students with a career focus in the healthcare sector, and could of particular interest for students in a pharmacy program. Classroom application should encompass discussions on the project initiation process group, particularly with the processes regarding the project charter deliverable and the identification and assessment of project stakeholders.

This case applies a stakeholder analysis to examine the trade-offs between the firm’s strategy and the interests of different stakeholder groups. A PESTEL analysis supports an evaluation of the firm’s situation. Consumer behavior theories on psychological ownership and territoriality offer a framework for analyzing the conflicts that arise from the inhabitants’ protests.

This case relies on secondary sources, including news reports, social media sites and company websites. This case has been classroom tested with undergraduate students in a strategic management course in January 2019 at the University of Cologne, Germany.

In November 2016, Google announced its intentions to rent a building in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin to open a Google Campus, a business incubator for tech start-ups that would offer entrepreneurs support, workshops and access to networks. Following the announcement, dissatisfied local communities organized protests, in which leaders complained that “It is extremely violent and arrogant of this mega-corporation, whose business model is based on mass surveillance and which speculates like crazy, to set up shop here” (Business Times, 2018). Berlin’s Government supported the Google Campus plan; inhabitants rejected it with fierce and persistent protests. In face of this challenge, was it still possible for Google to continue its plans in Berlin?

This case qualifies for use in strategic management classes at undergraduate and MBA levels. Its focus aligns well with stakeholder analyses, PESTEL analyses and business strategy. In addition, for courses on organizational communications or public relations, this case provides a way to explore the relationship between Google and its stakeholders, especially protesters, in detail. Moreover, this case is well suited for consumer research and public policy courses (e.g., transformative consumer research) centered on discussions of territoriality.

The case was created via an interview of the protagonist.

The case describes the dilemma a young leader, Captain Bryson, faces after a few months in his new organization. Amid a routine meeting, two of CPT Bryson’s direct reports get into a verbal (and nearly physical) altercation over a relatively benign issue. CPT Bryson must decide how to handle the conflict at that moment. Further, the organization is resource constrained, so the personnel will be working in the same organization for at least the next six months. Therefore, CPT Bryson must try to diagnose the types and sources of conflict so that he can decide on how to manage the conflict in both the short and long terms.

This case is designed for use in undergraduate and graduate level courses on leadership and management. The case is useful for teaching lessons (or electives) on conflict management, developmental communication (counseling), emotional intelligence and power and influence.

As the regulatory system begins to recognize the role of social responsibility reporting, reliable disclosure measures will be required. Issues of transparency, reliability and assurance are likely to arise as securities regulators consider whether and how to require disclosure of non-financial information. Various reporting models are presented in the case to illustrate different ways that these issues can be addressed by privately held and publicly traded corporations.

The case uses the company, Etsy, Inc., which has established itself as a publicly traded, socially responsible corporation. Etsy must decide whether it will re-incorporate as a benefit corporation in order to maintain its B Lab certification. This decision introduces students to the various measures of corporate social responsibility, the interests of the stakeholders of a corporation and the regulatory environment in which socially responsible, publicly traded corporations operate. The case uses only publicly available information.

This teaching case addresses the decision faced by Etsy, Inc. when it became a publicly traded corporation. In order to maintain its certification as a socially responsible corporation by B Lab, it would have to re-incorporate as a Delaware Benefit Corporation. In making this decision, the company had to consider various measures used for corporate social responsibility reporting and transparency and how these might affect Etsy’s stakeholders.

Undergraduate or masters level case that could be used in a business law, commercial law, legal environment or auditing course.

This case study applies the scanning of marketing environment (i.e. typology of marketing environments); strategic marketing planning process, involving SWOT analysis, growth strategies; and marketing mix (four ps).

This is modeled as a qualitative study. Primary data were collected through a phone interview with the key informants, and secondary data came from various publications such as government reports, news portals and company websites.

Ghacem was the first cement manufacturing company in Ghana and had enjoyed a monopoly for almost 33 years. The company offered a homogeneous product to an undifferentiated market from 1967 until competition began in 2000. New competitors promote the use of cement grade numbers on their product packaging to signal a better value, which intensified the competition. As the Head of Marketing of the company, Benny was asked to develop a marketing strategy for the company’s newly developed product for the company to remain competitive.

Undergraduate students taking Principles of Marketing.

The authors used Sue’s (2010) microaggression process model and Freeman et al.’s (2010) stakeholder theory as a theoretical basis for this case.

Information for the case was gathered from publicly available sources. No formal data collection efforts were undertaken.

Guess Who’s Coming to Deliver is a case that examines an event that occurred at Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse in late July and early August of 2015. A customer who had purchased some products from Lowe’s requested that only White delivery people were dispatched to her home because she did not allow African–American people in her house. The case is factual and was written from information that was publicly available in the media. The case is designed to help instructors facilitate a meaningful classroom discussion about microaggressions from the different stakeholder perspectives.

The case is relevant for undergraduate and graduate organizational behavior and human resource management courses.

The discussion questions relating to the case focus students’ attention on breaking away from the intuitive/emotional “boom mentality” driving their business decision and ask them to focus more on analytical decision criteria to support their “go” or “no-go” decisions.

The authors interviewed one of the partners of Burned-N-Turned several times and read the partners’ brief business plan for the food trailer.

Partners are wrapped up in the “boom mentality” in the Bakken oil fields in 2011 and jump into their decision to open a food trailer restaurant to serve the oil field workers and others. But have they omitted important considerations for their business decision?

The study is appropriate for undergrad strategic management courses. The authors have tested the compact case in three sections of capstone senior-level strategic management courses.

The case data were obtained from secondary sources including academic, newspaper and periodical sources.

The Founder of Chipotle Mexican Grill, CEO Steve Ells, was a restaurant innovator credited with creating the fast-casual experience. He believed that food, sourced and prepared responsibly, could help “cultivate a better world.” Unfortunately, he had to step down after a continuing series of food contamination events drove away both investors and customers. In 2018, new CEO Brian Niccol was brought in from Taco Bell to reposition the brand and regain confidence. Was it possible to continue with Chipotle’s mission of “food with integrity” or was another strategy necessary?

This case was prepared for an undergraduate strategy course. It can be used to illustrate all the key points in Chapter 1 of a traditional undergraduate strategy textbook. This case would be best placed in the first weeks of the course, as a first case to introduce to students the idea of strategy as a process that continuously assesses and revises strategic directions and decisions. It introduces a discussion of the role of mission, vision and values as part of the strategy process, and addresses the responsibility of leadership to do an ongoing evaluation of a firm’s strategic choices.

Students apply the new Institute of Management Accounting (IMA) ethics standard to “contribute to a positive ethical culture” and advice to “actively seek to resolve an ethical issue.” By learning and practicing how to voice concerns students gain confidence in this approach to resolve ethical issues. In addition, most students are inspired by the moral courage of the chief financial officer (CFO) and report an increased resolve to have moral courage.

The case was based on the CFO’s published account of his experience and supplemented with an interview. It has been gradually refined in an ethics course for accounting students over several years and evaluated from a sample of students who completed the course.

The CFO of a mining company was pressured to pledge collateral that was already pledged on another loan. The CFO courageously refused his supervisor’s request and resigned his position immediately (flight). In its ethics guidelines, the IMA requires its members to actively seek to resolve ethical issues internally before disassociating from the organization (fight). In addition, ethics writers Gentile (2010) and Badaracco (2001) suggest ways to communicate ethical concerns. In this case, accounting students learn how to resolve ethical issues using the ethics guidelines and suggestions by analyzing and writing about the experience of the CFO.

The case is used in a graduate ethics course. It may also be used in undergraduate accounting courses.

Information about Volkswagen’s human and animal testing was obtained from the secondary sources cited.

In 2014, Volkswagen (VW), BMW and Daimler funded an institute to conduct research to support their position that diesel engines are cleaner and safer than other fuel alternatives. One of the research studies conducted by the institute examined the effects of diesel fumes on humans and monkeys. Researchers put ten macaque monkeys in sealed rooms and pumped in exhaust fumes from a Volkswagen Beetle for four hours. For comparison, another group of monkeys was exposed to fumes from an older Ford pickup. The monkeys were later anesthetized and examined to see what the fumes did to their bodies. Other tests involved willing human subjects who were exposed to similar conditions.

This case is applicable to upper-level management or business ethics class.

The paper employs ethnographic interviews, a quantitative and qualitative data analysis of publicly accessible data and literature review.

With drought conditions expected to worsen in at-risk areas thus amplifying wildfire likelihood, this case explores the organizational and natural dynamics involved with wildfire management. The case engages students to explore the interactions between wildfire, wildland firefighters and agency organizations drawing from the natural resource dependence theory within a sustainability context. When completing the discussion questions, students are challenged to explore how organizations can use discursive closures to eliminate conflict and control meaning surrounding potentially controversial and politicized topics such as wildfire management.

This interdisciplinary case would be appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students in business and STEM classes. Optimal classes include organizational behavior, organizational communication and sustainability. Other appropriate classes include strategic management, applied business decisions, public relations, public policy, crisis management and for corporate training purposes.

This case study addresses a number of common transportation management issues. It provides an opportunity to analyse historical freight payment data in order to reduce transportation costs and improve customer service, allowing students to utilise real freight payment data and order shipment history data to make recommendations that have strategic implications for both cost and service performance.

This case illustrates the concept of consolidation and how freight forwarders use it to reduce transportation costs. The student must compare a ship-direct model against vehicular consolidation, then consider temporal consolidation, investigate the differences between a freight broker and a freight forwarder, and develop a rate analysis for use in negotiation.

This case focuses on supplier management through quantitative and qualitative analysis of data from a real company. In the process of solving the case, students determine and operationalize what constitutes a critical supplier, analyse the data provided, and identify the most critical suppliers.

This case study follows GHP Bearings staff as they create a supply chain map. Students will understand the supply chain network as a whole: including the relationships between suppliers and extending beyond immediate suppliers and customers rather than seeing the supply chain as a linear connection. Students will then analyse the entire supply chain network for strategic purposes and decide where should receive the greatest emphasis of management to give a competitive advantage.

This two-part case illustrates the use of economic order quantity to manage conflicting performance measures across different siloed functions in an organization. Part A requires students to assess the costs of various order quantities and quantify the concept of “robustness.“ Part B emphasizes managing the variables of annual demand, ordering cost, inventory carrying cost, and unit price to achieve strategic goals. The student must determine how to lower ordering costs to compensate for increases in the other variables as well as to help guide Just-In-Time implementation efforts.

The COO for Suape Container Terminal, the largest deep–water port in Brazil's Northeast must consider a proposal presented by the users' council that calls for the establishment of a reservation scheme that minimizes the risk of docking delays. Under this proposal, ocean carriers, on the one hand, agree to pay a reservation fee that significantly increases revenue for Tecon Suape. On the other hand, they expect Tecon Suape to compensate them financially when a berth is not available upon vessel arrival. Tecon Suape's management team must evaluate that suggestion, as the team prepares to enter contractual negotiations with the users.

9 million Thin Mints are made every day. In 2015, there was a spike in orders causing production shortages. In this case, students will evaluate how the CEO of Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, Mary Vitek, can mitigate the risk of supply disruption and utilize strategic sourcing in order to avoid any further shortages.

Roseda is a family-operated business that had its beginnings in a farm that Ed and his wife purchased before his retirement in 1994. The company’s current business strategy emphasizes producing high-quality natural Black Angus beef without using hormones, chemical additives or antibiotics in cattle feeding and by dry aging the carcasses for enhanced flavor. This case focuses on the alternative growth strategies that Ed Burchell confronts for Roseda in early 2015.

The founder of Roseda Beef and the lead author became acquainted many years ago. In 2014, the two owners of Roseda agreed to have a case written about the firm. The case is based on formal interviews, on site observations at Roseda Farms, and an extensive review of the documentation that exists on this privately held company. In addition, the company made some internal documents available including the income statements and balance sheets for this private company.

This course has been taught four times at the MBA level so far: twice in a strategic management course, and twice in a financial strategy course.

Roseda Beef was developed to provide students in a capstone strategy or finance course the opportunity to undertake a situational analysis including the firm’s summary financials and the rudimentary financial analysis of the expansion opportunities that are included in the case. The case is based on capital budgeting principles in finance and fundamentals of strategy development.

The Arbor City Community Foundation (ACCF) was a medium-sized endowment established in Illinois in the late 1970s through the hard work of several local families. The vision of the ACCF was to be a comprehensive center for philanthropy in the greater Arbor City region. ACCF had a fund balance (known collectively as “the fund”) of just under $240 million. The ACCF board of trustees had appointed a committee to oversee investment decisions relating to the foundation assets. The investment committee, under the guidance of the board, pursued an active risk-management policy for the fund. The committee members were primarily concerned with the volatility and distribution of portfolio returns. They relied on the value-at-risk (VaR) methodology as a measurement of the risk of both short- and mid-term investment losses. In its report for the investment committee, the ACCF risk analytics team recommended the daily VaR at 95% confidence as a measure for short-term risk and reported the corresponding numbers. It is now the task of the investment committee to interpret these figures. The case questions guide the executive students to a critical evaluation of both the reported VaR figures as well as of the VaR methodology.

Understanding the concept of value at risk (VaR); Interpreting the results of VaR calculations; Evaluating the appropriateness of VaR calculations; Critical discussion of the VaR methodology.

The managing director of a steel plant faces the decision of how much of each raw material to order for the plant for the following month. Due to lower and upper bounds on the amounts of each raw material in a batch and varying amounts of electricity and time consumed for different raw materials, one can't simply use the cheapest raw material. A linear program and the solver optimization function of Excel will provide the optimal amounts that meet the constraints. Interestingly, the best mixture for a batch is not the best mixture for a monthly plan. Shadow prices indicate the value of relaxing constraints. The typical monthly model from a student will be nonlinear, although it can be written as a linear model. This case provides the basis for an introductory class on linear programming and linear versus nonlinear models.

This case explores the decision of a fast-growing company to expand its distribution network. Financial information is provided in it so students can understand the basic distribution network design covering inbound transportation, outbound transportation, distribution-center operations, and inventory.

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Helmut Schmidt, product manager for Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG, the world's foremost manufacturer of harmonicas, accordions, melodicas, and ukuleles, was sitting at his desk reviewing his first assignment from the company's senior executive team. Schmidt had been asked to calculate the break-even point for the company's flagship product, the Marine Band harmonica, under a number of different scenarios.

After completing the exercise, students should be able to:

• Calculate unit contribution and margin

• Calculate break-even units and market share

Calculate unit contribution and margin

Calculate break-even units and market share

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Kookaburra, a maker of cricket equipment popular in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and India, was considering two strategies for positioning a new cricket bat in India. Both strategies would cannibalize current sales, and Lulu Popplewell, category manager responsible for the Indian market, needed to calculate the financial impact of both to determine which one she would recommend.

This exercise poses a fictional problem about branding strategy on a new product, and asks students to consider the financial impact of different branding strategies and cannibalization rates.

After completing the exercise, students should be able to:

• Calculate the impact of cannibalization on units and profit for a new product launch

• Determine break-even cannibalization rates

• Understand how different branding decisions may impact the degree of cannibalization they should expect from a new product launch

Calculate the impact of cannibalization on units and profit for a new product launch

Determine break-even cannibalization rates

Understand how different branding decisions may impact the degree of cannibalization they should expect from a new product launch

California telecommunications company Wireworld is considering an acquisition of Nusantara Communications, a subsidiary of Indonesian conglomerate Bakrie & Brothers. Nusantara had invested $50 million in developing the advanced rural telephone system, which had the potential to provide much-needed telecommunications services to the mostly rural Indonesian population. If if were exported, the worldwide market for this product in the next five years was projected to be in the billions. Should Wireworld acquire this small company halfway around the world? Was it prepared to enter the Indonesian marketplace and beyond?

Students will examine a variety of data, including financial projections, in order to decide whether acquiring Nusantara will add value to Wireworld.

A business analyst at Mead Corporation had just begun the process of estimating Mead's cost of capital for the fourth quarter of 1990. As part of her analysis, she hoped to explain why the cost of equity had increased and recommend whether the company should consider the increase a problem.

This case is used in Darden's first-year core operations class as part of a module on supply chain management. The Musictoday company provided online retailing services for such clients as the Dave Matthews Band and the Rolling Stones. But the lack of a formal inventory-management process had Musictoday concerned about future stockouts that would result in lost sales. This case covers the basics of safety stock within the context of a periodic review system. It introduces students to the periodic review system and provides them with an opportunity to link the optimal review period with the EOQ concept.

Supplements the (A) case.

The Penfolds case is designed to help students think through brand positioning and brand portfolio questions. Penfolds, one of the world's best known brands of wine, is performing poorly and a new management team needs to quickly reverse the business trends. To do so, the new management team needs to answer key questions, such as: What is Penfolds' positioning? Has the brand extended too far? Can Penfolds successfully play in all price segments of the wine industry? What is the best way to grow the brand going forward?

Students will learn about brand portfolio issues and brand positioning. The case is designed to prompt a discussion about how far a brand can extend without losing meaning, and the use of different branding elements such as sub-brands and endorsers.

This case (an abridged version of UVA-M-0663) describes the history of the Red Bull brand and how the company stimulated and harnessed word of mouth to build a new product category (functional energy drinks) and brand franchise. The case concludes by asking the reader to consider where Red Bull will take its brand, product line, and marketing next, in light of many competitive challenges in the United States. The case was written to foster discussion of nontraditional brand-building strategies and the growing globalization of brands and products targeted toward younger consumers.

Assumes an understanding of statistical process control and focuses on highlighting the usefulness of Six Sigma quality. Focuses on the issue of a worn bearing at a tire manufacturer leading to a mean shift (while producing defectives). Shows how a Six Sigma process would quickly detect the mean shift while producing fewer defectives.

To introduce the methodology of statistical process control and to illustrate the value of Six Sigma.

This exercise asks students to develop criteria that Target Stores should use in evaluating strategic brand alliances to support its positioning as a store where you can “Expect More. Pay Less.” Students are then charged with proposing a new strategic partner for Target that meets the criteria they identify. Background information about the Target “guest” and past strategic alliance is provided.

The case is designed to help students appreciate how brand positioning both guides and is affected by a firm's strategic partners.

Illustrates the challenges most managers face in prioritizing their time in the workplace environment. Looks at “a day in the life” of a printing plant manager who, with well-intentioned goals for the day, is frustrated by numerous interruptions.

To serve as a starting point for a discussion on how to manage one's time, responsibilities, and employees to the greatest effect.

Supplements the (A) case.

This case presents common-sized financials for two companies, each of which is in a number of industries. The companies have different market niches, and students are asked to identify the companies from details provided. The case also allows for financial comparisons among industries.

In 2012 several retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, experimented with same-day delivery. Home delivery of pizzas had been a very successful model in the United States and had been copied all over the world. In contrast, home delivery attempts by companies like Kozmo and Urbanfetch had failed and both companies went bankrupt. The goal of this case is to build a framework that helps students identify the factors that influence the success or failure of home delivery models.

After analyzing and discussing the case, students should be able to:

• Build a basic framework identifying supply chain drivers that are influenced by a firm's decision to offer same-day home delivery

• Understand the tradeoffs that influence the success of a same-day home delivery model

• Identify qualitative factors to be considered when deciding between non-U.S. facility locations, including transportation time variability, consumer perceptions, and cultural differences

Build a basic framework identifying supply chain drivers that are influenced by a firm's decision to offer same-day home delivery

Understand the tradeoffs that influence the success of a same-day home delivery model

Identify qualitative factors to be considered when deciding between non-U.S. facility locations, including transportation time variability, consumer perceptions, and cultural differences

The director of marketing and operations for a financial newsletter must deal with a host of issues that surround the practice of renting mailing lists and soliciting new subscribers by direct mail. The case can be used to introduce the concept and calculation of customer lifetime value.

Provides a narrative description of the price war in the U.S. airline industry that broke out in Spring 1992.

To use in competitive strategy or microeconomics classes to explore the root causes of price wars.

This case examines the public controversy that erupted over the increasingly high price of EpiPens. Mylan Inc. (Mylan), a generic drug maker, bought the EpiPen product line from Merck in 2007. Since that time, the company both invested in marketing to raise awareness for the drug and dramatically increased the price, lifting it from $100 to $600 per two pack in the U.S. In 2016, simmering consumer anger about the high prices of pharmaceutical drugs finally reached a boiling point and a media firestorm ensued. The case challenges students to think about the role of fairness in pricing. How can Mylan justify the dramatic price increases? How can it justify the variation in prices across countries, as an EpiPen is priced at an equivalent of $85 in France? The case challenges students to think about how they would handle a public controversy. The EpiPen case is well suited for students in MBA, MBA for Executives, and executive education programs. For MBA students, it can be placed in first-year marketing, pricing, or marketing communications courses. For executives, it can serve as a vehicle to discuss both ethical issues of pricing and how to handle a public controversy.

In 2013, Under Armour had $2.3 billion in sales yet only $500 million came from its women’s apparel, and the company was ready to expand into the female market segment. The “I Will What I Want” global women’s marketing campaign was the largest Under Armour had ever run. Founder Keven Plank and his team launched the campaign on a multichannel platform, with social media at its core. The campaign’s success surpassed what Plank had imagined, and he is left wondering where to take Under Armour’s advertising and marketing next. This case has been used successfully in a marketing course and would be suited for any class with a focus on interactive media, technology, and multichannel marketing.

Pancho’s Burritos is a high-end fast-food restaurant located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Due to a recent surge in customers, the lines at the restaurant during peak hours are becoming very long and causing excessive customer waiting. To improve current customer wait times and plan for future growth requirements, Francisco “Pancho” Escoba, the proprietor, wants to get a better understanding of the current operational capacity. The key decision Escoba must make is how to redesign his burrito-making process to increase the capacity and reduce customer wait time.

Suitable for an undergraduate or MBA course, the case can be used in an introductory operations course to teach capacity analysis and queuing. The case provides a relatable and understandable setting for students without an operations background to gain a better grasp of basic course concepts and illustrates how interactions between capacity and queuing affect one another. As an exam or review case it works well because it contains standard process calculations that all students should know how to perform.