Case studies

The learning objectives have been prepared in accordance with the Blooms Taxonomy (Engelhart et al., 1984). After completion of this case, students would be able to examine and expand the concept of institutions (i.e. a sport as an institution in this case) and understand how important it is to incorporate them in the policy level decision-making (Knowledge); understand a different form of the social institution (i.e. Jallikattu) and capture its relevance for all the involved stakeholders by taking into consideration the challenges that could stem from their interplay (Application); analyze the interests of various stakeholders and their concerns that add to the complexity of a socially relevant issue (Analysis); and integrate the developments of an event (i.e. Jallikattu) over its timeline and develop an action plan for being prepared or for resolving such exigencies, especially for public policy decision making (Synthesis).

The case is centred on Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation whose primary aim is conservation and breeding of native breeds of cattle. The protagonist of the case, Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, managing trustee of this foundation, has invested significant efforts to create awareness on the importance of Jallikattu. Jallikattu is an ancient Indian sport played in the rural regions of Tamil Nadu state in India and has been in existence for over 5,000 years. This issue has come into limelight due to its initial ban by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 and its subsequent stay on the ban in 2016. While there are several arguments surrounding this controversy, the arguments can be broadly classified under those who support the ban (i.e. oppose Jallikattu) and those who oppose the ban (i.e. support Jallikattu). Due to the involvement of various stakeholders (government supreme court, animal welfare boards and breed saviour groups) with conflicting objectives, the dynamics of decision-making to settle this issue became very complicated, confusing and time-consuming for Karthikeya. By using the lens of institutions and stakeholder theory, the authors explain the issue around Jallikattu in this teaching note. Teaching note also documents the unfolding of events that happened after 12 January 2017 which succeeded in lifting the ban on Jallikattu.

The case is written for undergraduate and graduate-level students pursuing business programmes and for senior management professionals participating in the executive education programmes. The case is suitable for those who are expected to work in an environment where there is a multitude of complex, formal as well as informal institutions. This case can be used to teach the concepts of institutions, the dynamics involved and to give the flavour of the interactions between these different institutions in solving a social issue. It will fit well into courses on strategic management, social movement and institutional theory.

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Learning outcomes are as follows: understanding the difference between brand identity and brand image; applying various segmentation tools; understanding the appeal of the aspirational brand and its consequence on private and public consumption; exploring the strategic options available to a brand facing a brand appropriation; exploring the pros and cons of opposing a brand appropriation; and developing a plan for the implementation of this strategy.

This case will help students understand the difference between the brand identity that the brand owners intend and the brand image that consumers actually perceive.

This case is designed to be used in marketing management, brand strategy or consumer culture course. Specifically, the case is designed for college seniors or master students with basic strategic marketing training. It should provide the basis of discussions on the topics of brand management, consumer culture, brand portfolio management, international marketing, repositioning strategy, brand architecture, brand equity, brand assets, brand appropriation and consumer relationships with brands.

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CSS 8: Marketing

Entender la diferencia entre identidad de marca e imagen de marca. - Aplicar varias herramientas de segmentación - Entender el atractivo aspiracional de la marca y su consecuencia en el consumo privado y público. - Explorar las opciones estratégicas disponibles para una marca que enfrenta una apropiación de marca. - Explorar los pros y los contras de oponerse a una apropiación de marca. Desarrollar un plan para la implementación de esta estrategia - Explorar los pros y los contras de utilizar la estrategia de Laisser-Faire en la apropiación de la marca. Desarrollar un plan para la implementación de esta estrategia - Explorar los pros y los contras de instrumentalizar la apropiación de marca. Desarrollar un plan para la implementación de esta estrategia

Este caso pretende ayudar a los alumnos a comprender la diferencia entre la identidad de marca (la que los propietarios de estas pretenden que se perciba) y la imagen de marca (la que los consumidores perciben realmente).

Este caso está diseñado para ser utilizado en un curso de gestión de marketing, estrategias de marca o cultura del consumidor. Especificamente, el caso esta diseñado para estudiantes de último año de licenciatura o maestría en Mercadotecnia ya que tienen nociones básicas de mercadotecnia estratégica. Debería proporcionar bases para las discusiones sobre temas de gestión de marca, cultura del consumidor, gestión de carteras de marca, marketing internacional, estrategia de reposicionamiento, arquitectura de marca, el valor de la marca, los valores de la marca, apropiación de la marca y relaciones de los consumidores con estas.

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Se espera que al final de la discusión sobre el caso los estudiantes alcancen los siguientes objetivos de aprendizaje: (a) diseñar el camino de salida al mercado identificando el rol de los intermediarios; (b) identificar las alternativas de distribución y los miembros clave del canal; (c) percibir las ventajas y desventajas de la intermediación y su despliegue en la gestión de canal.

El caso reporta el dilema que experimentó en 2013 Osmar Buzin, uno de los socios de la Cervecería Noi, cuyas cervezas de especialidad habían alcanzado prestigio entre sus clientes, principalmente en la ciudad de Niterói, Río de Janeiro, donde nació la compañía. Este éxito suscitó interés en otros mercados que querían vender sus productos. La oportunidad de expansión generó la necesidad de decidir cómo llegar a estos nuevos mercados: entregar directamente en los puntos de ventas, como se hacía previamente, o emplear distribuidores. Osmar sabía que podía contar con Gilmar Gutbrodt, su socio y maestro cervecero, y con Bianca Buzin, Gerente General de la cervecería, para evaluar juntos la mejor estrategia para llegar a nuevos mercados.

El caso se desarrolló para estimular la discusión sobre las decisiones y estrategias de canal, y se recomienda para estudiantes de MBA en cursos como Canales de Mercadeo o Mercadeo Comercial en Administración de Empresas.

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CSS 8: Marketing

Upon completion of this case study, students will have learned to identify and analyze pending organizational failure, based upon company data. They will have formulated a business strategy (either cost leadership, differentiation or focus), as well as propose process improvements to cope with changing macroeconomic factors, costs, supplier conditions, and especially talent management and retention. Students will practice the logical organization of information, articulating the key facts and assumptions underlying their solutions. They will practice communicating with a possibly hostile executive team, to whom they defend their proposal based on its merits.

This case recounts the recent history of the XT Beauty, a fictionalized but real company headquartered in Moscow, selling professional cosmetics, electrical instruments and equipment for beauty salons in St. Petersburg, and other cities in Russia. XT Beauty enjoyed successful growth until the onset of the 2014 economic crisis when consumer purchasing power plummeted. Students consider both the obstacles and opportunities presented by an emerging Russian market, customer behavior in a recession, managing sales talent, the leadership style of women, as well as key operational, and financial issues as the company react to a deepening economic crisis in an uncoordinated manner. The case is an introduction to the Russian business culture and operational environment. It focuses not only on challenges but also the opportunities in the anti-cyclical market for beauty products.

Master’s students in international business, human resources, operations and MBA candidates.

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After having discussed the case, the reader will be able to analyse the dangers associated with product changes; contrast various strategic marketing issues that can be considered when implementing changes, including marketing communication and the use of social media; motivate an approach to customer complaints and comments on the launch of a new product; and comment on the ethical issues associated with new product launches.

Marketers are focused on satisfying customers’ needs, and no organisation would deliberately offend or alienate customers. Occasionally, organisations make decisions that anger customers as they do not understand the reasoning behind them. Sometimes, the decision is the correct one and once the company has clarified the reason behind it, the customer adjusts to the new situation. At other times, the consumer refuses to accept the decision and abandons the organisation or the specific product. This situation indicates some important negative outcomes for companies when making changes to product formulas. Social media allows customers to complain and comment, adding visibility to the situation. All these factors contribute to presenting management with a challenge in dealing with this situation, considering the needs of the company and balancing them with the customer reactions.

Third-year strategic marketing students MBA students (marketing courses)

Teaching notes (and necessary annexures) permissions.

CSS 8: Marketing.

The learning outcomes are as follows: first, identify the characteristics of born-global SMEs, and how these characteristics facilitate their global expansion shortly after the company’s inception. Second, demonstrate that companies work with limited resources, typically and notably newly established companies, and that these resources should be allocated according to a carefully determined strategy. The resources focussed on in this case pertain to marketing. Third, examine entrepreneurial marketing and its various manifestations. An understanding of how this type of marketing is used by companies for international expansion is expected. Fourth, assess the role of digital marketing and how social media forms an important part of digital marketing. Particular attention is paid to the use of digital marketing, notably social media, in international expansion. Fifth, develop critical thinking skills with respect to strategic business decisions, such as whether to expand a business into foreign markets or to consolidate locally; and how best to penetrate foreign markets, given the nuances and complexities specific to these markets.

This teaching case is about The Duchess, a recently developed and launched virgin alcohol-free and sugar-free gin and tonic beverage. The adult soft drink was originally launched in South Africa, and just 18 months later became available in international markets (the UK and Belgium). The founders and protagonists of the case, Johannes le Roux and Inus Smuts, face the dilemmas of creating a competitive local brand while also looking to access new markets and internationalise as a born-global firm.

The target audience for this case comprises students enrolled in tertiary business education programmes who have already had some sort of work experience and hands-on exposure to real-world business. MBA and EMBA students, as well as those enrolled in post-graduate studies specific to marketing, international commerce and entrepreneurship, would be suitable candidates.

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Through the discussion of this case, students will have a better understanding of the managerial dilemma associated with the implementation of management control in an early-stage firm. Students will provide proposals to improving current management control. Finally, this case encourages students to think about the costs and benefits of implementing formal management control systems.

As the company grows, it becomes difficult to keep control of the organization. The organizational structure of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Carrefour Jordan is too centralized, and the top management is confronted with information overload, which inhibits their ability to pursue strategic goals. The department managers are also confronted with communication problems, and they are evaluated based on the indicators that were out of their control. Processes and rules do not permit managers sufficient autonomy, and neither do these motivate employees towards organizational strategic goals. It is obvious that many control issues needed to be addressed in MAF Carrefour Jordan. However, given the limited budgets, MAF Carrefour Jordan managers need to decide which control systems to implement first.

This case can be used in an introductory cost accounting and management control course at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. The case should be introduced after students attained a baseline understanding of management control system fundamental concepts. However, this case is equally effective in introducing concepts to students who are new to management control systems.

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The purposes of this study included: recognizing the risks and challenges farmers face when growing a new crop, understanding agricultural marketing and its processes and developing a marketing strategy for a specialty agricultural product, such as quinoa.

The main focus of this case lies in identifying the risks faced by farmers in growing a new specialty crop and selecting the appropriate marketing strategies for targeting, positioning and channelling an agricultural product.

This case can be used in intermediate- to advanced-level marketing courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in universities. It can also be used in agriculture and agribusiness–based courses in the undergraduate, graduate or executive level.

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Rehman, S.U., Selvaraj, M. and Ibrahim, M.S., 2012. Indian Agricultural Marketing-A Review. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2(1), pp.69-75. Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Ang, S.H., Tan, C.T. and Leong, S.M., 2018. Marketing Management: An Asian Perspective. Pearson.

CSS 8: Marketing

The learning outcomes are as follows: understanding online, traditional and omnichannel retail and the challenges and benefits of each method; evaluating the effect of consumer buying behaviour on a company’s growth strategy; assessing the effect of changing industry dynamics and technology on consumer behaviour; and understanding the role of consistent customer experience across different retail mediums.

This case looks at Yuppiechef, a successful e-commerce business, and their move from “clicks to bricks” with the introduction of retail stores. Founder and CEO of Yuppiechef, Andrew Smith, shares the current business status and considers how to maintain the brand’s culture with the growth of retail and being an omnichannel pioneer.

The primary target audience for this teaching case is postgraduate business students, especially students of digital marketing, strategy and e-commerce. This teaching case is intended to be used as case study in postgraduate business programmes such as Master of Business Administration (MBA), a specialist masters’ programme such as MM (Entrepreneurship), post-graduate diploma in management (PGDip), as well as selected executive education programmes.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to identify stakeholder groups in an inter-country training intervention and apply contextual intelligence to a leadership role and to apply the theory of constraints in developing solutions to research constraint environments.

On 10 September 2018, the Director-General (DG) of South African National Department of Health (NDOH) Ms Precious Matsoso pondered over the scheduled meeting that afternoon with the South African Committee of Medical Deans in Pretoria. She was leading the initiative of the integration of the South African Cuban-trained medical students into the local medical schools for the final phase of their studies. She needed to streamline the assimilation process. The case highlights the dilemma to identify actions to improve the level of integration of these students.

MBA M Phil in Healthcare Management

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CSS 10: Public Sector Management

The case introduces student to basic understanding of banking sector in Tanzania as well as the strategies and struggle to raise capital through shareholders’ funds. Application of Banking theory and Pecking order theory is evidenced from the case. The case outlines why the bank struggled to raise capital and what triggers the capital raising strategies. It also give students an opportunity to think about applicable theories of capital structure and bank capital, and strategies the bank could use to rescue its capital crunch in the future.

The case provides details of how the Capital Community Bank (CCB) raised its capital through strategic financial engineering which enabled it to raise the minimum regulatory capital required to be licensed as a financial institution unit, to a regional financial institution, to a fully fledged commercial bank. The bank started with a paid up capital of TZS 472.3m in 2002, involving four Local Government Authorities and individual investors. Capital raised to TZS 31.3bn in 2014 and down to TZS 20.6bn at the end of 2016. The minimum regulatory capital required is TZS 15bn, while paid up capital was 16.9bn. With the change of the management team in 2017, the bank is looking for avenues to raise further capital to meet the regulatory limits and continue to survive as a commercial bank, given dramatic changes in the banking sector in Tanzania.

The case is suitable for third year students in Bachelor of Commerce/Economics specializing in banking/financial services. It also suits postgraduate/master's students seeking a Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Business Administration in financial institutions/banking course.

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Marketing and brand management examples used in classes usually revolve around publicly traded corporations. Students are expected to learn how to deal with branding problems that can arise in new types of organizations as family businesses.

The case study discusses a brand identity and brand management problem facing the Founder of Habiba Community, Maged El Said. Habiba Community is an initiative focusing on sustainability and giving back to community. Many foundations were established under Habiba Community, such as its beach lodge, organic farm and learning center. The beach lodge and organic farm were more familiar to tourists and visitors than the other established foundations. The organic farm produced many organic products sold nationally and internationally. The founder was now faced with the challenge of whether to create one brand identity for Habiba Community as a whole or to go for separate brand identities for each of its foundations.

This case study is developed for students of the bachelor level in marketing and design studies. The case difficulty is regarded as intermediate as it includes new trends and ideas from the field of marketing and branding (as eco-branding and family business branding) and new trends in the tourism service industry (as voluntourism). Courses in which this case study can be used are integrated marketing communication, corporate identity, services marketing and brand management under marketing and graphic design studies. The case study is not designed for earlier courses in marketing and design, as students need to have basic knowledge in marketing and branding beforehand.

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The learning outcome is that it will help to sustain your startups in the ever-changing business environment especially in the context of emerging markets.

The present case is about Dilkhush Kumar from village Bangaon, India who developed a cab booking platform “AryaGo”, an innovative platform completely dedicated for rural road transport connectivity. AryaGo is the service line of Aryan Cabs and Rural Trans-solution Pvt. Ltd., a Startup founded in the year 2016 under Startup Bihar, a seed capital support scheme of State Government. The idea was to provide comfort, convenience, safety and affordability to all the commuters travelling from or within far-off villages. The biggest challenge during implementation in villages includes availability of updated geo-mapped images for app development and vehicle tracking. Company was foremost in providing the kiosk-based booking facility for its customers. It took the decision based on the profiling of customers and their preferred booking methods. When a customer booked a cab using IVR, they did not had access to app-based customer panel and hence they could not avail services such as, location tracking, SoS, real time tracking of vehicle. However, heavy invest in IT has put the company in financial stress and Kumar is wondering whether to expand fast or penetrate in the given target market. Should he re-design his business model so as it can really make a difference in terms of service delivery?

Post Graduate/ MBA.

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CSS 8: Marketing

Finance.

Graduate/Under Graduate Progammes

The case presents the valuation gap between general equity and DVRs shares of TML. The case presents DVRs as an alternate asset class for investment for retail investors and shows its various characteristics taking the case of TML. The case presents global evidences of the valuation gaps and hence helps in making informed decisions. The case makes the reader perplex with a varied global evidence and then presents other data (increasing interest by institutional investors in DVRs of TML) which may help to take final decision “BUY or NOT”.

The readers will be able to recall “how do finance managers use a diverse type of equity for providing new sources of finance?” The readers will be able to describe the characteristics of differential voting right (DVR) shares. The participants will be able to present various reasons for the price difference between DVR shares and general equity shares. The readers will be in a position to analyze the price pattern of Tata Motors Limited (TML’s) DVR together with global experience. The participants will be able to justify the trade-off between extra dividend and loss of voting rights in the case of DVR shares.

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This teaching case aims to stimulate the debate over the issue of arsenic in rice and prepares students to make a decision by evaluating trade-offs and aligning moral values in a business context.

Rice feeds people in many parts of the world. This teaching case focuses on an entrepreneurial food producer who has strong sustainability values built into his business model. The CEO, Johan Henriksson, of Vegoganic faces a dilemma when a press release by the Swedish National Food Agency potentially threatens the core existence of the business. It challenges the CEO to take a stand on food safety and food security, as well as personal and societal values.

It is a discussion case, developed with undergraduate students in mind, but could be taken to a graduate level by including more advanced literature and questions.

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The purpose of this paper is to understand the situation of Accurate and then to consider possible options for Accurate to face competition in future. Several opportunities are also linked with certain drawbacks and hence by studying the entire mechanism, the decision makers of Accurate may decide on its future direction and how to go about it.

Accurate Weld Arc was established in New Delhi in 1993, his son. The company focused on manufacturing wire drawings and selling to niche customer segment. Due to this, they were operating at a modest turnover. At this juncture, the organization took two critical decisions, first, to enter the welding electrodes market which had a bigger target segment, and second, to hire a Marketing Head who conducted an extensive marketing research to recognize the need of customers and to identify differentiating factors for the organization. Later, the company made further investment in middle-gauge welding electrodes and its turnover climbed in the first year. After that, the company had set up a manufacturing unit in Raipur, Chattisgarh which generated huge profit and is now looking forward to spread its wings in other parts of the country.

This case may be used for postgraduate students, who are doing their specialization in finance and accounting.

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The paper has the following learning outcomes: to understand the historical and geographical aspect of Pakistan vis-à-vis other countries of South East Asia and the world; to be able to understand the different marketing strategies of the tourism company; to gather the knowledge of many unknown facts which remain out of sight and hardly surface; to boost economy if its facts and figures are given due weight age and followed with true letter and spirit; and to give a big boost to an industry which remains mostly dormant for many decades. The ratio analysis of service sector is explained. How finances can be arranged in shortest time and generates profitability for the company is also discussed.

The study provides an overview on the following topics: lack of interest by the Government in promotion; training of tour operators and guide; and managing the expected income from this industry. This study makes the masses aware that how much potential exist in the field of tourism in Pakistan. How the tour operators find huge potential in all segments of tourism and how the big force of trained manpower can be formed and creates employment. Service sector mostly run on equity finances because of lack of collateral, how efficiently they manage the finance for the business year. It gives details of extensive marketing strategy, the huge profit margin in foreign currency and cost volume profit systems of tourism companies.

BBA, MBA and MS.

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After a thorough briefing, classroom discussions and de-briefing, the students should be able to appreciate issues of leadership; understand challenges related to managing an organisation; and understand the aspects of organisational politics and power.

This real-life case study is based on a leading management institution of central India. The institute was quite successful in establishing its brand central India during 2011-2017 and is still going strong. The case here captures a change of leadership and the challenges/opportunities it posed to faculty and staff members. The case also intends to address the power struggle that ensued in later years of its functioning. The case is also about how the present leader would finally deal with it all. Students would be able to generate insights in leadership style, power and politics, employee retention, organisational decision-making and concerns in recruiting culturally fit employees.

Graduate level.

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Human Resource Management

Postgraduate business students

The learning objectives to be drawn from the case are as follows: To discuss the challenges of a leader within a resource-constrained environment. Students are required to highlight aspects of transformational leadership and assess the leader against those criteria. To highlight the connection between employee mindset, actions, and organisational performance. Students need to identify the key issues underlying the personnel challenges facing the leader. To explore the influence of leadership on employee engagement. Students should identify the actions taken by the leader to engage employees and analyse the intention behind them, as well as the actual outcomes. To discuss the potential solutions that the leader may institute to achieve the overall transformational objective for the organisation.

This case puts students in the shoes of Siya Zwane, the newly appointed principal of Green Acres Primary School in the South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Having recently completed her PhD in education after 10 years of teaching, Zwane is well versed in the best practices for organisational development and eager to apply them in a public school setting. Her leadership is particularly relevant in the context of a struggling school system that faces, among other issues, an economically disadvantaged population, overcrowding in classrooms, poor infrastructure, and a general lack of resources, including qualified staff. As a newcomer to this school system, Zwane learns quickly how these systemic issues manifest in her teaching team and realises that her first priority must be to empower her staff and enhance employee engagement.

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After studying this case, the students should be able to: explain the importance of employee engagement; illustrate the role of the participatory management style in an organizational context; discuss why managers may use engagement practices to operate effectively in businesses to lead change and innovation; identify the critical success factors, barriers and outcomes of employee involvement in driving high performance; and discuss the dilemma faced by the managers in the emerging economies while driving the momentum of excellence in the long run.

This is a real case about a leading health-care service company located in the Middle East. The health-care organization’s name is changed to NOVA for reasons of confidentiality. The NOVA is an independent, public joint stock company created to meet the curative needs of the public health-care system in Middle East. The company introduced the Employee Suggestion Scheme named Minara in 2011 in a Federal Government decree, introducing innovation as a major pillar of management in 2013 with intent to encourage organizations build innovative solutions and pioneer initiatives and apply it effectively in services, processes and programmes. Making the Minara programme work in line with the national health agenda, Ms. Fatima who headed the Excellence and Innovation Department took the initiative of accelerating the innovative Programme (Minara). The case data were collected based on both primary and secondary sources. Although the case is based on the real data, it has been ammonised. The case describes the transformation of the innovation process at NOVA through the employee engagement programme (Minara) in meeting the disruptive challenges. This case addresses the challenges faced by the Excellence and Innovation manager who used effective employee engagement practices through the Employee Suggestion Programme in a creative way to bring about innovation in the health-care sector. The case outlines the dilemma faced by the Excellence and Innovation manager in bringing about innovation through the Employee involvement programme in the emerging economic scenario. The case will focus on the analysis of the different aspects of the issues pertaining to employee engagement, employee motivation and the framing of empowerment strategies to bring about innovation and continuous improvement through an effective employee suggestion programme. The case is intended to give budding managers an insight into innovation and employee engagement practices that impact performance in the organization.

This case will be suitable to be used in Human Resource Management and Management of Change and Innovation course at undergraduate and Master’s level.

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The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a well-performing company can turn into a loss-making company on account of adverse industry cycle and poor management of risks in the business. The importance of factors like optimal level of leveraging, the ability of the management to deal with external and internal risks, and importance of corporate governance in the process of credit appraisal is understood from this case.

The case relates to the credit appraisal by the banks of a prominent steel company in India. The company, Bhushan Steel Limited, was doing very well. The banks lent aggressively to the company, based on their credit appraisal. However, the company soon turned insolvent on account of poor assessment of risks and deteriorating external factors. While this case may be analysed and studied through the eyes of both the Management and the lenders, the focus is currently on the latter. In a real-world scenario, the challenge for the lender is to sieve through the financial as well as non-financial data and make a valid conclusion on the level of credit worthiness of the borrowing company. This includes the topics of operational efficiency and synergies, commodity price cycles, external credit ratings, operating and financial leverage, regulatory risks and corporate governance.

Post graduate business management programmes – Finance specialisation.

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By reading and understanding the case study, Students will be able to link the importance of healthy life style and the physical exercise to the fitness industry in the UAE society, to reduce the growing percentage of obesity and related diseases; identify the main challenges of Tone Fitness Ladies’ Studio (Tone); explore the market segmentation of fitness centers in UAE based on a benefits segmentation of fitness industry; identify the demographic segmentation of Tone Fitness studio and the effects of considering gender and age; and develop individual perspectives of how Tone Fitness ladies’ studio may overcome the challenges to compete in the UAE fitness market.

Three sisters from the United Arab Emirates (Hind, Mariam and Amna Mohamed Omer) have established a fitness studio for women in Al Maqta’a (formerly known as Bain al Jasrain) on the eastern side of Abu Dhabi. Each of them shared a passion for sport, which led them to realize their business idea of setting up a fitness studio specifically for women. An understanding of Emirati culture and the needs of women in their society inspired them to think of a special place where women could find relief from work and life demands while also exercising pursuant of a healthy lifestyle. They launched Tone Ladies’ Fitness Studio (Tone) in September 2014, the first fitness studio for women in Al Maqta’a. The studio is in the same building as a cooperative hypermarket – a very good location because it is visited by many people and has ample parking spaces. Partly due to growing interest among Abu Dhabi residents in fitness and health, new fitness studios opened nearby in 2016, with competitors offering excellent services at reasonable prices. While the demand for fitness and healthy lifestyle pursuits is high in the region, the market has also expanded greatly to meet this demand, with many high-quality options becoming available. As a result of this, businesses such as Tone are facing serious threats to their sustainability. Thus, first, how can the Omer sisters sustain their business and strategize to maintain customers in their market segment? Second, what could they do to improve the market position of Tone in the UAE fitness market?

This case study is suitable for advanced level of diploma certificate in marketing or undergraduate student of marketing field.

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CSS 8: Marketing

The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the challenges and opportunities of an unorganized business/informal economy; compare and contrast the applications of customer engagement frameworks between small and big businesses; outline the steps in product design in a services context; discuss the services marketing mix as a part of the marketing strategy; and understand the need of scaling up the business operations in wake of new opportunity.

Sukhpal Dairy Farm (SDF) is a case of unorganized milk marketing in the Indian Emerging Market. Milk was sold as a commodity with a fragmented set of suppliers to only a small population. Changes in consumer demand, technology and supply chain presented huge opportunities to the small dairy farmer. But it was also a threat to him. The large corporater, players backed by strong logistics and supply chain operations support posed a big challenge to the small farmer who lacked scale and reach. Sukhpal, owner of SDF, struggled while considering the options to grow his business. He did not want to change the success factors of his existing business model that was based on word of mouth and customer engagement.

MBA students.

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CSS: 8: Marketing.

The teaching objectives of the case study are to provide students with an understanding of how strategic marketing tools are applied in an international marketing context and how brands, especially brands that come from emerging markets, are introduced and managed within modern versus traditional trade (e.g. ethnic shops).

This case illustrates the challenges and opportunities related to the introduction of a brand to a new market wherein the product (traditional coffee), although part of a very well-developed product category (coffee), may have been new to consumers in the new market. The brand itself, Zlatna džezva, is a flagship brand in its home country (Bosnia and Herzegovina) within a developing market. However, both the brand and the traditional coffee experience are relatively unknown to other markets. The case study focuses on Vispak’s CEO and CMO who are contemplating their next business move in the new market. Finally, the Dutch market and consumers are presented to facilitate the process of segmentation, targeting and positioning for students. The case study concludes with a task and dilemma for managers of the company.

This case could be used in a variety of undergraduate level classes, depending on what the instructor wishes to emphasize. The authors use the case for following courses: principles of marketing, marketing management and international marketing. In all courses, the case is allowing students to obtain the greater overview of the scope of the strategic marketing decision-making. Before starting with case analysis, students should have some familiarity with central marketing issues and concepts, specifically related to analysis of environment, segmentation-targeting-positioning, product and brand management.

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CSS: 8: Marketing.

The learning objectives of this case study are to understand business-to-business (B2B) marketing in a logistics organization; apply go-to-market (GTM) strategy in the logistics industry; design B2B distribution strategy so as to enhance geographic penetration; and develop digital marketing strategies in the logistics industry.

V-Xpress is a leading B2B player in the express cargo category in the Indian logistics industry. In March 2017, Sachin Nair, Head of V-Xpress Marketing, was presenting three different GTM strategies to the CEO for the new Assured Timely Movement services. He wanted CEO views on each of them so that he can choose the best one. Sachin was also trying to find a solution to backhaul problem in eastern India. The resolution of this problem would have helped V-Xpress to become a truly pan-India B2B logistics company. Sachin was also revamping the digital marketing strategy as part of ambitious V-Xpress marketing strategy. These initiatives were taken as part of CEO’s vision for reaching annual revenue of INR 10bn by 2020. Sachin was thinking about various options so as to implement these changes with least investments.

This case study can be used in B2B marketing, marketing management and marketing strategy course of an MBA program.

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CSS: 8: Marketing

The case is appropriate for courses in financial accounting and reporting, audit and assurance, forensic accounting, accounting practice and regulations and corporate governance. After studying the case, students should be able to explain the concept of control and power under IFRS; explain the concept of economic; discuss audit committee and external auditor independence issues and ways to strengthen auditor’s independence; assess the usefulness of the new extended audit report; and evaluate the role of gatekeepers such as financial analysts, audit committee, external auditor, institutional investors and regulators in enhancing the quality of financial reporting.

This case focuses on the accounting policy choices of the foreign associates of AirAsia Berhad. AirAsia Berhad is a phenomenal success, from a debt laden company to having been voted as World’s Best Low-Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for eight consecutive years from 2009 to 2016 and the World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline in the annual World Travel Awards for four consecutive years from 2013 to 2016. In June 2015, an analyst report was leaked, and it led to heated discussion and exchanges in the market. The report questioned the non-consolidation of AirAsia Berhad associates. The share market also reacted. Various players in the market came into foray with their statements and opinions on the merit of the accounting policy choice by AirAsia Berhad. Whose views actually reflect the nature of accounting policy choice that is true and fair? Are these gatekeepers attesting to the accounting crux of substance over form?

Senior undergraduates; MBA; EMBA

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CSS: 1: Accounting and Finance

An understanding of the competitive landscape and consumer dynamics of an emerging market, especially how a small local company learns to take on and deal with global players. Similarly, embeddedness within a market leads to increasing the competitiveness of local brands as they understand local consumers better than international ones. Local brands are also more likely to use home-based and innovative marketing strategies.

Bliss Chemicals, through their flagship brand, MAQ washing powder, captured market share from global multinationals during a price war. Nevertheless, their competitive landscape and their customer base are dynamic; the company cannot afford to rest on its laurels for long. The case provides insight into the marketing activities of both large and medium enterprises in an emerging market. It also demonstrates the type of marketing activation that engenders strong consumers’ response.

The case can be used in undergraduate, MBA and executive education courses on marketing, consumer behaviour, bottom of the pyramid or international marketing courses. It could also be used in business strategy courses on market entry, dealing with stronger competitors, price wars and doing business in Africa.

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CSS 8: Marketing

To understand the motivations for adopting RI practices for institutional investors and asset managers; to understand the different RI strategies available to institutional investors; to understand the impediments to adoption of RI at an organisational level; to debate how financial institutions can drive the growth and adoption of RI among the investment community; and to illustrate the complexities of organisational change and the strategies that institutional entrepreneurs can use to overcome resistance to change from key stakeholders.

The case is set in October 2017 against the backdrop of the pending unbundling of Old Mutual plc into four new independent businesses, and the subsequent relisting of Old Mutual Ltd on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa. The head of responsible investment at Old Mutual Investment Group and the main protagonist of the case, Jon Duncan, is considering what the subsequent relisting will mean for the responsible investing programmes that he has set up over the past six years. The case goes on to describe how responsible investment principles were supported through the implementation of ESG integration and active ownership strategies. It also examines recent developments in ESG product innovations and demonstrates another technique available to responsible investment practitioners in the form of best-in-class ESG screening. The case ends with Duncan contemplating the strategic priorities of the RI team moving forward, and how the managed separation might impact on the RI agenda. It provides prompts for students to discuss and formulate a strategy for advancing the aims of responsible investing.

The case is aimed at postgraduate-level students enrolled in a management-related degree programme such as an MBA, and covers both sustainable and responsible finance and institutional entrepreneurship theory.

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It intends to help the learners assess the scenarios of volatility in the Indian capital market which was caused by unpredictable market forces. It also helps in understanding how analysts struggle to predict the direction of the market and what options strategies can be recommended to be deployed by the investors to maximize returns in such compelling scenarios.

This case study presents snapshots of high volatilities caused by the market and economic forces in the Indian capital market. It depicts how analysts struggled to predict the direction of the market; and how high volatility can put them in trouble. It also exemplifies as to how by selecting the apt strategies, investors maximize their immediate returns in a volatile period and can produce large returns in a short time.

The best time to discuss the case is during the completion of options strategies in the course of Derivatives or Portfolio/Investment Management.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

To familiarize the students with a process of international expansion within an emerging market scenario encompassing countries such as India, Sri Lanka and a developing country like Kazakhstan. Mostly cases in international marketing are central to developed nations, as that is where the MNCs emerge and grow. In this case study, though Polaris originally is an US-based MNC, the focus lies on Polaris India going international. Hence, it looked at empowering an emerging market for regional development. To provide a situation for choice of entry mode strategies involving strategic alliances and various kinds of non-equity based partnerships. Here there is scope for tremendous learning with reference to institutional voids and market failures prompting a certain mode of entry strategy versus another in international marketing. Though this topic has been researched widely, this case is the first ever tribute to a real-life situation in an emerging market. The case is focussed on experiential marketing as the new tool for sales and communication. This is unique to Polaris, and worth replicating in its internationalization. The crucial question emerged: adaptation of experiential marketing techniques as per local market.

synopsis This case investigated the process of internationalization for Polaris India, a US-based MNC, making for an interesting study in how emerging markets can become hubs for effective regional market expansion. The case simultaneously explored the concept of experiential marketing in a new light referring to the issue of communication adaptation in international marketing. The company had successfully used Polaris Experience zones as their promotion and distribution tools. The PEZ had weaved its magic on Indian customers to bring about significant positive change to the perception of a brand now extending the brand promise to other emerging markets. Polaris India started as a wholly owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries USA Inc in 2011 with Mr Pankaj Dubey, as the Country Head. Polaris specialized in building world class off-road vehicles and was a global leader in the same. The case study provided an opportunity to discuss behind the scenes role played by channel partners in targeted foreign markets – Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. In international marketing, strategic alliances are of tremendous significance as a method of entry strategy and the knowledge, depth, expertise can make all the difference to achievement of success in the local market. Polaris despite having to market a product with no readymade market and combating the perceived notion of a super-premium product in emerging markets, managed to weave its own success story. The case is about, how Polaris India went International with its choice of strategic partners and communication tools.

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Marketing.

This paper aims to understand the changing landscape of media and entertainment industry, to understand the difference between display advertising and native advertising, to know the standing of BuzzFeed in the industry and to know the strategic actions of BuzzFeed under the current competitive business environment.

Founded in 2006 as a viral lab, by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson, with the aim of tracking viral content, it caused disruption in the market with its entry and grew very rapidly. It was valued at $1.5bn in 2015, having raised money from numerous investors. The revenue of BuzzFeed was driven by the concept of native advertising. Catchy headlined articles conveyed the sense that BuzzFeed might be charging advertisers on basis of clicks, but this was not entirely true. Instead, BuzzFeed charged a fee from its clients for creating custom content targeting the customer base of the client. However, the year 2015 went tough for BuzzFeed when, as per the reports by Financial Times, it fell short of achieving its targeted revenue of US$250m by US$80m. It forced the company to revise and lower its target revenues for the year 2016 as well. The combined worldwide traffic to BuzzFeed saw a decline of up to 14 per cent. As Claire marketing head looked out of the window and pondered over the slashed revenue projections and the content related issues, the question on her mind was would native advertising sustain BuzzFeed in the longer run? BuzzFeed was known for its viral content and native advertising would involve finding a balance between what is good for the advertisers' brand and what will become viral. Buzzfeed ran a risk of losing brands to other modes of advertisement if they felt that native advertisement, which disguises the product within the content, was not meeting their expectations.

The case is targeted at students of post-graduation and under-graduation programs in Business Administration.

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Marketing

The students will get a hands on research techniques like mental mapping, laddering and means end chain (MEC) model for value proposition and survey techniques.

Market Research has always acted as one of the major driving force behind the successful launch of any product in any market. There are several evidences of how market research and thorough understanding of the consumers in and out has lead companies reach new peaks and acquire market share. This case deals with a company called Eco-Remedies, based in Nashik, India, which is in the business of providing eco-solutions to different health ailments and also general purpose health supplements like health drinks. The major concentration is on the product called “AnjaNeya-The Graviola fruit drink” from Eco-Remedies, where in different research techniques were used to gather information so that appropriate strategies could be implemented in order to increase the market share of the product and create a strong position in the minds of the customers. The case deals with gathering consumer insights and then developing appropriate positioning strategies for Eco remedies based on consumer value proposition using the MEC theory, mental mapping, blind tests and general consumer survey.

The study is applicable to Masters level Marketing Management and Marketing Research Studies.

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Marketing.

Steel Corp has a large production capacity but a shrinking steel market in Europe. Reaching growing markets like China and U.A.E will be important to sustaining and growing revenue but is tough due to higher transportation costs. In this case, users must identify and use logistics data; logistics customer segmentation and related cost analysis.

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.

The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the factors that go into the assessment of a distributor performance; understand the criteria that may be useful to distributors while choosing distributorship of a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company; understand the various parameters that define a distributor performance; and understand the critical aspects that sales force consider while staying with an organization on the long term.

This case is about how a FMCG Company in India – Patanjali Products is handling its sales and distribution management strategies. The FMCG segment in India is very competitive and is dominated by big multi- national players such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble as well as other Indian players such as Marico, Dabur, Cavinkare and Himalaya herbal. This industry is characterized by frequent product launches and the trade/ distributors play a key role in providing reach and visibility to the end users. Patanjali Products is a relative new entrant but has rapidly found success in this category. Through a product range that is positioned on “naturalness”, the company has achieved a turnover of US$735m in a span of six years. The case is written from the perspective of Anil Gupta, one of the distributors of the company. He is currently faced with the challenge of evaluating whether he should continue with the distributorship or go back to his old company Himalaya herbal. With this background, the case intends to elaborate on the specific aspects of distributor management and sales management. Some key questions discussed in the case are as follows: What are the aspects that determine the performance of a distributor? What are the parameters that a distributor needs to take into account while selecting a company? How does one calculate the financial return on investment for a FMCG distributor business? What are the elements that contribute to sales force loyalty?

Undergraduate and Post Graduate students of management Sales workshops Corporate training on sales management Particularly it can be taught under the course “Sales and Distribution Management”. The other courses where it can be a part of are: Retail Management, FMCG Sales and Marketing, Channel Management

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Marketing

The subject areas are e-commerce, brand management, marketing strategy, digital marketing and supply chain management strategy.

Medium, can be used for undergraduate marketing electives and graduate core courses.

Jumei, founded in 2010, had already become China’s biggest online retailer of beauty products. Its 31-year-old Founder and Chief executive Officer (CEO) Leo Chen had become the youngest CEO of any NYSE listed company in 2014. However, Jumei was currently facing a major milestone. Could it become a mega-commerce hub like Alibaba? Or should it stick to its core product line – cosmetics – which was already being challenged by luxury retailers and other horizontal e-commerce competitors?

The case will provide the students the opportunity to conduct a situational analysis Identify and prioritize generic business and marketing strategies, review concepts of brand/line extension and conceive new product ideas, assess Jumei potential as a business-to-customer platform and assess brand equity and potential by comparison to another diversified brand.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

Financial derivative and risk management.

The case is intended to be used for MBA and BBA programs in the elective courses such as derivatives and risk management, financial engineering, financial risk management and portfolio management, and for executives aspiring for the fund manager position in industry. The case could also be used in management development programs on financial risk management.

The case was based on the real life experience of a portfolio manager who was entrusted with the responsibility of maximizing return of the portfolio. With the backdrop of dismal performance of the portfolio, the portfolio manager is looking for opportunity in the context of declaration of result by Infosys Ltd, one of the constituents of the portfolio. So the team headed by Nirakar Chaulia was thinking of development and application of option strategies to exploit the result day (i.e. January 14, 2016) opportunity to improve the performance of the portfolio and also reduce the potential of stock price risk. Moreover, the case was designed to help the students develop and assess different option strategies based on their market intuitions. Also, students would be able to apply the option contracts for managing price risk associated with the underlying asset.

The case would prepare students to develop different strategies to be exploited in different market conditions and assess their performance. Especially, this case was designed to enable the students to understand options as a special kind of derivative in terms of trading and its payoff, how to initiate directional and volatility trading with options, how to apply options to generate income to enhance the portfolio performance and how to develop option strategies for different market conditions and assess their performance.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy and Marketing Communication.

The case is targeted at students of post-graduation and under-graduation programs in Business Administration, specializing in Marketing Management or Marketing Strategy.

Mukesh Ambani’s announcement about the launching of Reliance Jio at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in June 2015 sent shock waves in the telecom industry. Everyone, including the customers, competitors and the entire telecom industry, was excited to know whether Reliance Jio would be able to make a dent or fizzle out like a weak firecracker. Was it time for the top players to be worried and pull their socks up or will it be an inconsequential ripple in the ocean? Mukesh Ambani saw the telecom sector from a new viewpoint and proposed a complete set of solution in the form of Reliance Jio SIM card that addressed the different needs of customers through various applications. This has spread rumors of a merger between Idea and Vodafone in India, which can have a huge impact on Reliance Jio and the telecom sector in general. The profitability indicator that was earlier determined as the average revenue per user (ARPU) will continue to dominate. The companies will be scrambling to find different ways to increase the ARPU to maximize the returns. This would also lead to a downsize in the cost in such a way that their operations do not suffer and profitability is also not negatively affected.

To better understand the entry strategy of firms in highly volatile business situations. To know about the competitors and their contribution to the operational and strategic changes of a new entrant. To understand the proceedings associated with marketing communication for establishing a product in a highly competitive market. To know about the impact of joining hands with the competitors on a new entrant.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The case could be used in many courses in the field of business and management, for example, environmental management, strategic management, corporate strategy, green or sustainable marketing and international business.

The case has a difficulty level of being appropriate for undergraduate and postgraduate students. However, in utilizing this case as a required component of business courses at various levels, the authors have discovered a different approaching between undergraduate students and postgraduate students in answering those discussion questions. Undergraduate students have tended to focus on the more conceptual and basic approaching based on understanding the main concepts of environmental upgrading. Postgraduate students have a better application and critical thinking based on a better understanding of the fundamental knowledge and concepts. Accordingly, the case has been developed in a manner that will allow students to realize the importance of environmental issues and analyze the company’s main issues as detailed in the case and then suggest opinions and any ideas for the strategy the company should consider and pursue in future. Furthermore, students should identify several points on the company’s chosen strategies and actions for environmental upgrading.

This case is written in the form of an interview with the Chairman and chief executive officer of VIYELLATEX Group, one of the leading firms which embarked upon environmental upgrading in the apparel industry of Bangladesh and in the world. This is an analytical case and not a decision-making one. The main theme of the case revolves around analyzing what drove VIYELLATEX Group to upgrade environmentally, how the group upgraded, the challenges that VIYELLATEX Group has faced and outcomes of environmental upgrading. Environmental upgrading implies an improvement in environmental performance through changes in technological, social and organizational processes and avoiding or reducing the environmental impacts of businesses. In summary, the VIYELLATEX case is an investigation of a leading company in Bangladesh to implement environmental standards and management practices being part of the apparel global apparel industry governed by global retailers and brand marketers.

The learning outcomes are understanding of “corporate sustainability” as a corporate social responsibility of business philosophy, understanding of key features of the apparel industry in Bangladesh, understanding of the main issues and challenges faced by the apparel firms (suppliers) involved in international business regarding environmental upgrading, understanding of the relationship with primary stakeholders, in particular buyers of apparel firm (defining stakeholders and how to cooperate with stakeholders) and understanding of the environmental upgrading in terms of its drivers, processes and outcomes.

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CSS 4 Environmental Management.

Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Marketing and Services Marketing.

The New Wella Salon case (B) is suitable for teaching at MBA level and last-year students of undergraduate-level courses in services marketing and entrepreneurship.

This case discusses the challenges faced by a young entrepreneur Mr Meer, who has successfully brought a new trend in the salon industry of Sukkur City. The new trend focuses on trendier and sophisticated services keeping in mind the changing mindset of consumer and services provided by leading salons of Pakistan. Though, the new salon has proved to be a great success. But recent developments have badly shaken the well-established brand. The most challenging issue was the loss of customers to competition, showing a negative sign for the future of this leading brand of local salon industry. He was confused and upset about the future of the leading salon brand of the local industry. He knew that he has to make some strategic decisions to secure his career and family business but appeared to be confused about how to operationalize these. He soon realized that word-of-mouth publicity and running a Facebook page would not be enough to promote his business effectively; so, he has to explore some new ways to promote his unique and nascent service other than advertising. But what should those be? To capture the growing demand of trendy services and scattered populations as a result of growing competition from similar salons, Meer has chalked down two different options: open another salon at a promising avenue and/or offer more services.

To identify and differentiate between traits of an entrepreneur and traditional businessman. To discuss how services companies can create and sustain competitive advantage. To understand the various strategic aspects of the small businesses that lever their decision-making. To work out strategic choices available to a new entrepreneurial firm, evaluate the alternatives and devise strategies for successful expansion of the business. To assess the usefulness of traditional and non-traditional marketing channels for promoting a small business.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

Non-governmental organization (NGO) intervention in poor communities using information and communication technology (ICT).

BBA, MBA courses on marketing management, social entrepreneurship, rural marketing, marketing to bottom of pyramid.

In 2009, Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) along with Media Labs Asia and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) established the Chanderi Weavers ICT Resource Centre (CWIRC) as a self-sufficient community information resource center involved in skills’ enhancement of weavers at Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh. The next three years of CWIRC resulted in an overall growth of the project with progress in the various domains of handloom industry through ICT-enabled development of weavers and weaving. The project not only aimed at the handloom industry revival and development, but also advanced in other sectors such as education, health and tourism. Osama Manzar, the DEF founder, is in a dilemma as to whether the local community of weavers in Chanderi would be able to continue with the sustainable ecosystem created in Chanderi. Is it the right time to exit Chanderi?

Issues related to the market development at the bottom of the pyramid; managing local communities and building their capabilities for marketing; marketing strategies of community marketing efforts; and key success factors for ensuring successful completion of any developmental project.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

Brand Management, Branding Strategy, Strategic Management.

The case study is suitable for postgraduate management programs, such as MBA, Executive MBA and executive development programs.

This case study provides a detailed analysis of Amazon India’s branding strategy by way of analyzing popular branding campaigns such as “Try to kar”, “Aur Dikhao”, “Kya Pehnu” and “Apni Dukaan” that enabled the global brand to reach to the masses of Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India. Facing fierce competition from existing market leaders such as Flipkart and Snapdeal, Amazon India strategizes to attract Indian consumers by rightly capturing their behavior in terms of demanding “highest power of options”, “fashion choices”, “originality” and “trust” with its local flavored advertisement campaigns enabling it to create a “trusted, reliable and local” brand identity. With the help of sufficient data and numbers about the industry, company and competitors, the analysis presents a clear picture of the current status of Amazon in the Indian e-commerce space and leaves the readers with food for thought concerning whether this “culture-specific” branding strategy will enable Amazon to become the number one choice for Indian online shoppers in the near future.

This case study helps students to understand how global MNCs use unique branding strategies to capture mass-markets in e-commerce business, the role of culture-specific aspects in developing differentiation strategies and the role of local flavors in branding strategies and internationalization.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The case on ABIL deals with the important issue of corporate governance, and particularly the crucial role that the board of directors plays. It highlights the complex issue institutional investors face when trying to assess the strength of a board and the quality of information and disclosure. The case is set in South Africa which is an emerging market.

The case targets MBA students and can be taught as part of a corporate governance or sustainable and responsible investment module or course. The case is aimed at both local and international students as the case deals with corporate governance principles that are applicable to both audiences. Where necessary, the case provides information to guide international audiences.

The teaching case is set on 6 August 2014 when Ian Matthews, the Head of Equities at a South African Asset Manager, BG Wealth, gets a call while on leave. The call is from his boss, chief investment officer, Deryck Medley, informing him of the negative trading update and asking him to come back to prepare for an emergency investment committee that afternoon. The case traces Matthews’ day as he reviews the research reports BG Wealth had put together on ABIL over the previous 15 months. Matthews also recalls the process the investment team went through internally before finally deciding to invest in the company. The case highlights not only the corporate governance failures of ABIL but also the lack of consideration given to ESG factors by BG Wealth.

The case’s primary teaching objective is to highlight the importance of corporate governance. The case provides detailed insights into the area of corporate governance through the analysis of a corporate failure. Through this teaching case, the students will follow the real-life events that led to the collapse of ABIL. It is intended that the students will be forced to deal with a complex situation and will be required to develop specific solutions to the issues raised.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Marketing, Pricing, Strategic marketing.

The case is developed for an MBA-level program.

In May 2017, the telecom industry in India witnessed an intense price war over 4G (fourth generation) data prices. Gopal Vittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel was exploring various options on how best to respond to the situation. He had to take a final call regarding Bharti Airtel’s marketing team’s counter move to tackle this price war by Jio – should Bharti Airtel ignore it, accommodate it or retaliate with even lower prices? Bharti Airtel strongly believed that Jio pricing structure had violated “fair pricing” norms, and its pricing was anti-competitive. It had filed a case with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to restrain Jio from further giving “free” promotional offers and penalize it for it. Could the legal recourse by Bharti Airtel dampen Jio’s consistent subscriber growth rate?

The case provides the students with an insight into how the competition focused on pricing happens in the telecom industry. The pricing war affects the profit margin of all competing companies. It changes the customer reference point for evaluating the competing products and services. The students would also learn practical applications of positive-sum pricing, pricing war, fair pricing and legal aspects of pricing. This case provides the students with an opportunity to understand the pricing war and how to respond to it in a particular situation; understand positive-sum pricing and negative-sum pricing in telecom industry context; understand legal aspects of pricing; and how to leverage data for gaining newer customer insights.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

Entrepreneurship, Marketing management, Consumer behaviour

Undergraduate students, taking courses of entrepreneurship, marketing management and/or consumer behaviour that cover the topics related to entrepreneurial challenges, institutional support, growth strategy, market segmentation and marketing promotion strategy.

This case demonstrates the dilemma of a founder, cum entrepreneur dealing with the issue related to a change in operating days that would affect her business profitability in the kindergarten industry. The case begins with the problem faced by Azizah Ayob, the founder and entrepreneur of Taska Kyrana when she hears that the state minister of Johor has announced that business operation days will be changed from Sunday to Friday with effect from 1 January 2014. The change would be applicable to government institutions in the state. However, businesses and corporations in the private sector can choose to continue observing Saturday-Sunday weekends or switch to the new official rest days of Friday-Saturday. As customers of Taska Kyrana consist of parents working in public and private sectors, as well as Singaporean parents, Ayob needs to choose either to follow the state requirement or to maintain the usual operation days.

Using this case, the students should be able to understand the need for institutional support for an entrepreneur; understand a possible growth strategy to cope with the volatile situation; understand the importance of a proper segmentation strategy to target the right group of customers; and understand the importance of a promotional strategy to attract new customers and to retain the existing one in a volatile situation.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

The case presents a responsible investment dilemma case. Swedish institutional responsible investors have to make a choice about their investment in Lonmin, a platinum mining company whose operation are located in South Africa and has been the theatre of workers’ killings.

The case targets MBA students and can be taught in a corporate finance course, a corporate governance course, a business ethics course or on sustainable and responsible investment.

The teaching case follows the journey of Hilde Svensson, the head of equities for a Swedish responsible investor. She has been tasked to visit the site of Lonmin in South Africa which is the theatre of a tragic workers’ unrest that led to the killings of 44 workers in August 2012. She must decide what the best responsible investment strategy is to adopt with Lonmin for the future.

The students are expected to learn about what responsible investment entails and the dilemmas that can be faced by responsible investors. The case also gives insight to business students and the complexities of environment, social and governance (ESG) analysis and how to integrate financial and ESG analysis when you are a responsible investor.

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CCS 1: Accounting and Finance

Marketing, Brand management, Social media marketing, Digital marketing.

The case can be taught in MBA courses and executive education programs.

Dufil Prima Limited is the manufacturer of Indomie noodles and a market leader in the noodles market of Nigeria that exports products to Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Benin Republic. However, the company has experienced a drop in the market share from 78 per cent in 2010 to 54 per cent in 2015. This drop is largely due to rising competition, Nigeria’s economic downturn and the inability to grow a consumer base in Northern Nigeria. Kenneth Iruonagbe, a social media executive of the company, is responsible for developing a social media and digital marketing strategy for the company to increase the market share position by 16 per cent in the next three years. Kenneth is convinced that a growth in the Northern Nigeria market share is critical for improving the market position in the entire country and facilitating the market penetration in the other four countries. A number of options are being considered to address the current problem. Because of the sharp differences in the consumption habits, cultural values and lifestyles of consumers of noodles in the northern and southern parts of Nigeria, the options may be difficult to implement. Dufil needs to engage in the delicate task of crafting a social media and digital marketing strategy that will be consistent with the values of the Indomie brand and yet prevent the risk of brand confusion and alienation on the part of consumers. The company has one month to roll out its plan.

Highlight how cultural branding through social media applies to consumer markets in Africa Explain the fundamentals of brand building and also introduce the concepts of integrated marketing communication, below-the-line, above-the-line, social media and digital marketing. Explain how social media and digital marketing could be used to move consumers from brand awareness to brand loyalty. Explain how to craft social media and digital marketing strategies that are relevant to countries facing an economic downturn. Highlight the lessons from internationalizing a brand across various African countries.

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CSS: 8: Marketing.

Marketing Channels.

The case was developed to stimulate the discussion about decisions and strategies of channel and was recommended for MBA students in courses such as Marketing Channels or Trade Marketing in Business Administration.

The case reports the dilemma experienced in 2013 by Osmar Buzin, one of the partners of Cervejaria Noi, whose specialty beers had achieved prestige among their customers, mainly in the city of Niterói, RJ, where the company was born. This success aroused the interest of other markets that wanted to sell their products. The opportunity for expansion brought together the need to decide how to meet these new markets: deliver directly to the points of sale, as it did before; or use distributors. Osmar knew that he could count on Gilmar Gutbrodt, his partner and brewmaster, along with Bianca Buzin, the General Manager of the brewery to evaluate together the best strategy for reaching new markets.

It is expected that at the end of the discussion of the case, students will be able to achieve the following learning outcomes: to design the path-to-market, identifying the role of intermediaries; to identify distribution alternatives and key channel members; and to perceive the advantages and disadvantages of intermediation and its unfolding in channel management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS: 8: Marketing.

Public Sector Management.

MBA or postgraduate program courses in public policy and management. MBA or postgraduate program courses on social innovation, social entrepreneurship and public or collective entrepreneurship. Management development programs for public policy professionals, non-governmental organizations and social enterprises.

Despite several country-wide campaigns to improve sanitation levels, India continues to be the country with the highest number of people, over 600 million, practicing open defecation. This case outlines the Sabar Shouchagar Project (Toilets for Everyone) undertaken by the District Administration of Nadia District in West Bengal that transformed the region into the first open-defecation-free district in India. The case begins with providing the context of the problem of open defecation, why it has been hard to eliminate and how undertaking a project to eliminate open-defecation-free practices has myriad institutional and economic challenges. The case then details the conceptualization and execution of the complex Sabar Shouchagar Project which involved a loose coalition of various state programs and civil society organizations. The case ends with questions on the continuity of this project beyond the tenure of the current District Magistrate and on the replicability of such an ambitious project in other parts of the country. The setting of this case, a government agency, is different than most cases and provides an opportunity for students to talk about a state agency and its interstices with civil society. This case explores how to create change through large government machinery and allows the student to explore aspects of social mobilization, social change and social innovation. If taught within a postgraduate or MBA program, the case would serve well to dispel stereotypes and biases about government bureaucracies (such as slow timelines, limited efficacy of projects and so on).

After discussion and analysis of the case, students will be able to: appreciate how administrators within a large government bureaucracy address an ambitious and complex public health issue in a developing world context. Understand the on-the-ground challenges that arise when a change agent pursues a worthwhile goal. There are difficulties such as getting resources beyond what a government office has access to, getting alignments between different key actors within the local community and forging coalitions. Understand initiatives for social transformation within a developing country context. Specifically, the case unpacks the cultural, political, economic contexts that determine how social innovations may be pursued. Understand capacity-building and change management. Evaluate efforts required to sustain social change efforts and the challenges and pathways with respect to replication of successful social change projects in other geographies. Appreciate the design of civic engagement practices in public policy implementation.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email www.support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS: 10: Public Sector management.