Case studies

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

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

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

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CSS 6: Human Resources Management.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to recall the fundamental concepts of group arrival and the check-in process within the hotel industry; explain the various operational procedures used to enhance a smooth group check-in in hotels; use the steps defined in group check-in procedure to improve service efficiency in hotel operations; and examine and evaluate the optimal solution for a smooth group check-in for hotels.

“The Big Fat Indian Wedding” delves into the challenges faced by Hotel Plaza Blu, a business hotel in Pune, Maharashtra, in 2023. A big wedding group was arriving at the hotel, which comprised almost 350 adults and 120 children. Mr Parag Patil, the front office manager, had done all the preparations for group arrival but just one hour before the arrival Mr Suresh Menon, the group coordinator, came and informed that 150 additional guests would be arriving, as the other hotel, where arrangements for these guests were made, had a major electricity generator breakdown and the hotel was in complete blackout. Patil had the challenge of formulating an action plan to achieve a smooth group check-in with the last-minute changes.

Executive development programmes and graduate-level courses in non-profit hospitality and tourism management might benefit from this case study. The operational management courses in the BBA, UG management programmes might all benefit from using this case study.

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CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to analyse the issue(s) presented within specific case study context (C4); to formulate solutions to identified issue(s) within specific case study context (C5); and to synthesise a group plan to solve issue(s) within specific case study context (A4).

In 2017, China proclaimed that it would no longer accept plastic waste for recycling, this was in-line with China’s Operation “National Sword” to review the quality of these plastic imports to ensure their recyclability. This sent shock waves through a now globalised recycling network, with China previously having imported 95% of the EUs and 70% of US plastics that had been collected for recycling. This plastic backlog was then diverted to South-East Asian nations, particularly Malaysia, which this case focuses the discussion upon. While the potential for significant economic benefits drew the attention of illegitimate and unscrupulous businessmen alike, the environmental degradation from the often, low technological recycling processes and even burning of low-grade plastics brought profound negative impacts. This case focuses upon, then Minister, Yeo Bee Yin who led the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, in which she took an active and aggressive stance in attempt to stop Malaysia becoming the dumping ground for the global plastic crisis.

This case is appropriate for final year undergraduate and any postgraduate degrees in Business.

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CSS 4: Environmental Management.

The learning outcomes are as follows: determine the conditions founders encounter when their company is not on the right track; examine the importance of ethics in entrepreneurship; draw up a broad framework to understand the degree of trouble an organization is in and how far it has gone since the early warning signs of trouble; and formulate a comprehensive solution for entrepreneurial founders to extricate their ventures from a crisis.

India-based Edtech company Byju’s was facing a slew of challenges as of mid-2023. Its founder and CEO Byju Raveendran needed to steer the company out of trouble.

Post Graduate/Executive Education.

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CSS3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to learn to conduct the 5Cs (Customers, Collaborators, Capabilities, Competitors, Conditions) and Porter’s five forces analysis for understanding the situation of any company; to understand various demand forecasting techniques with the case example of Kaspians Café; to analyse different factors that influence the demand with the case example of Kaspians Café; and to learn how to choose the best time-series forecasting method based on the available dataset.

This case study focuses on operations strategy, specifically analysing the issues encountered by the Kaspians Café, a food joint establishment located within the Kaspians Institute of Management. Kaspians Café, due to its large student clientele, encountered operational inefficiencies such as inadequate inventory management, stockouts and wastage. These issues resulted in financial losses and customer dissatisfaction. This case study focuses on forecasting the demand for different food items at different times to get a better understanding of the stock to be maintained at Kaspians Café. Furthermore, Shyam Manral, the owner of Kaspians Café, was confronted with the difficulties arising from the surging popularity of neighbouring Dhabas and the escalating impact of food delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy. The formerly prosperous Kaspians Café establishment, known for its uniform offers, was now encountering strong competition from the quaint ambience and varied menus of the Dhabas situated in close proximity to the campus entrance. These conventional establishments not only accommodated the changing preferences of students but also functioned as convenient centres for social meetings. The emergence of Zomato and Swiggy had revolutionised the eating patterns of students by providing a wide range of choices that were conveniently delivered to their residences, thereby diminishing the attractiveness of Kaspians Café. Manral was struggling to revive his business in light of these shifting circumstances. He pondered how to keep consumers loyal in the middle of changing cuisine preferences and the convenience provided by contemporary food delivery services.

This case study can be used in the operations management course at the MBA/postgraduate level.

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CSS 9: Operations and logistics.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to discuss the characteristics of sustainable enterprises driving the innovation; analyze the concept of waste to wealth, along with its associated benefits and challenges; provide an example of a sustainable start-up that operates conventionally and is attempting to increase production capacity through automation; and describe the strategies for scaling up the business.

Mr Manigandan Kumarappan’s goal was to provide the world with alternatives to plastic and other nonbiodegradable articles used in homes, offices, hotels and other places which compelled him to leave his corporate life behind and become an entrepreneur. His knowledge, expertise and creativity made him work toward providing a sustainable solution to the plastic-free world which made him create leafy straws for the world. His start-up Evalogia made 10,000 straws a day, mostly with manual production and machine-assisted in part of the processes. Evalogia got orders from all over the world after the ban on plastic from many countries. However, Evalogia was unable to meet the demand, as the manufacturing process mostly depended on manual production at present. Hence, the company planned to scale up its production capacity from 10,000 straws per day to 100,000 straws to meet the demand through automation or by increasing the production units to meet the growing demand from domestic and international markets. Kumarappan wondered if increasing the number of manufacturing facilities would make it harder to hire new staff, manage existing ones, train them and provide overall supervision; if these tasks were not completed well, the product’s quality and, subsequently, its demand, might suffer. The automation process required huge investment, time and a great deal of skepticism for its success. Kumarappan was stuck over whether to add more production units or automate the process to increase production.

This case study is suitable for graduate students.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to discuss how social entrepreneurs identify problems and convert them into opportunities, analyze the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in setting up and growing a new venture and formulate an expansion strategy for a startup.

Over 2.6 billion people worldwide needed access to sanitation services, and most of them stayed in rural areas. Lack of access to sanitation had several negative consequences. In the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, sanitation was one of the major challenges, with 66 million people still lacking basic sanitation facilities. Additionally, a very small proportion of the wastewater was properly treated. This lack of access to sanitation was a major barrier to economic development and poverty reduction. Out of the 17 most water-stressed countries in the world, 11 were in the MENA region. About 15 million people in rural Morocco did not have a proper and sustainable sanitation system. However, there was an enormous opportunity to use wastewater as a resource. The global market for wastewater treatment services was valued at US$53bn in 2021, and it was expected to grow to more than US$71bn by 2026. Two Moroccan scientists – Dr Salma Bougarrani and Dr Lahbib Latrach, who were born and brought up in Morocco and had seen the wastewater problem very closely, decided to help the people at the bottom of pyramid (BoP) after completing their PhD in environment and water treatment technologies and multisoil-layering technology. They founded GREEN WATECH, a social enterprise, in 2018, which provided a low-cost, efficient and practical solution for wastewater management in the rural areas of Morocco. GREEN WATECH won many awards and cash prizes for its product and business plan. The company had already reached five regions of Morocco and positively impacted the lives of thousands of Moroccans. The founders were planning to expand to areas in the rest of Morocco and other African and Middle East countries. GREEN WATECH had the potential to significantly impact the lives of people in rural areas and help improve wastewater management systems in developing countries through its patented technology. However, the founders faced several challenges in making their dream a reality. They needed a bigger team to expand to different locations and countries but were finding it difficult to get the right people. They also needed funds to expand their geographical reach but found it tough to get investors as they were still unable to break even. It remained to be seen how the founders of GREEN WATECH would achieve their expansion goals and help people at the BoP in other developing countries.

This case study is suited to the Master of Business Administration/Master of Science and executive program.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The authors have discussed the importance of creating socially transformative health-care ecosystems in emerging economies like India. After completion of this case study and assignment questions, the students will be able to apply the case experience to comprehend the underlying factors influencing the decision of the implementation and replication of the Sanjeevani health-care service delivery model, understand the impact of free and subsidized health-care service delivery models on social transformation, evaluate the operational performance of health-care institutions using the balanced scorecard model and create practical relevance when implementing novel health-care solutions like Sanjeevani, which has been successful due to its singular pin-pointed focus on solving the issue of congenital heart diseases (CHDs).

Forty thousand surgeries against 0.3 million new CHD patients every year was the unbalanced equation of pediatric cardiac care in India. It also contributed to almost 46% of total CHD prevalence in the world. This case study explores the evolution of the affordable health-care ecosystem provided by Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital (Sanjeevani), Raipur, Chhattisgarh, which included services ranging from OPD to postoperative surgical care, including accommodation and food, completely free of cost. Over the past eight years, it had managed over 80,000 pediatric cardiac outpatients and performed over 9,000 surgeries. This case study also outlines the execution of Sanjeevani, as an affordable health venture aimed at producing social transformation. The pertinent question to be explored is, “Can the Sanjeevani healthcare ecosystem be replicated, both operationally and financially?”

This case study is suited to undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (MBA) and executive MBA.

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CSS 2: Built Environment.

This case study is tailored for audiences engaged in subjects such as entrepreneurship, strategy and foundational marketing principles. The academic focus aligns with the business model conceptualized by Osterwalder and Pigneur. This case study targets both undergraduate and graduate students at the university level, catering to interdisciplinary groups enrolled in courses related to entrepreneurship, strategy, marketing fundamentals and more. The objective is to equip students with the skills to construct diverse business models based on various potential alternatives. This case’s adaptable design and straightforward cost and revenue formulation facilitate comprehension for nonbusiness students, enabling them to grasp the multifaceted dimensions of a business model and project figures using basic arithmetic.

Fookifun emerged as a company born from Mrs Alejandra Padilla’s insightful grasp of the market. With the initial investment from her husband, she initiated a venture focused on delivering high-quality theatrical performances for children in the city of Barranquilla, situated in the northern region of Colombia. This narrative unfolds through early scenarios, illustrating the strategic decisions made by the entrepreneurs and the meticulous calculation of their costs and expenses. Alejandra steered her enterprise from 2014 to 2017, navigating through various alternatives and their associated costs. The narrative delved into 2017, depicting Alejandra’s pivotal decision-making process. Faced with the challenge of insufficient profitability, she contemplated the sustainability of the business. This period prompted her to reassess whether to persist with modifications or relinquish the venture altogether. The crux of Alejandra’s dilemma laid in the business’s meager profitability, which failed to generate adequate income for sustainability. It became imperative for her to make informed decisions, identifying modifiable variables within the business model and assessing their potential impact, particularly on the income generation model. This case study is tailored for audiences engaged in subjects such as entrepreneurship, strategy and foundational marketing principles. The academic focus aligns with the business model conceptualized by Osterwalder and Pigneur.

Given the characteristics of this case, it can be used for the teaching and learning of business or business administration, marketing, economics or related students, at higher or postgraduate levels (graduate school).

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CSS3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to identify the traits required in child leadership and the ability to apply “The Whole Leadership Framework” child leadership model today, identify and discover opportunities to promote child leadership and analyse its sustainable impact and analyse how innovation clubbed with sustainability will create a competitive advantage with special reference to the innovative ultraviolet-C light sterilisation Suraksha Box.

Aditya Pachpande was a child prodigy of India, who had stunned the world with his trailblazing attitude ever since the tender age of 12. Aditya’s father, Sandeep Pachpande, a Harvard alumnus, wondered – “My son is ahead of his time. Would institutions ever acknowledge my innovative boy as a child leader? Will my child become a teen chief executive officer (CEO)? Will he ever get accepted?” Aditya leads by example as a student, changemaker, edupreneur, innovator and keynote speaker. He thinks, “Age is just a number”, but has had to shout out loud to be heard. With the nickname “Lecture man” given by his teachers and peers, he went on to contribute in endorsing skill-based experiential and discovery-based teaching-learning that addresses real-world issues and sustainable development goals. A CEO at the age of 11 years, he co-founded NextGenInnov8 Global Solutions Private Limited and NextGenInnov8 Social Foundation. Although achieving these milestones, he had to manoeuvre through several curve balls hurled at him by the system. Not the one to ever compromise on ethics, values and purpose, today he was at the crossroads – whether he should choose social change over-commercialisation of his business, simplicity and minimalism over product perfection, crowdfunding over loans or angel investors, manufacture in China or make in India just to name a few. The unstoppable Aditya, aspiring for acceptance, dreamt that someday, these policymakers and businesses would acknowledge child innovators and not write them off just because they were adolescents. Aditya, standing on a precipice, dreamt along.

This case has been particularly focused on postgraduate-early stage-level students pursuing business or entrepreneurial education-related programs.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The learning objectives of this case study based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956) will be to analyze the procurement process and identify the parameters for the procurement of services; evaluate the potential risks and challenges associated with relying on a single vendor for critical services; apply the four-stage model of crisis management to the breach of contract by Fresh Bites Catering; examine how adopting sustainable procurement practices, such as diversifying suppliers and establishing contingency plans, can mitigate these risks and ensure business continuity; and analyze the dynamics, roles and potential conflicts between the principal (Multan University) and agent (Fresh Bites Catering) using the principal–agent theory (PAT).

This case study explores the challenges and implications of sustainable procurement within the context of Multan University’s cafeteria services. It delves into the sudden contract breach by Fresh Bites Catering, a long-time partner responsible for providing central cafeteria services, and examines the resulting operational crisis faced by the university. This case study highlights key procurement processes, including vendor selection, contract management and adherence to sustainability principles, as well as the risks associated with single-vendor dependency. By applying frameworks such as the PAT, the four-stage model of crisis management and sustainable procurement practices, this case study encourages students to critically assess the failures in contract enforcement, risk mitigation and service continuity. Additionally, it stimulates discussion on the benefits of robust risk management strategies, multi-vendor approaches and clear contract terms to prevent future disruptions in essential services. This case study serves as a valuable tool for understanding how procurement strategies influence organizational performance and long-term sustainability in higher education institutions.

This is a decision-making case and can be taught in Master of Business Administration courses in purchase and supply management and operations management. This case study is mainly written to make students understand and analyze the potential risks of a single vendor, the benefits of diversifying suppliers and sustainable procurement.

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CSS 9: Operations and logistics.

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to make strategic decisions for social entrepreneurship and carry out a sustainability and social impact analysis, assess the benefits of a circular economy-based retail model and investigate ways to preserve these benefits and recognize the ethical and sustainable issues facing the fast fashion sector and how social enterprises are addressing them.

The culture of fast fashion had proven to be dangerous for the environment as it had promoted a culture of consumerism and materialism. It had also increased the landfills in different countries. The need of the hour was to upcycle used and unwanted clothes into new innovative items. This idea had been practically implemented by Mrs Sujata Chatterjee of the Twirl Store, the protagonist of this case study. Chatterjee was a social entrepreneur who recognized the environmental and social problems caused by rapid fashion and abandoned apparel in landfills. She launched the Twirl Store, a social enterprise with the mission of advancing circular economy and sustainability practices in the textile sector. Rural women were economically and culturally empowered by the enterprise’s upcycling of used clothing using their abilities, and a sustainable source of income was created. Finding abandoned clothing, sorting and processing it effectively and locating clients who share her commitment to sustainability were difficult tasks for Chatterjee. Despite the difficulties, the Twirl Store served as an example of how circular economy concepts, cultural sustainability and women’s empowerment might be combined, highlighting the importance of social entrepreneurship in addressing global concerns and fostering positive social effects and economic impact.

This case study is applicable for undergraduate as well as post graduate students of management studies.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Risk identification and qualitative assessment are the learning outcomes.

The Bharat Bijlee Construction Limited (BBCL) was one of the largest construction companies operating in the power sector in India. After successfully completing a few projects in the Middle East, BBCL decided to expand its presence into African region. The BBCL was awarded a $85m contract for three sub-station projects to modernise Algeria’s power grid system by the “Shariket Karhaba Koudiet Eddraouch Spa”, a state-owned company in charge of power generation, transmission and distribution in Algeria.

The project, which is the first of BBCL in Saharan region in Algeria’s, presents many unique situations that company had never encountered before, including sand dunes, severe weather, remote locations, supply chain & logistics, strict contractual deadlines and a high level of construction risk. The project manager for BBCL was sceptic about how well his company would perform under the present project circumstances. How could he better align himself with the client, the various on-site local contractors and the numerous suppliers spread around the world?

The case emphasises the identification of various project risks that the project manager might encounter in the project. What do the PESTLE and ASCE frameworks for risk identification each represent, and how are they helpful for the project team in understanding various risks? How should the project’s qualitative risk assessment be conducted? And how can a heat map be a better tool for comprehending the criticality of each risk in the project?

Undergraduate and post graduate courses in project management, civil engineering and architecture domain.

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CSS 2: Built Environment.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to analyse the path of the entrepreneurship from idea generation to market development to scaling up business, examine the impact of start-ups like Ergos on India’s agriculture value chain, discuss the challenges faced by tech entrepreneurs in growing a business, identify problems solved by Grain Bank Model and evaluate digitisation of farming’s custodial services such as warehousing, market linkages and loans.

The case study discusses how founders of Ergos, India-based leading digital AgriTech start-up, Kishor Kumar Jha and Praveen Kumar, started one of the unique models in the AgriTech landscape in India. After noticing the grim condition of small and marginal farmers in Bihar, India. Kishor and Praveen decided to put their banking and corporate experience to use in the farming sector. Ergos aimed to empower farmers by providing them with a choice on when, how much quantity, and at what price they should sell their farm produce, thus maximising their income. As a result, Ergos launched the grain bank model, which provided farmers with doorstep access of end-to-end post-harvest supply chain solutions by leveraging a robust technology platform to ensure seamless service delivery. Ergos faced many challenges in its journey related to financing, marketing and distribution. Amidst these developments, it remained to be seen how Kishor and Praveen would be able to realise their goal to serve over two million farmers across India by 2025 and create a sustainable income for them through its GrainBank Platform.

This case study was written for use in teaching graduate and postgraduate management courses in entrepreneurship and business strategy.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

The case study can be used for the course of entrepreneurship and is appropriate for postgraduate students. Discussion would be the most appropriate method for teaching this case study. Through Nutan’s words, students could gain a first-hand glimpse into the transformative journey of a rural woman entrepreneur.

In 2018, Nutan Jha embarked on a remarkable journey by establishing Nutan Creations, a micro-enterprise situated in Kharrak village, Jhanjharpur, Bihar (India). This case study aims to achieve multiple objectives: understanding the operational obstacles confronted by a rural woman entrepreneur, acknowledging the inseparable connection between business and social issues in rural contexts, moreover shedding light on the intersection of gender, entrepreneurship and cultural preservation through traditional Madhubani painting art form products. This distinctive combination brings a fresh perspective to the research, offering unique insights into the challenges and triumphs experienced by rural women entrepreneurs. The findings of this case study exemplify the intricate interplay between business and social concerns in rural areas, portraying an inspiring depiction of how determination, adaptability and robust support networks can conquer hurdles and foster transformative changes.

The case study has been designed for the students of business administration and entrepreneurship who have completed their elementary model on marketing comprehend. The students should need to understand the concept of entrepreneurship and the basics of digital marketing strategy to ensure effective learning.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After reading and analyzing this case study, students will be able to describe the challenges of creating an electric vehicle (EV) start-up with the objective of zero-carbon emissions, identify opportunities and challenges for Satyadarshan Technologies & Services (STS) in enhancing the B2B customer base and sales volumes in the EV market, identify and assess government incentives to reinforce STS’s existing EV business and compose an understanding of and determine an ability to use various industrial marketing and promotion strategies for STS in the present environment.

STS was launched in 2020 to provide environmentally conscious urban commuting. Himanshu Purohit, the founder of STS, commenced an e-bicycle assembly unit and produced the first advanced electric drivetrain technology. The vision was to transform how people viewed mobility and make EVs the standard for a healthier globe. Nurturing a start-up with zero-carbon emissions was tedious due to limited infrastructure, high costs, low market acceptance and supply chain constraints. With the relentless pursuit of excellence, STS constantly pushed the boundaries and crossed the break-even ceiling in the year 2022. As a budding player in the souk, the company expected to gain a strong presence in the EV market with particular attention to the B2B customer segment. At the same time, the company aimed to ensure business sustainability by leveraging government incentives. The company needed to expand its corporate sales volume and craft a sustainable competitive advantage. Purohit recognized various challenges to the sustainability of STS that stood between the company's goals and their realization, particularly in achieving a sustainable move in the EV segment. Consequently, Purohit found himself at a critical juncture to pave the path toward the growth of the start-up. Eventually, analysis of the company's business challenges, industrial marketing and promotional strategies required strategic planning to appraise and evaluate the business model.

This case study is designed for new-age Master of Business Administration and executive management programs. It should be used in entrepreneurship and strategic management courses to discuss small innovative e-bike start-ups. This includes conducting a competitive analysis and self-assessing a firm's market-oriented strategies. Prima facie, undergraduate and postgraduate students are beneficiaries of this case. This case study may also be conducive to teaching how to initiate a sustainable and green vehicle business. This case study guides students entering the EV business, addressing industry-specific challenges and conducting market analysis.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to identify and think critically about common business problems and come up with possible solutions, explain how a business owner’s attributes can influence the business decisions they make, use available information to assess the viability and sustainability of a business model/strategy, determine the strengths and weaknesses of a particular marketing strategy and suggest ways to improve it and use the information provided to evaluate the risks and benefits of business growth strategies and determine their appropriateness for specified circumstances.

Mambokadzi is a small business with considerable potential in Zimbabwe’s beauty and personal care industry. The case study spans several years, highlighting Sharon Chingwaro’s journey as she navigates the difficulties of starting and growing a business with limited resources. The case study delves into various aspects of running a small business, such as production, marketing, distribution, human resources and intellectual property. It also discusses the value of resilience and endurance, as well as the need for resourcefulness when starting and growing a business under difficult circumstances. This case study is intended to teach entrepreneurship and marketing strategies to both under- and postgraduate students, with a particular emphasis on the difficulties of starting and growing a business in a limited-resource environment. It has applications in a variety of fields, including entrepreneurship, strategic management and marketing.

This case study is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case study aims to help students/learners to analyse the role of perception and its linkage to an entrepreneur’s decision-making process in setting up a social entrepreneurship venture during the COVID-19 pandemic without any prior entrepreneurial experience; understand the definition and meaning of social enterprises based on concepts/theories of social entrepreneurship; identify if AgriVijay fits the outline of a social enterprise based on its vision, challenges faced and journey as an agriculture-based technology-oriented social venture (AgTech SE); and outline the future path of AgriVijay as an independent business (post its incubation support period) using suitable strategy and funding models related to for-profit social enterprises.

This case study details the fascinating journey of a social AgTech venture – AgriVijay – through the perspectives of the protagonist Vimal Panjwani, a budding agri-business entrepreneur. Fuelled by a desire to empower the farming communities, Panjwani with the support of his dynamic mother, Shobha Chanchlani, embarked on the challenging task of crafting a business model that sought to merge community welfare with profitable enterprise. The case study illuminates the protagonist's background, revealing Panjwani’s motivations, risk-taking tendencies and the pivotal role played by his co-partner and mother, Chanchlani. It also highlights the challenges encountered by the protagonist in setting up a technology-based social entrepreneurship venture along with its success in making a social impact across marginalised farming communities. Through all this, the case study also highlights the major dilemma of the protagonist – that of continuing to balance AgriVijay’s core mission of “empowering the farmers” with profitability and long-term growth beyond its limited incubation support period, and his own dilemma of venturing into a social enterprise as a start-up venture without any prior entrepreneurial experience. The case study through its narrative encourages the readers/learners to understand the evolving dynamics of a nascent social entrepreneurial venture in a developing economy and how such a balanced model can actually be the harbinger of social impact and change in similar economies with large rural farming and marginalised communities.

The case study is most suitable for postgraduate management, weekend executive learning or distance learning students in agri business, sustainable business, social entrepreneurship and allied management domains. It can be used for teaching and learning topics related to entrepreneurship, new venture strategy, leadership and motivation, with a specific focus on agriculture business, agricultural entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and sustainable ventures.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After reading and discussing this case study, students will be able to explain the concept of diffusion of innovation and predict how the passion fruit-infused vinaigrette (PFIV) might spread throughout the Thai market; analyze the market environment for condiments in Thailand and identify specific opportunities that Preedha Vinchit and her team should consider for the successful launch of the PFIV; interpret both qualitative and quantitative data gathered by the new product development (NPD) team and discuss its implications for the product’s market strategy and development; and critique the initial launch plan proposed by Krit Anon, suggest practical strategies and calculate the break-even point necessary to meet the project’s financial goals.

During July 2023, Vinchit, product marketer at the Thani Food Institute (TFI), faced a critical decision regarding the launch of the APFIV. Developed from TFI’s patented passion fruit peel powder, the PFIV offered functional benefits and addressed the sustainable use of passion fruit resources. As COVID-19 restrictions eased, TFI’s board of advisors anticipated a successful market entry for PFIV. Anon, culinologist and chef behind PFIV’s formulation, expressed keen interest in launching it independently with a startup investment of THB 500,000 (US$14,388). Vinchit, with market research and home-use test results indicating positive consumer reception in hand, contemplated whether to proceed with a launch plan of TFI’s design or endorse Anon’s entrepreneurial venture. Critical considerations included market viability, strategic partnerships, target demographics and marketing strategies encompassing pricing, distribution and promotional campaigns. The decision hinged on maximizing PFIV’s market potential amidst Thailand’s robust condiment consumption and growing health awareness.

This case study can be used in undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship, food product development, marketing strategy, market research and innovation on topics including NPD, opportunity identification, concept testing, consumer research analysis, marketing strategy formulation, business/financial analysis and launch strategies. This case study may be more useful in the middle or later parts of a course or module when an instructor is focusing on any or all stages of the NPD process and the strategic decisions, particularly for aspiring entrepreneurs with limited resources. Additionally, students should have developed at least some preliminary understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This case study has been very effective in demonstrating various organizational processes and decision-making tools, which allow students to apply strategy frameworks and systematically evaluate several alternatives.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to identify the strategic key components of the Woolah tea brand through the business model canvas framework, to evaluate the major challenges faced by different stakeholders, to analyse the potential effects of bagless tea dip innovation and understand the principles of design thinking and its application in developing innovative solutions, to assess the strategic framework of Woolah tea brand to scale up its business and operations and to align the Woolah tea brand’s sustainability practices with a triple bottom line approach and contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Upamanyu Borkakoty and Anshuman Bharali, the founder duo of Woolah tea, began their entrepreneurial journey on a noble note. They recognised that plastic tea bags, which customers worldwide consume, create harmful health effects in the form of microplastic. They aimed to provide an authentic and sustainable tea experience while making it microplastic-free. When the world is heading towards securing a sustainable future, they envisioned adding a feather to it by proposing their Truedips. The USP of their product is Truedips – a tea ball they prepare by compressing one bud and two premier leaves. The founders were convinced that their innovative idea of tea consumption would provide customers with an authentic and exhilarating experience. However, there were dilemmas and roadblocks. They faced roadblocks related to the farmer’s traditional approach to growing tea, untrained tea growers, lack of financial assistance and customer readiness for a bagless tea experience. The dilemmas they faced related to their customer acceptance of their idea and the price affordability of the product. The big question hovering around was the customer’s feedback and acceptance of the product.

This case study suits graduate and postgraduate business administration students and other management programmes. The case study can also be used for business, marketing, design thinking, innovation and and social entrepreneurship courses.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to discuss topics such as new venture creation and opportunity sensing, knowledge sharing and employee bonding and the use of social networks in business growth.

This case study focuses on the entrepreneurial journey of Mr Nikhil Methiya, the owner of Dronelab Technology Private Limited, which provides surveying, inspection, agriculture, surveillance and research and development services using drone technologies. This case highlights how Methiya used his minimal resources to grew his business, diversified his activities and developed a sound company profile and work culture to provide the best services to clients. This case also discusses the role of social networks in business growth and expansion, the use of effectuation theory in forming new businesses and the importance of conducting a SWOT analysis to understand a firm’s internal and external environments. Furthermore, this case touches upon the challenges and opportunities of the drone industry in India. It leaves readers in a dilemma should Methiya plan to expand his business to Europe and Africa in the upcoming years. This case study is suitable for postgraduate management students specializing in entrepreneurship and can serve as a valuable resource for the Venture Creation Program’s start-up strategy and execution. The case study’s pedagogy involves discussion-based learning.

This case study can be used in management for an entrepreneurship specialty course. It is ideal for postgraduate students and has a moderate level of difficulty.

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After reading this case study, students will be able to understand the impact of cyber threats on businesses; explore the intersection of innovation and ethical considerations; understand the proactive role of entrepreneurs in identifying gaps in traditional industries, such as insurance, and innovating solutions that align with local dynamics; and learn to formulate strategies addressing cultural factors, market gaps and challenges.

The case study follows Hasnain, a prosperous entrepreneur in Pakistan, who was surprised by the news of a cyberattack on Bank Islami. This event, coupled with a personal data breach in his family’s business, triggered Hasnain’s willingness and interest to address the growing threat of cyber risks and attacks. As the progenitor of a digital solutions startup, he identified a gap in the insurance industry’s replication to cyber threats and envisioned the desideratum for a Sharia-compliant cyber-insurance product withal called cyber risk takaful. The case study explores Hasnain’s journey as he contemplated the challenges of introducing cyber risk takaful – a Sharia-compliant insurance solution for businesses and individuals. Apperceiving the low vigilance and perceived costs associated with cyber insurance, Hasnain faced the dilemma of surmounting these barriers in a country where the penetration of insurance, in general, is already minimal. The story raises critical questions: How can Hasnain efficaciously introduce cyber risk takaful to a market reluctant to embrace cyber insurance? What business strategies should he use to engender vigilance and acceptance of this innovative insurance solution? Will businesses and individuals embrace the concept of cyber risk takaful and recognize its paramount in forfending their digital assets?

This case study is designed to meet the educational needs of both undergraduate and postgraduate students, particularly those enrolled in business administration programs. This case study is tailored for students in the final year of BBA and the first year of MBA programs. It is also well-suited for executive education programs that focus on strategic decision-making in the context of emerging market challenges, such as entrepreneurship and corporate strategy. The case study is particularly relevant for courses centered on entrepreneurship, business strategy, strategic management and corporate strategy.

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After completion of the case study, the students will be able to[1] review the industry analysis using Porter’s five forces and strength, weakness, opportunities, threats framework and understand how a firm can achieve a competitive advantage, analyze the stakeholder theory and the salience of stakeholder mapping for enterprises with large number of stakeholders, apply the Mendelow framework of stakeholder mapping in this context and integrate it with stakeholder engagement for small enterprises and examine and evaluate how new age enterprises can engage better with stakeholders to provide a higher value creation.

Ayushi Srivastava started her enterprise, Beeyond Foods, in early 2021 with the aim to provide unadulterated, raw honey to consumers. She also wanted to help the beekeeping community by providing the beekeepers with a fair price for the procurement of honey from the bee hives. Beeyond Foods was a small enterprise in India that sold two variants of honey to consumers. The first variant was sourced from the Himalayan region of India, whereas the second was sourced from the Western Ghats of India. The primary distribution channel was trade fairs, where Srivastava would assemble her stall and sell honey to potential customers. Furthermore, a part of the sales was also driven by an electronic channel, which was through the company website. Customers could place their orders, and the honey would directly be delivered to their homes. With a successful start to the business, Srivastava was interested to scale her business and reach more customers. However, she was mindful that there were multiple stakeholders involved in the business. Srivastava had to study the values and needs of each stakeholder, while simultaneously formulate a strategy to expand her reach. This case study is designed to teach the concept of stakeholder value creation for small business enterprises.

This case study is well suited for an entrepreneurship and strategy course at the postgraduate (Master of Business Administration) level. This case study can also be taught in a marketing course.

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This case study will help business management students learn the dynamics of distribution management in the rural context. After working through the case and assignment questions, the students will be able to:▪ Understand the transformation of rural retail from traditional models to organized modern retail;▪ Understand the opportunities and challenges of rural markets with specific reference to automobile products;▪ Identify and evaluate the various distribution channels available for rural markets; and▪ Devise a suitable rural-centric distribution model for automobile products following an appropriate logistics system.

Manan Motors, a dealership of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) Private Limited in Hathras City of Uttar Pradesh province in India, has been operating successfully for the past two decades. Mr Manoj Bansal, the director at Manan Motors, was primarily targeting the urban markets with 60% dependency on the scooter portfolio of HMSI. But multiple pressures like stringent vehicle emission norms, price rise of two-wheelers and the impact of the pandemic took a toll upon the urban business of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Limited and subsequently upon Manan Motors. The sales for HMSI dipped from 15,121 million units in 2020–2021 to 13,466 million units in 2021–2022. Consequently, Bansal decided to alter the business strategy of Manan Motors and shift its focus from the urban to the rural territory of Hathras, where it could foresee demand for entry-level two-wheelers (engine capacity between 75 and 110 cc). Rural markets were developing, so Bansal realized that supplying a low-cost, low-end model to the rural Indian market was an opportunity for his dealership. Bansal’s decision to focus on the rural vertical of its two-wheeler business stirred several questions that floated in his mind. Should they manage distribution on their own, or through some channel members, or should they follow a rural-specific modern retail model?

The case study is designed for use by a postgraduate or executive-level audience for subjects such as sales and distribution management, distribution management and rural marketing. Students will understand the concept of distribution management and associated keywords specific to rural markets. The case study provides an opportunity to discuss and decide how a company can penetrate the rural market and also discusses the opportunities and challenges of rural distribution.

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After completion of the case study, the students will be able to analyze the FinTech industry in emerging markets, distinguish the growth strategies for startups in the hyper-growth phase, using the Ansoff matrix, evaluate and select geographical markets for expansion (foreign country selection) and understand the liability of foreignness concept.

In 2015, Islam Shawky, Alain Al-Hajj and Mostafa Menessy founded Paymob in Egypt, a FinTech start-up providing technological and financial solutions to consumers and merchants in the country. The company had grown into one of Egypt’s most prominent digital payment providers by deploying infrastructure and technologies that empower the underserved with access to financial services. In 2021, Paymob had gained a lot of support from venture capital investors that ended with closing the largest in Egypt Series A fund of $18.5m led by Dubai-based venture capital firm Global Ventures. Although Paymob had already reached great success in Egypt, the founders’ vision was to become the regional leader of digital payments, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises. So, they are considering regional markets similar to Egypt’s, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a call with a lot of structure but a lot of competition, and Pakistan, a market with much less competition but relatively unstructured. The founders found themselves in early 2022 deciding between these two markets in preparation for the next round of Series B $50m funding.

This case study can be useful for courses in executive education.

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This case is primarily intended fior students to evolve ideas in context to the challenges catering to a green fashion clothing line selling their products in the emerging economy of India wherein the masses are far behind considering the sustainable value of their products. In response to these challenges, the learners would be able toanalyze the influence of internal and external enhancers and inhibitors on a sustainable fashion brand to improve its scalability; articulate the factors influencing diffusion of sustainable fashion apparel; and formulate a strategic plan to aid in the growth and scalability of the brand and building micro-economies that will thrive in the future.The case also addresses topics like consumer attitude toward sustainable fashion clothing line and pricing challenges faced by such brands in developing economies like India.

This case describes the challenges faced by the co-founders, Sanghamitra and Mayuree, who introduced a sustainable fashion apparel brand called Econic. Marketing and sales of Econic’s products came with a bundle of challenges, and it was not easy to convince customers about the authenticity, quality and pricing of these products. Indian consumers had less awareness of the value of sustainable fashion clothing thereby presenting a huge challenge for Econic to flourish and sell their products in India. Thereafter, the brand aimed at expanding beyond the geographical boundaries of India. This further led Econic to face a cutthroat competition from various established players with comparatively huge market shares. Majority of Econic’s sales arose from expatriates or outlanders. Considering the response of local impediments and constraints from India, Sanghamitra began targeting the foreign markets. She saw global expansion as an opportunity for driving the brand’s growth. Eventually, Econic witnessed nascent success when the founders started exporting their products in the markets of UAE [1] and USA [2]. Contrarily, the brand’s co-founder Mayuree felt that it was too early for the brand to enter international market, and instead, it would be more sensible to focus attention in India itself. The approach of both the co-founders seemed paradoxical. At one point, Econic was facing a fierce local competition for their products. How could the brand increase awareness and acceptance of its products was an area of concern for Sanghamitra. Second, expanding into international market posed certain other challenges. The key dilemmas encountered by the co-founders continued to remain that which growth strategy should Econic adopt; how could Econic ascertain to set foot into which market; what were the likely scalability challenges they faced by entering international market; and what could be the finest marketing strategy for their brand.

The case is relevant for students in disciplines of green marketing, principles and concepts of sustainability, climate change and development, corporate social responsibility, marketing and strategy. It is designed for advanced MBA/PGDM and capstone courses.

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After completion of the case study, students will be able to understand how a business model could use sustainability to develop a brand, assess the marketing logic of a new startup and how that links to marketing plan, identify the relevance and need of a marketing plan in a startup and its growth, understand the differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumers (B2C) business strategy for a new startup and enable the construction of a communication strategy for promoting a brand.

Iro Iro is a circular fashion business founded by Bhaavya Goenka in the year 2018 in Jaipur, India. By early 2023, Goenka had decided to scale her business. But scaling would indicate several decisions she has to make. Firstly, she needed to identify what scaling means in a circular business model (CBM) like Iro Iro. Secondly, she primarily operated in B2C markets; however, she also had a (B2B market through collaboration. This would indicate creating a competition for her own self. How could she still grow while not compromising on her competitive advantage? Should she continue with both B2B and B2C/only B2B/only B2C? Thirdly, she primarily catered to customers who were already sensitive towards conscious or sustainable clothing, but scaling would indicate gearing up marketing and communication skills to reach out to larger customer base. Would the marketing and communication strategies be the same if she continued in the current model/B2B/B2C? This case study thus involves various issues that arise in entrepreneurship management for a small business, such as decisions related to scaling (traditional businesses or adopt different strategy relevant for CBM); business model (B2C vs B2B or both) and how the communication is different in each of the business models.

This case involves various issues that arise in entrepreneurship management for a small circular business, such as decisions related to growth strategy and choice of market between B2B and B2C. The case study is aimed at graduate students in an entrepreneurship progamme. It can also be used as a case study in a sustainable fashion and design course. It could also be taught in a marketing management course as well as may be for new startups.

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Upon completion of this case study, students will be able to understand Recaudo's contribution to sustainability; analyze circular economy principles in Recaudo's operations; understand Recaudo's contributions to Sustainable Development Goals; exploring Recaudo's role in social innovation.

The purpose of this case study is to understand sustainability practices in a Mexican microenterprise that employs fair trade, circular economy and local cuisine. Despite implementing these practices, the founder aims to expand impact and further professionalize them. The study poses questions to enhance her proposals in social innovation and aims to reach business schools and entrepreneurs initiating enterprises.

This case study can be useful for undergraduate students majoring in fields such as business administration, entrepreneurship, sustainability studies and hospitality management; for postgraduate students pursuing advanced degrees in areas like sustainable business management, social entrepreneurship and development studies; and for professionals and practitioners in the restaurant industry, sustainability consulting firms and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focusing on sustainable development.

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This case study aims to simulate the learners’ thoughts about the earnest comprehension of sustainable brands with zero waste policy. It will further prompt them to anatomize the growth strategy of a sustainable brand, as it delineates the challenges faced by a woman ecopreneur. In response to these causative conundrums, the incumbent would be able to develop an understanding on the evolving landscape in context to the association between meeting consumer expectations, brand positioning and its channelization towards growth and revenue generation. Furthermore, the learners will be able to analyse the stages of product life cycle of a sustainable product and recommend an effective strategic plan to meet the consumer expectations and achieve desired growth by the application of Kano model.

Thenga was a home-grown brand from Kerala (God’s own country) founded by Maria Kuriakose, a native of Kerala in 2019. Unlike other brands, which were using coconut as a source of flesh, water and oil, Kuriakose came up with an idea of using the tossed shells of coconuts which eventually used to end up at landfills. These shells were crafted into aesthetics by the team of Thenga while adhering to the zero-waste policy. The brand gained momentum with the overwhelming positive response from the natives of Kerala and carved a way across the boundaries of Kerala, gradually reaching to every corner of India. Kuriakose thought of scaling the brand in the international boundaries as well. Within no time, the brand was a success. However, over the time, the brand was confronted with two broad dilemmas. First, non-uniformity in the sizes of the products, especially in bulk orders where maintaining uniformity was essential. The customers complained that there was no uniformity in the size of the products because for gifting purposes, they wanted all the products to look alike. And second, selecting the stringent quality shells because the ones exposed to sun for a very long time were not ideal for crafting the products due to the cracking of the shells, thereby affecting their durability. It became difficult addressing to these complex issues because the shells were nature’s creations. These issues were very different from the managerial dilemmas. Would the perspectives of management provide a solution? Kuriakose had to find a way out in the long term for the survival of the brand especially during its growth phase.

The case study is relevant for students in disciplines of entrepreneurship, green marketing, brand management, corporate social responsibility and strategy. It is designed for advanced MBA/PGDM and capstone courses. The case study also addresses the elements of customers’ perceptions towards innovative products and can be used as an addition for marketing courses dealing with strategies to improve the awareness and adoption of sustainable products.

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After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand the challenges faced by cocoa farmers in developing countries and their impact on the cocoa value chain, describe the need for a business to create a business model that offers social impact in small developing economies, explore innovative business models, such as vertical integration, for addressing transparency and fair compensation issues in agricultural supply chains, analyze the role that start-ups can play in disrupting the commodities supply chain and building a national competitive advantage and examine how a values-driven business can gain the trust of stakeholders and create a profitable ecosystem.

This case study describes the innovative business model of Inaru Corporation, a pioneering venture founded by two sisters, Janett Liriano and Erika, aimed at revolutionizing the cocoa industry in the Dominican Republic. This case study outlines the challenges faced by cocoa farmers in the country, including low productivity, exploitation by middlemen and lack of value addition. Inaru’s innovative business model aimed to disrupt the traditional supply chains by prioritizing fair compensation for farmers, investing in sustainable practices and vertically integrating cocoa production from farming to manufacturing. Through direct relationships with producers, profit-sharing agreements, and a commitment to ethical business practices, Inaru sought to empower cocoa farmers and cultivate a more equitable and sustainable cocoa industry. Inaru was a model for ethical and caring business practices where it shared the profits with its farmers. By operating a profit-sharing model and sharing its fortune with other women, Inaru was helping create gender equity in the cocoa sector. Inaru planned to scale its business model to other cocoa-producing countries and even transfer its business model strategy to other commodities beginning with the coffee segment in Dominican Republic. By exploring Inaru’s case study, students gain a deep understanding of how businesses can drive positive change, create value for stakeholders and contribute to sustainable development goals.

This case was written for use in teaching graduate and postgraduate management courses in entrepreneurship and economics, politics and business environment.

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The learning objectives of this case study are based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Upon completion of the case study discussion and exercises, successful students will be able to design a leadership transition and succession plan for non-profit organisations; identify and evaluate critical skills and competencies required in leadership positions; and frame expectations and responsibilities for new and departing executives.

Apar Gupta co-founded Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a digital rights organisation born out of SaveTheInternet – Net Neutrality movement of 2015, credited for urging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to uphold net neutrality in India. And ban zero-cost internet services that promoted data discrimination in the country. After working on and winning the net neutrality movement, Gupta identified many areas in technology where democratic rights had not been identified or were yet to be clearly defined (like in the case of net neutrality). There was also a service gap between the existing internet volunteer groups and digital rights organisations, which could IFF fill. This was to provide objective clarity, stakeholder identification, handle policy discussions and, most importantly, arrange resources to support movements over the long term. This prompted him to co-found IFF in 2017, which he later joined as a full-time executive director in 2018. IFF worked at the intersection of technology, democratic rights and government policies and was comparable to some global organisations, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the USA and the Open Rights Group in the UK. Still, none existed in India at the time. After four years as a full-time executive director in 2022, he was convinced that it was finally time for him to act on the pre-defined strategic departure plan and work towards succession for the executive director position. While there were visible gaps in the system, Gupta’s leadership design and plans had helped IFF overcome existential challenges in the past. Also, while digital rights were still at a nascent stage in emerging economies, under Gupta’s leadership, IFF had delivered unmatched value to its beneficiaries in the world’s biggest digital consumer market. However, constant changes in regulations and continuing financial constraints made him nervous about the outcomes of the succession and the overall sustainability of IFF. Gupta wanted to ensure that this phased transition from executive director after two years and then trustee manager after the next four years are carefully communicated to reduce the likelihood of attrition and loss of trust.

Being the co-founder and the first and only executive director IFF had seen, the organisation would also require significant skill and competency mapping to identify the new executive leadership. But with no clear internal successor in sight, the non-profit trust would also need a successor who not only was competent but also would share a passion for the type of work done by IFF, its unique delivery mode, and also would openly inherit its position in society. The other alternative strategic routes present were to look for dual leadership or interim leadership, but then there could be concerns about Gupta’s influence overshadowing any such alternative.

In the case scenario, IFF is planning for succession while navigating the organisation through financial constraints and constant regulatory changes to ensure long- and short-term sustainability.

The case study has been written to gain insights into departure-defined successive planning in non-profit organisations. The case study can also be used to gain insights into innovative start-ups and innovative non-profit start-ups, as digital rights are still at nascent stages in emerging markets. The case study will be valuable for courses such as human resource management, strategic human resource management, social entrepreneurial leadership, leadership development, start-up environment, innovation and entrepreneurship, public policy, development studies, cyber security and information technology. The case study also allows students and young professionals to take the perspective of an innovative start-up founder and design a departure-defined succession plan. The case study can also be useful for senior students wanting to undertake an entrepreneurial career by starting or joining a non-profit organisation. While the case study is suitable for postgraduate- and executive-level courses, it can also be used for conducting entrepreneurial workshops and skill training.

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The primary objective of this case was to grant the students an exposure to the students regarding how to manage a retail business during an economic crisis. In this case, all three of the aforementioned objectives as the students were given opportunity to dissect the business process through business model canvas, find out the key success factors and more importantly, were encouraged towards cost cutting behaviour by presenting the real-life dilemmas that were faced by an actual entrepreneur. Furthermore, the students were shown the importance of stakeholder management through this case, as support is very much needed for the retailers from macro-economic and micro-economic level.

This case study is the story of Global Gadget Limited, a premium retailer of cell phones and other relevant devises, which is located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The story is revolving around the challenge that Mr Shahadat Hossain Dipto, the owner of Global Gadget is facing over the past two years. Dipto mainly runs his business by selling budget phones from brands like Oppo, Xiaomi, Samsung and Vivo to the middle class and lower middle-class people of Bangladesh, who are very much cost conscious. To persuade these customers to buy his phones, he offers discounts, free gifts, equated monthly instalment services (a monthly instalment plan for the customers who cannot afford to pay the full amount when buying the phone) and sometimes even lottery. In the process, if he can sell more phones, these brands reward him with attractive commissions and all the necessary supports that help him run the business with marginal profit. However, due to the Russia–Ukraine war, he is now in crisis as the resulting economic crisis is causing a price increase on these phones, while drying out his customer’s pockets. This case study is designed to teach the students the importance of product segmentation, inventory management, cost management and relationship management to the students and future entrepreneur, so that they can understand, what does it take for an entrepreneur to survive an economic crisis.

This case study is aimed at undergraduate, masters’ students in business schools and Master of Business Administration students or short course executives and for the students of entrepreneurship education programme.

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After completion of the case study, the participants will be able to understand the significance of quality as a pivotal domain within project management and to analyze the issues related to quality and offer logical solutions.

In this case, the Bharat Bijlee Construction Limited (BBCL) group, with a proven track record of over five decades in the transmission and distribution business in India, decided to venture into international projects, considering the prevailing stagnant domestic power sector. They secured contracts worth $85m from the “Shariket Karhaba Koudiet Eddraouch Spa,” a state-owned company responsible for power generation, transmission and distribution in Algeria. However, during the execution phase of these projects, BBCL encountered significant challenges related to product and service quality. These challenges arose due to the tight schedule constraints and cost considerations, as well as a lack of understanding of the dynamics involved in executing international projects, especially in the demanding conditions of the sub-Saharan desert. This case study addresses the complex issue of ensuring and maintaining high-quality standards in large-scale substation projects situated in the challenging environment of the sub-Saharan desert, highlighting the importance of effective project management and international project execution expertise. The case study is from quality management knowledge area and focuses on identification of root cause of quality noncompliance and for better decision-making in projects.

The teaching case is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in project management, civil engineering and architecture domain. The participants will be able to understand the application of various quality tools, statistical process tools and control charts in problem identification, categorization, root cause identification and decision-making.

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After completion of the case study, the students will be able to appraise the importance of different methods of location planning in warehouse selection, analyze the load distance values for warehouse location and choose the optimum location based on the load distance analysis.

DB Builders, a prominent Indian construction company, faced a crucial decision in selecting an ideal storage warehouse for a project involving 100 flats spread across five locations. Mr Vijay Kumar, an experienced material handling expert, was entrusted with this task as part of transitioning the company’s material allocation system toward centralization. Using practical travel distances, Kumar meticulously scouted four potential warehouse locations. The selection process hinged on three primary factors: load, distance to apartment sites, safety and cost of the premises, each carrying specific weightage. The project planning department provided scores for safety and cost, helping evaluate the options. This unique challenge arises due to varying material requirements across the apartment locations, demanding an efficient warehouse planning. The selection of the optimal storage warehouse holds paramount importance in facilitating the smooth execution of these larger projects. Kumar’s expertise and strategic decision-making are pivotal in ensuring a seamless transition toward centralized material handling, which is essential for the company’s future success.

This teaching activity is aimed at introductory/basic courses in Bachelors and Masters of Business administration.

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After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand ABC analysis and develop a systematic approach using PDCA, analyze processes, technology, employee training and supplier relationships when analyzing shrink and developing solutions, evaluate how technology improves production inventory control and visibility and recognize the importance of fostering a culture of employee accountability and ownership to minimize inventory loss and improve overall operational efficiency.

On June 2, 2023, sitting in his office in Karachi, Pakistan, Khan Aamir, the manager of store and inventory at Euro Manufacturing, found himself immersed in a cloud of confusion. The incessant loss of inventory items, particularly the nut bolts and small accessories, had become a perplexing challenge. To address these losses and provide a cycle count report to the director of supply chain, Aamir, manager of store and inventory, was given the responsibility to take action. He was looking for a comprehensive approach to address the current problems and prevent further losses in the future. This case study examines the various reasons for the losses, including theft, inadequate inventory control methods, human error and problems with suppliers. It highlights the importance of established procedures, the use of technology (such as barcode scanning, radio-frequency identification tagging and inventory management software) and the cultivation of a culture of accountability among employees.

This case study is developed for class discussion in the course of operations management or supply chain management. This case study is suitable for use with undergrad students. This case study can be taught in a module on operations management or supply chain management, as part of a broader course in business management or industrial engineering.

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After completion of the case study, students will be able to understand key stakeholders’ current and future role in a family business using techniques like Gersick 3 Axes Model, understand the power dynamics in a family business, understand the power struggles seen in the family business and understand the challenges in the implementation of a deed of family settlement (DFS) with multiple stakeholders.

Kirloskar group was established in 1888 by Laxmanrao Kirloskar. He started with farm manufacturing equipment and later diversified into various kinds of engine manufacturing units. Kirloskar Group today is an Indian conglomerate multinational company with its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra; India exports to more than 70 countries, most of which are from Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. The group was managed as a cohesive unit until Chandrakant Kirloskar was at the helm as the chairman. Each brother’s family was managing a business and companies in the fold in which they started. The Kirloskar Group had first split in 2000 when Bengaluru-based Vijay Kirloskar (Ravindra Kirloskar’s son, fourth son of Laxmanrao Kirloskar) moved out of the group with Kirloskar Electrical while the Pune-based Kirloskar brothers moved out with Kirloskar Oil Engine Engines, Kirloskar Brothers, Kirloskar Pneumatics and related subsidiaries. In 2009, a DFS was signed among the family members, including a noncompete clause against each other regarding the usage of the Kirloskar brand name and the tagline “Kirloskar Enriching Lives.” The current dispute started in 2020 when first Vijay filed a suit against his nephews regarding illegal usage of the Kirloskar brand name for the companies not eligible to use it and second when Sanjay Kirloskar also filed a similar lawsuit against his brothers for illegally using the brand name and violating the noncompete clause. The high court, in its judgment, sent the case for arbitration, but Sanjay approached the Supreme Court of India regarding the stipulated arbitration process. With both sides taking a hard stance, there did not seem to be a quick resolution to this dispute.

This case study is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate level in entrepreneurship course and family business course.

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After completion of the case study, students will be able to decipher key concepts underpinning sustainable entrepreneurship and its application in the recognition and exploitation of sustainable business opportunities, decipher the application of circular economy business models, understand the pivots to achieve the billion-dollar valuation and analyse the strategies for value creation during the pivoting journey of a startup.

The case study traces the journey of Phool.Co, a sustainable biomaterial startup based in a Tier II city of Kanpur located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, by Ankit Agarwal in 2017. Agarwal started with the vision of providing solution to the effects of water pollution and environmental damage. Ganga is not just a river, rather it is the symbol of cultural and religious faith in India. Although the river Ganga is considered a deity in India, it is one of the most polluted rivers. Every year 8,000,000 metric tonnes of waste flowers are dumped into the sacred river to pollute it further. The pollution poses grave dangers to the health and livelihood of millions of Indians. Phool.Co is a sustainable enterprise that has pioneered flower cycling technology. The dumped flowers are recycled to produce organic incense sticks, Florafoam, and “Fleather – the organic alternative to leather”. The case study traces the genesis of Phool.Co and its approach towards sustainability in the context of the circular economy. The case study primarily explores the pivot points for a startup to enter the unicorn club in the present context. To achieve the desired valuation, Agarwal must decide to rethink its business model. Will franchise model work for Phool.Co? Should Agarwal scale up with commercialization of Florafoam to capitalize the opportunity in packaging industry? Vegan leather is a nascent market and how will the consumers respond to Fleather is a pertinent question. The case study attempts to explore the challenges encountered in augmenting the valuation of sustainable enterprises.

This case study is suitable for graduate and postgraduate students enrolled in courses related to entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability. The case study is of intermediate-level difficulty. There are no specific prerequisites to understand the case.

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This case study seeks to develop the analytical and critical thinking skills of the students so that they can not only understand and carry out a comprehensive diagnosis of the case in its facets of entrepreneurship but also see reflected the inherent difficulties of the process and how these can be overcome, based on available resources and capabilities. In the same way, it seeks to develop students’ capacity for critical analysis when making a decision in which, on the one hand, there is a very large market potential that they can try to exploit, taking into account the political transformation that modifies the rules of the game with which the business began, in addition, of course, to the case of a security breach specified in the case and, on the other hand, the possibility of resigning, avoiding greater losses.

This case study exposes the situation of the company Max Drone Venezuela, which had been dedicated to the service, repair and training of drones. This family-owned company had gone through a series of stages that clearly exemplified how environmental factors served to identify opportunities in the early stages of the business, promote strategic actions to maintain itself, guide the course to sustain itself and seek development in hostile environments.

Given the characteristics of this case study, it can be used for the teaching and learning of business or business administration, marketing, economics or related students, at higher or postgraduate levels (graduate school).

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CSS3: Entrepreneurship.

This case aims to study the growth, evolution, and social innovation of iThrive Games, a socially minded initiative that aims to create meaningful opportunities using technology for teens to enhance the knowledge, mindsets, and skills they need to thrive through development and across the continuum of mental disorder to wellness. iThrive's focus has been on creating “meaningful games”—that is, games that promote health and well-being of teen players. Founded in 2014 by Dorothy Batten, President of DN Batten Foundation, the organization's mission was to collaborate with game developers, partner with teens across the game development cycle (ideation to testing), and provide resources to foster teen thriving through gameplay. To do so, the organization took a unique social entrepreneurial approach. Drawing on a positive psychology framework and building the brand among key stakeholders including game developers, researchers, funders, youth, educators, and parents, the organization orchestrated a community dedicated to advancing the meaningful games field, and in doing so, have widespread impact.

Suning Group launched Suning.com when its chain stores were developing at the highest speed, realizing the transformation to an Internet retailer. Suning continued to follow the growth strategy of “Technological transformation and Smart Services”, and was renamed Suning Commerce Co. Ltd. It launched a business model of “e-commerce + stores + retail service providers”. Riding on the brand new O2O business model, Suning is thinking and practicing from simple donation to actual implementation, from constructing public welfare network to extending CSR ecosystem in a bid to advance towards deeper and more extensive Internet economy, and to create greater social value.

This short case challenges students to review an array of corporate financial metrics and to match them to one of 13 listed industries. As such, students must use their intuition and common sense pertaining to the distinctive characteristics of, and the key differences between, the 13 named industries, and then identify the financial metrics that are most indicative of those traits.

This case studies the growth of OYO Hotels (OYO) to illustrate the operational processes necessary to succeed in the service sector. The case allows for a discussion of employee- and customer-management systems, tech-driven solutions, and profit drivers. The material unfolds OYO's growth and its solution for making economy hotels discoverable and bookable online.

The case raises a series of questions around OYO's business model, its ability to translate across global markets, and growth potential. It has been successfully taught in a second-year MBA class on the management of service operations.

This case is used in Darden's required first-year course, “Strategic Thinking and Action.”

In 2015, Steve and Heidi Crandall, the founders of Devils Backbone Brewing, LLC (DBB), were looking back on eight years of unanticipated success and significant growth. DBB had created a destination, a brand, and beer that drew people from all over, and it was the largest craft brewery in its region. The entire community, not just loyal beer drinkers, had supported DBB. In addition to funding and zoning accommodations, so many local residents had built their own economic lives around what had been their “little brewery that could.”

But the success had brought challenges, specifically in terms of growth. DBB was consistently not meeting demand in its existing markets and was receiving complaints about out-of-stocks. The Crandalls and their team had to figure out how to grow with, or preferably ahead of, demand for DBB's product. Should DBB build further capacity despite an already exhausted line of credit? Should it employ a contract brewer despite the local authenticity concerns such a move might stir up? Or should it just keep trying to manage business within its existing footprint, comfortably serving its loyal customer base?

Dialogue in Darkness (DID) is a global social enterprise, which provides products and services such as workshops, exhibitions and activities in the dark in China. The corporate workshops are designed for companies, institutions and government agencies to provide unique leadership training and some other training in teamwork, communication, innovation and change management. And education workshops are aimed at providing young people with unique leadership training and training in teamwork, innovation and empathy and so on for the educational institutions. Over the past five years, DID, headquartered in Shanghai, has expanded to Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen, realizing strategic coverage of East, West, North and South of China. DID achieved break-even within less than one year since its inception. Its sound and healthy development offers an innovative way for the sustainable development of social enterprises.

The learning outcomes of this study are to identify and discuss ways in which energy consumption in a residential educational institute can be reduced by improving demand-side energy management for sustainable development; summarise the challenges that an institute faces in transitioning to a more environmentally friendly mode of operations concerning energy management; illustrate the difference between operating expense and capital expenditure methods used for solar rooftop projects from the perspective of Goa Institute of Management (GIM); and analyse different project proposals for solar rooftop power generation energy using capital budgeting techniques.

Dr Ajit Parulekar, director at GIM, was evaluating the steps taken over the past few years for sustainable energy management to understand their impact and consider ways in which to take the environmental sustainability agenda forward. One of the projects that he was considering was the rooftop solar power plant. GIM had received proposals from several different vendors and evaluated three proposals out of these. He needed to decide on the capacity of the rooftop solar power generation and the type of contract that he should get into for the implementation of the project. This case study describes the differences and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of all the mentioned models with respect to GIM.

This case study is suitable for post-graduate level management students, as well as for undergraduate-level finance and management students.

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CSS4: Environmental management.

The expected learning outcomes are to understand key frameworks and tools for global leaders through the application of widely used theoretical frameworks on a written business case, understand the role of the leader in a team, apply theories of change to situations to anticipate courses of events and evaluate and apply relevant theory to assess a leader’s character and personality.

Hassan Allam Holding (HAH) was a family-owned Egyptian engineering, construction and infrastructure company managed by co-Chief Executive Officers and brothers Amr and Hassan Allam. HAH experienced significant growth and success, but eventually, it reached a point where its family governance structure could no longer sustain further growth. Amr and Hassan realized this and started planning to transition toward a corporate governance structure. In 2016, they managed to get the International Finance Corporation on board as an equity partner, and this helped propel the governance transition, but they still needed to find a way to convince the family to step back. This case study can help students understand the issues that may occur during a change within an established organization of any size. The case study considers the implications the change may have on the leader, his personality and his character and how it shapes the leader in question as an outcome. This case study has been designed to be used in one or two sessions and can be offered in management or leadership courses at an undergraduate or graduate level.

This case study is intended for graduate and undergraduate students studying a leadership or management course. It can help students comprehend the challenges of a family-owned business and how change is associated with such businesses. The case also considers how leaders are shaped by effectively managing conflict. This case can be considered as Level 1 on a 1–3 scale, as the full description of the situation is given in the case and the task of the students is to analyze the leader and his decisions using various academic concepts and theories (Erskin et al., 2003).

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

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

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

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

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to identify and discuss competition using Porter’s five forces, analyse and understand the enablers and challenges that impacted Rocky Brands’ growth and recommend a solution in relation to Rocky Brands’ growth strategy.

This case study investigates Rocky Brands, a South African manufacturer and distributor of cleaning products in the retail market. The case was set in November 2022 and highlights the important events ranging from the company’s founding in 2011 up until 2022. This case aims to study strategy in the South African fast moving consumer goods industry. At the time of writing the case study, Rocky Brands was operating across South Africa, with their main manufacturing warehouse in Johannesburg and a subsidiary manufacturing warehouse in Durban. They were changing the Durban warehouse to a distribution warehouse, as they planned to manufacture primarily from a bigger warehouse in Johannesburg. Rishav Juglall, the main protagonist, is the founder and managing director of Rocky Brands. Rocky Brands imports and redistributes several of the brands that the company sells, including Weiman’s, Wright’s and Goo Gone. They also manufacture their own line of products in South Africa under the Oakmont brand. Juglall acknowledges that their sales and revenue have grown yearly, but they have recently saturated the market and reached a plateau. Juglall needs to determine whether he should diversify into Africa, expand his product range or enter the market for private label cleaning products.

The case study’s primary focus is on strategy in an emerging market. This case study is suited to undergraduate students studying Porter’s five competitive forces, SWOT analysis (see teaching note exhibit) or the Ansoff matrix in the fields of strategy, marketing or macroeconomics. This case study can be taught in courses such as decision-making, environment of business, leadership or strategic implementation. The case study will teach students how to apply the frameworks to a business and assist students in determining which option is best for the business.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This short case could be handed out at the end of class discussion on “J&L Railroad” [UVA-F-1053] in preparation for the following class, or if students are more experienced with hedging and option pricing, the instructor may choose to cover both cases in a single class period. It is the companion case to “J&L Railroad” [UVA-F-1053], and presents more technical issues regarding the hedging problem by requiring students to understand option-pricing principles. The board likes the CFO's hedging recommendations, but it wants a more careful analysis of the bank's prices for its risk-management products: the caps and floors. Besides demanding an understanding of option pricing, this case puts particular emphasis on the calculation and use of implied volatility.

This case study outlines the strategic and organisational issues faced by an entrepreneurial firm operating in an emerging economy. This case study has been written to equip students with how entrepreneurs can overcome certain barriers and use technology to achieve product–market fit, taking the Indian laundry sector as an example. The following are the key learnings for the case: start-ups need to continuously assess the product–market fit to organise a highly unorganised sector; market entry and expansion modes require proper evaluation of available entry and expansion modes before pursual; franchising decisions require firm-specific and location-specific considerations; and careful consideration given to celebrity endorsement will result in increased sales.

The Indian laundry market was a highly unorganised market and presented an untapped opportunity. While the market opportunity was enormous, the existing solutions comprised local vendors that may not provide end-to-end services (washing, ironing, etc.). The case study described how a young entrepreneur, Arunabh Sinha, overcame certain challenges to achieve a product–market fit for metro cities and later expanded to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India as well. However, the challenges remained, as the firm expanded by using a franchise model, and other modes of business were required to be evaluated as well.

The case study is suitable for students pursuing MBA courses in marketing, service marketing and entrepreneurship development.

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CSS3: Entrepreneurship.