Case studies

After completion of the case study, students will be able to identify and discuss ways in which informal financing of the kind discussed in the case study can provide new or different opportunities for access to alternative financing schemes; assess the role of“social capital” in micro and small business development and to understand and apply the role of social capital for female entrepreneurs in the Global South; critically analyse and reflect on the new role of digital technologies in challenging traditional patriarchal social norms and exclusion and ultimately be able to evaluate the role of digital technologies in terms of its practical implications for female entrepreneurs; and understand the role played by socio-cultural and historical contexts in female-owned/managed businesses within informal sectors of the economy. Furthermore, the students should be able to discuss how these contexts provide opportunities or challenges for actionable/robust/relevant business plans for female entrepreneurs.

This case study aims to create a platform for classroom conversations around: context of entrepreneurship in informal economies, challenges of accessing finance, women entrepreneurship, opportunities of digital entrepreneurship and resource acquisition and social capital. Overall, this case study intends to inspire and cultivate additional voices to advance authentic understanding of informal business practices in the financial sector that go beyond traditional formal western settings. This case study is based on a true story relating to the “sou-sou” financing system – an informal financing scheme – originating from West Africa which has been transported to other parts of the world including Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and other parts of Africa. The characters involve Maria, the main protagonist; Eunice, from LAC; and Fidelia from West Africa. With first-hand information from Eunice and Fidelia, Maria learnt about the ideological principles and the offerings of flexibility, trust, mutual benefits and kinship of the sou-sou system and was inspired to integrate digital technologies as a sustainable game changer for accessing microfinance. This case study draws on the contextual understanding of the economy in the Global South as well as the gender-based aspects of entrepreneurship as key aspects of women entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurship. The sou-sou system is presented as a practical solution to the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the Global South to access finances, and the integration of digital technologies is considered instrumental not only in reinforcing the traditional system but also in transforming the entrepreneurial prospects for these women.

This teaching activity is aimed at postgraduate students in Master of Management and Master of Business Administration programmes. It can also be used for short executive courses, specialised PhD seminars and advanced bachelor programmes. This case study could be taught in the field of entrepreneurship in areas related to technology, gender, women entrepreneurship and financing in the context of the Global South.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, the students will learn about the blue ocean strategies that are adopted by entrepreneurs when they are entering into a new business territory and be able to perform an industry analysis and understand the competitive advantage that a firm possesses in a new market using Porter’s five forces framework.

This case study is about Sushant, an entrepreneur, who started his entrepreneurial venture in water sports tourism along the coastlines of India. His core business was into offering kayaking and camping activities. However, he planned to scale up his business by expanding its geographical reach. To fulfill this, he was also planning to manufacture his own kayaks, which would increase economies of scale in the long run. This case study investigates the dilemma of whether he should first increase his service offerings before expanding geographically or focus on geographical expansion and then increase service offerings.

This case is designed to be taught at the post-graduate level (Master of Business Administration) for an entrepreneurship course.

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After completion of the case study, the students would be able to comprehend the crisis at hand for Milkbasket, why did it resist Reliance’s takeover in the first place, then to evaluate the pros-cons and future prospects for the organization post-acquisition; to evaluate from an ethical standpoint the process of mergers and acquisitions using ethical frameworks to understand how, when, to whom and through what processes do mergers and acquisitions qualify the test of being ethical; and to analyse different hostile takeovers, especially through tender offers, proxy contests and toehold bidding strategy in this case.

Founded in 2015, Milkbasket was a micro-delivery start-up based in Gurugram (near New Delhi), India. Milkbasket would let its subscribers order till midnight and deliver groceries, milk and other everyday essentials to its subscribers before 7 a.m. next day. It had burnt a lot of cash and was facing difficulty in getting investors; as such they were engaged in discussions with many companies. Two of them – Reliance Retail Venture Limited and BigBasket – were not accepting the proposed valuation, but Milkbasket got term sheets from other two companies.

This case study can be used for graduate courses on strategic management, business ethics and corporate governance. This case study can also be used in corporate finance course to highlight the importance of making ethical/responsible judgements to protect stakeholder interests.

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The key learning objectives are as follows: analyze Mamaearth’s growth trajectory in the Indian market, illustrate the meaning of a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand, analyze the importance of social media in building a D2C brand, analyze the challenges and advantages associated with a D2C brand, analyze growth and expansion options available with Mamaearth and evaluate the strategies for Indian start-ups in the beauty and personal care space.

In 2016, what began as a quest to find safe baby care products for the first-time parents Varun and Ghazal, turned into an entrepreneurial opportunity. The couple started Honasa Consumer Private Limited at Gurugram, which owned the brand Mamaearth. Conceived as a D2C brand for mothers opposed to harsh baby care products, it debuted with just six baby care products with exclusive online availability. For the brand to grow, it recreated the marketing mix to be perceived as a brand for all ages. The step successfully garnered a customer base of over 1.5 million consumers in 500 cities and a valuation of INR 1bn within four years of operations. In February 2021, Mamaearth became a brand with INR 5bn annualized revenue run rate and aspired to double it to INR 10bn by 2023. Though Mamaearth debuted as a D2C brand, after tapping around 10,000 retail stores, the Alaghs realized that many consumers still preferred transacting in the offline space. Alaghs decided to expand by acquiring a robust offline space in 100 smart cities in India. Would it be wise for Mamaearth to take forward their offline expansion plans? Alternatively, would an aggressive product innovation coupled with a more substantial online presence be a more sustainable proposition?

The case study is appropriate for Post Graduate Diploma in Management/Master of Business Administration level courses of second year in strategic brand management, digital marketing, integrated marketing communication and marketing strategy. The case stuudy may also be useful for prospective entrepreneurs planning to embark upon a D2C venture. The case study elaborates on the emergence, marketing and branding of Mamaearth. The case study helps students understand the meaning of a D2C brand and the growth options available in the Indian market for a D2C brand from the perspective of Mamaearth.

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The learning outcomes of this study are to recall the fundamental concept of revenue management in the hotel industry (remembering); explain the various performance measures used to evaluate room revenue in hotels (understanding); use revenue management strategies to improve room revenue in hotel operations (applying); and examine and evaluate the optimal solution for revenue enhancement, considering factors such as capacity management, duration control and differential pricing (analyzing).

This case study delves into the challenges faced by Hotel King’s Cross, a business hotel located in Pune, Maharashtra, in the year 2022. A week before Christmas Eve, Soham Dande, the hotel’s revenue manager, sought a meeting with Rohan Chopra, the director of sales and marketing, to discuss “revenue optimization for the hotel.”

During their meeting, Dande mentioned that the hotel had fallen behind its budgeted room sales targets for 2022 across various metrics, such as room booking nights, occupancy percentage, average room rate and revenue per available room. Furthermore, the hotel was trailing behind its competitors. The situation was compounded by the management’s decision to raise the targets for 2023 by 5%–7%, factoring in upcoming events, competitive performance and pandemic-related losses over the past two years. Chopra faced the dilemma of formulating an action plan to achieve the ambitious 2023 targets and establish Hotel King’s Cross as a market leader.

Students undertaking executive development programs and graduate-level courses in non-profit hospitality and tourism management, as well as revenue management courses in the executive MBA, management development and graduate MBA programs, may all benefit from this case study.

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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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After completion of the case study, students will be able to evaluate the journey of launching a business in an emerging market context and judge how opportunities and challenges can be navigated to build sustainable enterprises; assess the relevance of individual attributes and process skills that are necessary for entrepreneurial agency to transform social structures through entrepreneurial action; formulate an argument highlighting the role of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in growing a competitive business in an emerging market context; make an informed decision and critique how accelerators and incubators affect the development of ideas and access to finance in South Africa; and propose various strategic options available for technology entrepreneurs, considering the challenges they face in emerging economies.

In April 2023, Queen Ndlovu, CEO and founder of QP Drone Tech, a provider of drone business solutions, was considering options to fulfil her original dream of manufacturing drones in South Africa. She had encountered obstacles to achieving the same in 2019, and had decided to focus on providing commercial drone consulting services. However, her dream had not extinguished, and in 2022, she decided to restart her efforts. She found practical support from The Innovation Hub, an incubator that was supporting her business, which enabled her to enhance the prototype of her drone. She then had to think about how she would manufacture drones locally by ensuring she had access to production infrastructure, funding, partners and customers. Would she be able to gain a competitive advantage that would differentiate her from competitors? Or should she reconsider whether she should be manufacturing in the first place, as there are risks and benefits for smaller businesses in this regard.

This case is intended for discussion in postgraduate diploma in business and Master of Business Administration courses.

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This case study aims to understand the role of women entrepreneurship that reconcile the interests of not only business but also the economy as a whole; to map the most common avenues and levers as well as challenges and impediments in entrepreneurship; and to study how women have proved themselves and created value (for company as well as consumer) and driven leadership in business.

This case study predominantly is an entrepreneurial journey of the protagonist who left her cushy job to follow her dreams and started her own venture in hospitality industry. The case is designed on the basis of rounds of interviews conducted with the owner, hence it is based on primary data. Jayanti Kathale, a technology expert, working with a reputed organization, started Purna Bramha in 2013. The unique selling proposition of her food business was the home-like taste of the Marathi cuisine that she was serving. There were challenges like funding, logistics and pricing just like any other start-up. But Jayanti was determined to excel and her perseverance helped her get through all the challenges. Besides being a successful entrepreneur herself, she played a role in empowering other women also, by offering them franchisees of her restaurant. The food service industry is fast-paced, competitive and constantly evolving. This is taken well into consideration and proper training is organized for the staff. The protagonist's main quandary at this time is her pricing strategy.

The case is designed to be taught to the undergraduate and postgraduate management students and any other equivalent course. It can be taught in 2-h class and is expected to require some outside preparation by students. The students should be acquainted with the basic concepts of entrepreneurship and organizational culture in India. The instructor should focus on two aspects in the case. The broader aspect is Entrepreneurship in India and the narrower and more focused ones like Women Leadership.

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The learning outcomes of this study are to understand the theory of constraints and related concepts, to evaluate constraints impeding organizational growth and to develop a solution addressing the constraints in the best possible way.

Bottlenecks or constraints impede an organization from reaching its full potential, thus having implications for the internal and external functionalities of the organization. Internally, many resources remain idle or deteriorate, as constraints always hamper the overall capacity. Externally, the organization might lose the customer for not fulfilling their demands. The organization may be unable to procure the raw material at economical prices from the suppliers, as large-quantity orders may not be placed. This case was designed to make students understand the theory of constraints (TOC) and related concepts. The TOC framework was a management philosophy developed by Dr Eliyahu Goldratt and popularly mentioned in his book The Goal. This case study considered a dairy plant as its central focus. The protagonist was challenged by the existing constraints in his dairy plant, and his dilemmas were introduced. The dairy processes were discussed, followed by details of supplies made to the dairy plant regularly. The capacity constraints at different levels were mentioned. The case also discussed the quick fixes adopted by the dairy to overcome the constraints. Finally, this case ended with a dilemma presented before the protagonist and a dire need for a solution thereafter.

This case was appropriate for introducing TOC to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in operations management, logistics and supply chain management and general management.

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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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