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This paper aims to explain the theory of stakeholder, value chain analysis and triple bottom line sustainability approach.

The present case was developed from both primary and secondary data sources. The primary sources included visits to Global Enterprises and collected data through a structured interview. The secondary sources included enterprise annual reports and websites.

This case presents the innovative approach adopted by a for-profit social enterprise, utilizing locally available resources, changed products and an improved business model to deliver the desired social impact. It highlights the challenges social entrepreneurs face and how the people at the grass-root level are uplifted through the success of a social entrepreneurial venture. The case study is based on an interview conducted with the founder and managing director of Global Enterprises and other stakeholders (farmers, women artisans and employees). An interview schedule was used for conducting the interviews. The researchers tried to understand the business model deployed, stakeholders involved, challenges faced, competencies needed and strategic decisions made by the social entrepreneur that helped the enterprise become sustainable. The social problems identified by the entrepreneur include unavailability of quality raw material at a reasonable price on time; financial scarcity and massive dependence on non-institutional financial sources; lack of product development, market research and production; and the high price of handmade products compared to factory-made products. The case explains how the entrepreneur addressed the problems of cotton farmers, women artisans and local youths through his enterprise. The case also explains how he could make a social venture sustainable in the long run.

This case targets graduate-level students and is designed to be taught in Entrepreneurship, Social entrepreneurship, Rural entrepreneurship, Business administration and Entrepreneurship development. It can also be used for other programmes, where problem identification, opportunity recognition, stakeholder analysis and porter's value chain analysis are taught.

In 2007, Dr. Biwang Jiang, a scientist, returned to China to establish NanoMicro. For the first decade, he exemplified the spirit of a scientist by focusing intensively on the field of nanospheres. His perseverance in research and his breakthroughs in leading international technologies allowed him to identify two major application areas: flat panel displays and biopharmaceuticals. The flat panel display business helped his startup survive the initial years, while the rise of the biopharmaceutical sector provided the growth needed for the company's eventual listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Sci-Tech Innovation Board (SSE STAR Market). What distinguishes entrepreneurship by scientists? Should technology-driven companies find markets for their technologies, or should they develop technologies to meet market demands?

On April 22, 2005, Maytag Corporation's stock price fell 28 percent after the company reported disappointing first-quarter results and significantly reduced its earnings outlook for 2005. The company's sales were declining due to increased foreign competition and its production costs were increasing due to higher energy, materials, and distribution costs. Maytag's management and board clearly understood the need to make strategic decisions to turn around the fate of their company. Maytag could propose a drastic turnaround plan and remain independent, sell itself to either a large domestic competitor such as Whirlpool or a foreign firm such as Haier, or it could choose to go private by selling to a financial buyer (Ripplewood).

This case is designed to introduce and to practice concepts relating to the valuation of an acquisition target from the perspectives of a strategic investor and a private equity (leveraged buyout) firm. More specifically, the exercise is intended to address: (1) corporate strategy relating to takeover contests, (2) sources of value creation in acquisitions, and (3) valuation methodologies used to determine target company values.

This case is based on an in-depth interview with Sean Ansett on March 6, 2020 in San Francisco. For a good reference book on the interview method in social science, please see Seidman (2019). Ansett is an alumnus of the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University. A follow-up interview was conducted on December 13, 2021, via Zoom. The case situations are factual, but the names of the luxury brand, the factory and the Tunisian social auditing firm were disguised. Selected video clips of the interviews are available upon request.

In 2010, Sean Ansett, a social auditor with more than 25 years of experience in promoting workers’ rights in the global supply chain, faced a momentous decision. He was hired by a luxury brand company to conduct a social audit of a Tunisian leather goods factory. During his visit to the factory, he observed the troubling signs of child labor and alarming health and safety concerns in the work environment. Should he report the factory’s situation to the local authority? What should he advise his client, the luxury brand company, to do? Ansett realized that this was not a cut-and-dried decision as reporting to the local authority may affect workers adversely if the factory was closed. This case highlights the ethical dilemmas of human rights in the global supply chain. It also raises critical questions for multinational firms regarding what constitutes an ethical brand and how to ensure effective code of conduct implementation.

This case can be used in undergraduate or graduate business courses or curated sessions and seminars related to corporate social responsibility, ethics and social auditing in supply chain management.

International business

Undergraduate/graduate/executive education.

China has become the world's largest producer of automobiles, surpassing the USA and Japan. The Chinese auto industry differs quite significantly from those countries though. While the industry exhibits a substantial degree of concentration in the USA and Japan in early 2011, it remained highly fragmented in China. The Chinese Central Government had announced a desire for consolidation, yet it remained unclear whether a significant shakeout would occur in the near term.

Like many Chinese automakers, Chang'an partnered with well-known global auto makers to develop, produce, and distribute its products. In the coming years, Chang'an hoped to develop more independence from its foreign partners, including the production and distribution of self-branded cars. However, the company grappled with how it could strive for independence while managing its existing joint ventures. Executives worried too about how to compete with foreign automakers who had achieved global economies of scale.

The case provides a rich description of the evolution of the Chinese auto industry, and it documents how the Chinese industry differs from other global markets. Readers can analyze the extent to which they believe scale economies provide foreign firms an advantage over smaller Chinese rivals, and they can evaluate the conventional wisdom regarding the industry's minimum efficient scale. The case also provides a detailed account of Chang'an's rise to prominence. The case concludes by offering an in-depth description of the firm's key rivals, and it presents the key questions being considered by Chang'an executives in 2011.

Enables students to examine how and why an industry's structure can differ substantially across geographic markets.

Enables students to examine whether the need to achieve economies of scale may cause substantial consolidation in the Chinese auto industry.

Provides an opportunity to evaluate the pros and cons of the joint venture strategies employed in China.

Provides an opportunity to examine how a relatively small firm can position itself against large multinationals in a high-growth emerging market.

Teaching notes.

Strategic management

Undergraduate/postgraduate modules in strategic management.

The case portrays a Chinese surrogate manufacturer – Cool-Comfort Shoes International Co. Ltd. (CCS) – which attempted to build its own brand, Ace-of-Biz (AoB). The surrogate manufacturing business had accumulated the funds needed to develop its AoB brand for sale in the domestic market. The 2007 world financial crisis and subsequent world recession caused exports and, thus, surrogate manufacturing to plummet. CCS was hoping that their loss in export of surrogate products would be more than compensated for by the gain in the domestic sales of AoB. However, despite 10 years of commitment, AoB's sales still had not grown sufficiently to counter the slowdown in exports, and the leaders at CCS were wondering what the future would hold for the company and its AoB brand.

This case study provides students with an ideal context to develop an appreciation of how changes in the domestic and international business environment affect the corporate and business strategies of a small- to medium-sized enterprise and the differences between corporate and business strategies, and to demonstrate their ability to apply a number of strategic management tools and techniques for the critical appraisal of a strategic situation and justify their recommended course of action.

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

Towers Watson (TW) has always conducted its own research into alternative approaches to market cap investing. A senior investment consultant with TW, impressed by a recent presentation by the CIO of Research Affiliates (RA) about an innovative investing concept called the “Fundamental Index methodology,” thinks it might be an important innovation in applying nonmarket cap approaches. But he has some concerns about the approach and whether or not it would be appropriate for TW's clients who depend on the firm to keep them on the cutting edge of institutional investing.

Cipla-Medpro acquisition: the pre- and post-merger story.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to develop a deeper understanding of the pre- and post-merger factors that should be considered in an M&A transaction; to develop an appreciation of the human capital and organisation cultural aspects involved in cross-country M&A’s; to develop an understanding of the role of leaders and an integration team to make an M&A realise the intended value; and to develop a sensitivity for doing an M&A in a developing country like South Africa.

This case study creates opportunities for discussing both pre-merger and post-merger dynamics to create a sensitivity that multiple factors contribute to a successful merger and acquisition strategic move. It is intended for classroom discussion only and does not represent correct or incorrect handling of the situation.

The complexity is MBA level. This case is primarily focussed on M&A’s as part of a course in Strategic Management (MBA level) but can also be considered for a course on Strategic HRM.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 11 Strategy.