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The main objective of this marketing strategy case is to understand why and how a firm should evaluate and rework its own business to stay competitive and aligned with external market forces.

Technical Solutions Group (TSG), was the India-based technical support division of Quatrro Global Services and focused on providing support to customers of large Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and software developers around the globe. Because of the increased competition and structural changes at the customer end, the business was facing flattened revenue growth and a drop in margins. TSG had to make strategic decisions on how to continue the business, either within the current paradigm of being a business to business business or transforming into a business to consumer business leveraging digital technology.

This case can be used in an undergraduate (upper level) or graduate-level course on marketing strategy, digital strategy or strategic management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Marketing, Pricing, Strategic marketing.

The case is developed for an MBA-level program.

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

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

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

CSS 8: Marketing.

Industrial Relations and People Management.

Graduate or Postgraduate level, Executive working in manufacturing sector.

This case highlights the industrial relation issues in a public sector undertaking, a government-owned company in India. The case depicted the issues taken place in the company in the year 2015-2016. The primary data were collected by a working professional, who dealt with and was involved in the scenarios discussed in the case. Other modes such as in-depth interviews were also taken as per requirements. This case also highlights the importance of roles of unions and association in these organizations. Factors which are important to maintain industrial harmony were analyzed and their perspective with respect to production loss were addressed.

Every employee must be dealt with in a dignified manner with rationale. Hierarchy is required to be in place but doesn’t need to be authoritative. Be communicative and transparent while taking action. There should be no compromise on indiscipline at workplace and decision to be taken accordingly. Manage conflict by involving all the concerned authorities from outset. The analysis of the case shows that if the rationale was followed while managing the people it will lead to industrial harmony. Role of trade unions and association will prove beneficial as they will become a part of creating a solution in the matter of discords, ensuring growth for the company and its employees. It is important to mention here that the case was developed on the basis of the first-hand experience of the author.

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

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

This case depicts a managerial problem faced by Tradition and Trust, a traditional sweet and snack manufacturer, which is 100-year old family business manufacturing, retailing and exporting sweets, snacks and other confectionery products. Like other traditional sweet and snack manufactures, the company is facing the challenge of consumers' shift towards ‘healthy snacking’. Moreover, brands like Haldiram's and Bikanerwala are posing a tough competition to the traditional sweet manufacturing brands. In recent years, the brand has witnessed a decline in sales. In view of the challenges posed to brand, the Chief Marketing Officer, wants to understand the various factors influencing decline of sales and find ways to redesign the strategy for sustaining its current position in the market. The case is written to illustrate how six fundamental steps of conducting a marketing research can be used to address a given managerial problem.

Marketing.

This case may be used by instructors to teach undergraduate, post graduate and executive level programmes in management. It may be used in basic marketing, branding or marketing strategy courses. The case may serve as a platform for the instructor to discuss the concepts and issues related to positioning and repositioning.

Tata Chemicals, a subsidiary of the Tata group, launched the “i-Shakti” brand six years ago for its low-cost “solar-evaporated” salt for rural customers. In 2010, the company extended the brand equity of i-Shakti to a premium segment and launched a new brand “Tata i-Shakti” with a range of unpolished pulses. Changing the brand name and customer base from “i-Shakti for rural market” to “Tata i-Shakti for premium market” created a dilemma among customers in the market. To overcome this problem, in October 2015, the company’s portfolio of pulses, gram flour and food grade soda under “Tata i-Shakti” label has migrated into a new brand “Tata Sampann”. The company also launched a range of spices under the brand name of “Tata Sampann”. This new brand “Tata Sampann” was launched to serve the premium segment with an aim to “enrich everyday meals with extra nutrition and extra joy”. Also, this brand recreation was made by the company with anticipation to make avenues for future launches in the staples and food segment under Tata’s consumer products business. It has been almost a year since Tata Sampann was launched in the market. Given the tough competition and expected growth of the spices market in India, it remained to be seen whether “Tata i-Shakti” was rightly rebranded or repositioned with “Tata Sampann”.

To make participants understand the basic concepts of branding such as umbrella branding, brand repositioning and rebranding. To make participants learn about various brand elements and how they contribute in communicating the value proposition of the brand. To make participants appreciate various marketing and brand related strategies.

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

CSS: 8: Marketing.

LTMRHL launched its Brand Ambassador campaign in Hyderabad on January 8, 2013 to bring about awareness and dispel negativity about the Metro Rail project. A two-year review in 2015 revealed that although many of the initial problems had been overcome, and negativity considerably reduced, the campaign had only achieved partial success. Based on the review, a decision had to be taken to continue or abandon the campaign after the scheduled commercial operations in July 2017. Will the current strategy be the gateway to success post commercial operations, mulled Sanjay Kapoor, General Manager & Head Corporate Communications (LTMRHL).

Human resource management, strategic management, organisational behaviour.

Graduate and post graduate students of management, organisational behaviour and strategic HRM.

This case is about a small company named Pointsoft Pvt. Ltd, which is a 25-year-old software company situated in Pune, India. Thanks to the IT boom, the company grew well under the leadership of Aravind, who is the managing director. Aravind took care of all matters related to human resources (HR) directly. So far, the company never had any HR manager, but now Aravind thought about handing over HR matters to an HR manager. After much scrutiny Meenaxi was appointed as HR manager. The case then proceeds narrating a series of incidents after the arrival of the new HR manager and how there began a clash between the new HR manager and the senior management team of the firm. A situation then arose where the HR manager, after one year of service, submitted her resignation quoting that she was being harassed by the senior management team. The core issues in this case are whether Pointsoft's decision of having an HR manager was right and whether the decision of having appointed Meenaxi was right.

The case brings out the necessary characteristics of an HR manager by showing the undesirable characteristics of an HR manager. The case also highlights typical issues of working in a small Indian firm which is trying to rise to a globalised setting. The case will also help the students understand about organisational culture and the importance of gelling with the same.

Teaching notes are available. Please consult your librarian for access.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to understand BRalu Profile’s product range, customer base and historical developments; analyze how BRalu Profile’s procurement strategy evolved and its impact on business profitability; calculate and compare procurement costs and evaluate their role in decision-making for different suppliers; examine how market conditions (includes domestic and international dynamics) and pricing strategies influence procurement choices; assess the pros and cons of different procurement options and make informed recommendations based on supply chain principles; and identify potential procurement risks (e.g. currency exchange rates and supplier reliability) and propose strategies to mitigate them.

This case study explored the challenges faced by BRalu Profile, a prominent aluminum profile products company based in Ahmedabad, India. It focused on the critical task of supplier evaluation, selection and the complexities of maintaining relationships with existing suppliers. This case study delved into the intricate dynamics of procurement decisions within the supply chain and their direct impact on the firm’s overall performance. It also emphasized the supply chain’s susceptibility to disruptions and their consequences on company operations and supplier selection criteria. The protagonist, Dhaval Choladiya, had to navigate the complexities of cost-benefit analysis to identify the most suitable supplier, maximizing the firm’s net benefit while considering nonpricing parameters. This case study revealed the critical importance of maintaining strong supplier relationships in a competitive market and offered insights into the complexities of sourcing.

This case study is suitable for an undergraduate or graduate-level course on strategic sourcing or supply chain management or a risk management module in operations, strategy or finance course (e.g. how to deal with input cost fluctuations).

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The primary objectives of the case study are to get the participants exposed to the issues of working capital which even profitable companies face on a day-to-day basis; give the participants an understanding of how to balance the, at times, conflicting objectives of increasing profits and sales through favorable credit terms; and expose them to the impact of increase in inventory levels and average collection period on margins in a period of slow growth. They will also learn about the concept of factoring and its uses.

The case study is about a group of companies engaged in education, steel fabrication and oil businesses owned by a single proprietor. The company was based in Fatehnagar which was part of Hyderabad district in the state of Telangana, India, and the case study traces the origins of the group from 1960s to 2021. The group was invested the surplus cash flows from the oil business to initiate and expand other businesses during this period. The economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the company, particularly its oldest business – Noble Chemical Agency. The oil business was facing issues related to its growth and profitability, and the uncertainty around COVID-19-related restrictions had only augmented the fears of the management. The case study looks at issues and the dilemma which the owner of the company faced. The case study highlights various issues related to working capital management, especially related to receivables management and inventory levels faced by businesses during the slow-growth phase. It demonstrates how working capital management issues, if not resolved in time, can lead to insolvency of even a successful company with a sound business model.

The case study is meant for teaching in postgraduate management programs (Master of Business Administration and Postgraduate Diploma in Management) in the following courses: corporate finance/financial management course in the first year (the case study should be taught towards the end of the course); and management accounting courses in first year (the case study should be positioned in the middle of these courses). The case study can also be used to highlight issues related to working capital and small business management in a Management Development Programme (MDP) course for “Finance fundamentals for non-finance executives”.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and finance.

This case study is based on Amazon, a global e-commerce giant, which is well-known for its extensive product range and customer-centric approach. The nature of the research is exploratory. This study is purely exploratory in intent. Secondary sources such as reputable newspapers, blogs, websites and trade publications were used to compile the information and write this case.

Amazon India’s innovative Storyboxes packaging initiative has transformed the online shopping experience by integrating compelling stories of sellers into the delivery process. This case study explores the rationale, implementation and impact of the innovative approach on customer engagement and the seller community. By featuring QR codes and images of sellers on the packaging, and directing customers to their narratives on Amazon’s platform, the initiative fosters a deeper connection between buyers and sellers. To enhance customer loyalty and adapt to the dynamic e-commerce landscape, Amazon must navigate the challenge of fostering intimacy through unique initiatives like Storyboxes, while also maintaining the effectiveness and reach of its traditional methods. The solution lies in finding a strategic balance that upholds the brand’s core values and meets evolving customer expectations amidst a competitive market environment.

This case is structured for Undergraduate, Postgraduate, MBA Programs.