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Entrepreneurship.

This case is intended for teaching entrepreneurship in any tertiary institution including graduate business schools where the case study method is used. It can also add value to groups interested in creating social value such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It can be taught in a 60-90 minute class depending on the size of the class and type of audience.

The case highlights features of indigenous entrepreneurship in a traditional African setting and showcases the merits of traditional training methods. An intriguing case of a social enterprise, inspired by the difficult experiences of an entrepreneur, who grew up in dire poverty. The polygamous family situation she was in led to establishing an enterprise that ensured her livelihood and a means to lift others from poverty. The case provides a unique model of a hybrid family business and social enterprise and illustrates that businesses can do good and still do well financially.

Learning points include: appreciation of the socio-cultural and economic context of indigenous entrepreneurs; entrepreneurial motivations and their impact on society; how traditional societies transmit entrepreneurial skills; illustration of how theoretical frameworks like network theory and effectuation impact on entrepreneurial ventures; and how challenges of family businesses such as leadership and succession may be overcome through timely planning.

Teaching notes are available, consult your librarian for access.

Social Entrepreneurship.

This case study can be used on the module on introduction to social entrepreneurship for postgraduate students specializing in Social Entrepreneurship or Social Work.

This case explores the difference between social entrepreneurship and idealism. It captures the journey of Charlene Vaz and Kavita Gonsalves, two passionate young women, who formed “The Bake Collective” (TBC). Kavita and Charlene are both full-time employees, who spend their weekends and evenings running TBC and through bake sells raise funds for supporting social causes. The women have been able to get a teacher hired for differently abled children, provide water purifiers to victims of the Nepal earthquake, furnish a classroom in a school for less privileged children and provide teaching material for schools in over 400 villages in the State of Maharashtra in India. The case highlights the power of volunteering for a cause that can result in developing a social enterprise. It helps to unfold the steps undertaken to kick-start the cause as well as the risks involved in the start-up stage. It also discusses the measures that can be taken to mitigate the risks in the start-up phase and the ways by which social entrepreneurs can scale and grow their programme.

From this case, students will learn about the factors that lead to the germination of a social enterprise and identify characteristics of social entrepreneurs. They will be able to understand critical factors required to sustain start-up enterprises. The case will also enable students to explore systems and processes that need to be designed to sustain the start-up phase. Further, the case will help students to brainstorm on growth strategies for social enterprises.

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 3: Entrepreneurship.

This case provides insights about the importance of market research, market segmentation, distribution, product positioning, branding and advertising for a small but growing enterprise. This case provides insights into nuances about organizing and running a family-owned small business –Bhuira Jams has to objectively decide on its way-forward which can be a pure social enterprise or a pure commercial enterprise. This case provides understanding regarding the differences between the two models in terms of funding, accounting, legal, marketing and operational aspects.

In January 2017, Linnet Mushran had just won an award from the PHD Chamber of Commerce for her work in generating local employment for rural women in the village Bhuira, Himachal Pradesh, India. This award did make her feel happy. However, more than happiness, it got her thinking as to how would Bhuira Jams – the child born out of her passion for mountains and out of the desire to do something good survive in the coming years? Bhuira Jams was never designed like a formal business. Being a family run socially relevant business, Bhuira Jams faces the challenge of operational efficiency, along with an uphill task in marketing and distribution. Almost 35 per cent of its sales comes from Fabindia, which re-sells the Bhuira products under the Fabindia label. Thus, currently there is very little focus and expenditure in Bhuira on marketing and distribution. Another challenge faced by Bhuira Jams is driven by the health and lifestyle changes occurring in the Indian society. Consumer preferences are shifting towards low fat diets, and there is growing Americanization of the Indian society. This can be a double whammy for Bhuira’s main product line of preserves, which are high on calorie and are traditionally British.

Bhuira Jams conceptually is close to a family owned business due to the involvement of husband, daughter-in-law and son-in-law of Linnet. Thus, this case provides insights into nuances about organizing and running a family owned small business.

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 11: Strategy

During the COVID-19 pandemic micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses were hit hard. This was specially so in the restaurant business where physical lockdown and social distancing norms were challenging. Thus, small business performance was a concern (Akpan, Udoh, & Adebisi, 2020). This case study addressed this theoretical aspect. Zhang, Gerlowski, & Acs (2021) had highlighted the challenges of business continuance and enterprise sustenance, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study provided insights regarding how these aspects of business continuance and enterprise sustenance were addressed by “Café Tato”. Bhattacharyya and Thakre (2021) had deliberated regarding how firms through strategic initiatives and tactical responses were required to manage COVID-19 pandemic and economic lockdown. Café Tato case study was in line with these recommendations for firms. Barbieri et al. (2020) and Reardon et al. (2021) had outlined steps regarding maintaining business operations reliance given a business crisis situation like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Café Tato case study described this. Café Tato case study accommodated perspectives regarding business crisis situation, business continuance, enterprise sustenance, operations reliance, organizational strategic versus tactical initiatives and finally small business performance.

The teaching case study was written based upon primary data collected from the owners of Café Tato. Furthermore, secondary data was used for building the case.

Café Tato was the most popular and the oldest tea cafés in Goa, India. It had a presence in Panjim and Margaon in Goa. On 24 March 2020 India went into an economic and physical lockdown because of COVID-19 pandemic related crisis. One week down the line on 31 March 2020, Mr Pranav Dhuri (hereby referred as Pranav), one of the owners of Café Tato, was contemplating how to ensure business continuance once there was semi-normalcy restored. What would the initiatives that need to be undertaken was critical for success of Tato the legendary café in Goa was playing in the mind of Pranav.

This teaching case study could be used in the class for strategy planning and implementation in the course of strategic management. This case study could apply for teaching both bachelor’s and master’s students of business management. The case could also be taught to management students for helping them understand how small business firms, while confronting challenges of COVID-19, planned and implemented strategies in the course of strategic management. This study helped strategic management students understand the importance of organization culture in any business as it directly influenced the profitability and sustenance of business. The Dhuri family had all along laid stress on keeping the culture alive by taking various steps at critical times in improvising and maintaining the standards. The study also helped to understand the importance of good leadership and its direct impact on the employees in a crisis situation (COVID-19) work environment and ensure business sustenance.

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.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.