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Entrepreneurship, Corporate sustainability, CSR, Supply chain.

Master's courses: Entrepreneurship, Strategic management.

In 2002, potential risks deriving from emerging normative demands in the CSR debate prompted Axel Springer (AS) to rethink their supply chain strategy for Russian wood. Being one of the first movers in CSR in the publishing business, AS realized that current practices could spark future public discussion that might put pressure on AS, a key player in these supply chains. In early 2002, AS and one of their main suppliers, Stora Enso, started a joint initiative to redesign the supply chain processes in two of the major Russian logging regions to improve their social and ecological performance. Sometime later, other major players in the publishing sector as well as critical reviewers from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were invited to participate in the design of the new voluntary sustainability initiative called “Tikhvin Chalna project”, the second phase of which was accomplished by the end of 2006.

Learn that organizations (specifically high-brand owners) are responsible for practices within their entire supply chains (social as well as environmental performance).

Explore proactive corporate sustainability, CSR strategies are market but also institutional driven; Strategizing involves forming and transforming the rules, norms and standard models of customers as well as institutions such as NGOs or governmental bodies. Whether the initiator of such strategy is successful in increasing or manipulating demands is dependent on its resources and capabilities as well as on its network position. The case supports students in understanding resources being used to successfully transform or create institutional arrangements.

Discover that the value of a business' relationships and its network position.

Teaching note, Video files

After reading and discussing this short case, the instructor should do the following: to enable the students to select and evaluate the main strength (sustainable competitive advantage) of an evolving brand whose leading manager needs to appreciate how it can be used to achieve the strategic objective of franchising it despite its challenges; to guide the students in choosing the most appropriate brand name that will sustainably reflect the parent organization’s identity and also retain its growing attractiveness to more event sponsors and other key partners in an environment of conflicting interests; to facilitate the students in choosing the appropriate strategy for strengthening the readiness to franchise and adapt a similar teaching and examining (annual event’s) model in a related course unit from among any of the target audience’s master and bachelor degree at another university elsewhere.

This short case shows how the annual Makerere University Business School (MUBS) hospitality day has evolved into a potential event franchise, which is attracting more VIPs, the media and demand to also be held in the country’s Vision 2040 cities where the respective campuses are located.

Bachelor (BA, BBA, BSc) and MBA/master degree level.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 12: Tourism and hospitality.

Later in the discussion, the options for long run strategy in dealing with a possible takeover offer and other strategic options can be discussed by the class. Lack of familiarity by students with the role of the outside potential acquirer of the camp (in this case, a hotel chain) and the lack of familiarity with the role of an investor who is a family investor, who may wish to sell stock and use the proceeds for another purpose, or a small investor who invests because he or she uses the camp and takes advantage of the stockholder’s discount will probably preclude role playing, except in executive MBA classes where students have sufficient experience in possible takeover situations or in investment management, Emphasis should probably be placed on discussing the major issues, such as social and cultural issues and on marketing and public relations issues and on financial issues, including the options available in the event of a possible takeover effort. All of these issues are impacted fully by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instructors will need to play an active role in teaching this case. It is recommended that the instructor give a short lecture or discussion at the beginning as to how a camp such as Camp Teddy functions. The authors recommend that the instructor then begin the case discussion by asking students questions about such issues as social and cultural issues and marketing and public relations issues.

Camp Teddy is a seasonal camp for families in rural Connecticut adjacent to New York City and suburbs in New York and Connecticut. It is technically a for-profit organization but operates more like a nonprofit organization because many of the campers own shares and have used the camp sometimes for several generations. The camp has traditions that are liked by many of the shareholders and campers. Although net income has increased in the past year, there does not seem to be enough funds to support necessary capital expenditures to improve facilities for the future. The largest stockholder has recently died. His immediate heirs’ control 300 of the 1,000 shares and other family members control 400 shares with the remaining 300 shares in the hands of small shareholders, many of whom use the camp each summer. A large hotel chain is interested in possibly acquiring the camp through a buyout or perhaps a hostile takeover, with a potential large gain to shareholders. The board of directors must consider a number of issues to insure good occupancy of the camp in the future and must decide what to do about a potential takeover attempt.

This case can be used in several courses, including investment management, hospitality management, corporate finance and business strategy. There are ethical and societal issues in the case, so that the case might also be used in courses looking at business, environment or business ethics. The case is best used at the graduate level, but it might be suitable for some advanced undergraduate courses.

Students should be able to appreciate the exigencies of managing social enterprises in a largely profit-oriented economic domain; understand the interplay of choice and trade-offs in business management and be equipped to make optimal choices; and appraise new, creative and profit-making approaches for sustaining social enterprise.

Daniel Mensah and his team were to deliberate on options available for ensuring financial sustainability of HealthKeepers Network (HKN), a not-for-profit organization focused on community health and grassroots capacity development. As the economy of Ghana moved towards middle-income status, funding from global organizations had begun to decline. To ensure HKN’s continuity, Mensah needed to re-engineer HKN’s finances and consider options available for ensuring cash inflows to support the organization’s operations. Each of the available options involved specific setbacks or challenges for HKN to overcome to achieve financial sustainability. Mensah and his team were to engage in a brainstorming session analyse the available options and map the way forward for HKN.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate-level programmes in business management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The learning outcomes are as follows. Students can assess effective business strategies, determine the role of business in shaping informal institutions, understand managing issues in social enterprises, from talent management to expansion to mission drift, and develop deeper understanding of the African context.

The case presents the challenges facing the award-winning CEO/Founder of Tanzanian social enterprise Girls’ Technical Education (GTE). GTE provides technology and coding skills in Tanzania, focussing on educating women and girls. GTE has experienced significant success – expanding into neighbouring Malawi. GTE has a strong vision and mission, clearly articulated and prioritised by the Founder and his Board. Hybrid organisations, blending a social and financial mission, are expected to experience management tensions or mission drift, yet GTE seems to have avoided this. As an emerging organisational form, social enterprises – like GTE – often face hurdles regarding legitimacy and acceptance in the markets in which they operate. GTE is working to understand the Tanzanian and regional contexts and challenges in these ecosystems, seeking to influence norms and bring about positive impact.

Postgraduate courses including MBA, Executive Education and courses focussing on Organisation Studies, Management and Strategy.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 7 Management Science.

A Confrontation of Mindsets: French Retailers Operating in Poland traces the history of French retailers setting up operations in Poland in the mid 90s. The case, however, is set in 2006 when a top retailing executive recalls the important watershed period of 1996-97 when the expatriate managers in charge of setting up the first hypermarkets encountered great difficulties with their new Polish recruits. The managers were not succeeding in transferring the practices and routines that were an essential part of their business model on the home market in France: their Polish employees displayed work attitudes that were the contrary of the initiative and responsibility for enlarged jobs that characterized employees back home. This situation called into question the very viability of their business model in Poland. The case poses very clearly the question of what actions the expatriate managers should decide to take to ensure the store launchings in Poland and future growth. The issues raised concern global versus multi-domestic internationalization strategies, business models, paradigms, corporate culture, management of expats, knowledge transfer and the link between strategic implementation and organizational behavior.

This case was developed through secondary sources in response to the environmental concerns being raised in legal actions, company documents, online forums, trade press articles and academic research relative to Li mining practices, a key material in Li-ion batteries. The case focuses on Tesla’s actual and potential response to the environmental and humanitarian concerns being raised with its battery supply chain

Tesla was one of the world’s leading producers of Li-ion batteries which were critical to its EV and battery offerings. Unfortunately, sourcing rare earth metals, such as Co and Li, which are key components in these batteries, raise several environmental and social concerns. This case highlights senior leadership considerations critical to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, including environmental tradeoffs and issue management. The case highlights the complexity of strategic decision-making in innovative and ESG contexts and challenges the students to contextualize the trade-offs behind each decision and the potential impact to associated stakeholders.

Level: Upper undergraduate and masters. Majors: Management; technology & innovation management; environmental science; science, technology & society; supply chain management; business ethics. Courses: Strategic management (social issues in management, strategic management, technological innovation); technology & society; ethics, supply chain management. Time: 60- or 90-minute class session. Supporting texts (depending on course context): Strategic Management of Technological Innovation. Schilling, M. McGraw Hill, 2017. Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Grant, R. Wiley, 2017. Society, Ethics & Technology. Winston, M., Edelbach, R. Cengage, 2014. Principles of Supply Chain Management. Wisner, J., Tan, K., Leong, G. Cengage, 2019.

The learning outcomes have been prepared in accordance with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956). After completing the case, the students shall be able to do the following: • describe the challenges faced by the not-for-profit, non-governmental and voluntary organizations operating at a local level in a conflict-ridden zone (knowledge). • Explain the key features, roles and typologies associated with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (comprehension), apply such typologies to specific organizations (application) and differentiate between social enterprises and NGOs (analysis). • Analyse various scaling-up techniques and infer the technique(s) used or can be potentially used by a particular organization (analysis). • Synthesize different elements of the organizational environment and reflect on the potential influence of these elements on an organization (synthesis). • Develop frameworks by applying institutional theory and motivations for volunteerism to map challenges of organizational legitimacy and volunteer turnover, respectively, as well as make recommendations to tackle these challenges (synthesis and evaluation) • Develop recommendations for the problems faced by not-for-profit voluntary NGOs (evaluation).

Balgran, a local not-for-profit non-governmental voluntary organization operating in the conflict-ridden state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India was established in the year 1975 to empower destitute, orphans, abandoned and socially handicapped children. Since its inception, Balgran has expanded its services at a rapid pace including Bal Bharti public school, health care centre, vocational training and a computer centre. Mr A.K. Khajuria, President of Balgran, was concerned about the high turnover of the voluntary staff, mistrust among the potential donors concerning fund management of NGOs and inadequate funding. Mr Khajuria after a few failed attempts at resolving these issues, called for a meeting of the members of the governing body in February 2019 to decide the future plan of action to resolve these issues. Through this case, the students can understand the challenges faced by local NGOs in general and unique challenges (mistrust among potential donors) faced by NGOs operating in conflict-ridden areas such as J&K. The students will be able to enhance their skills in brainstorming and making recommendations while framing possible solutions to the challenges faced by Balgran. The case seeks to enable the students to comprehend the features and typologies associated with NGOs; the role played by local NGOs in community development; differences between social enterprises and NGOs; scaling-up techniques and paths with special reference to local NGOs and the environmental factors that can potentially influence the operation of NGOs.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate-level students learning social entrepreneurship, social work and management of alternate organizations such as NGOs. This case could be used to discuss concepts related to not-for-profit organizations operating in voluntary settings.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to analyze disaster response mechanisms and the strategic decision-making process in high-pressure environments; assess the intricacies of cross-sector partnerships and their impact on effective disaster response; provide recommendations for leaders of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on how to achieve sustainable growth without jeopardizing an agile disaster response; evaluate the role of an NGO in influencing policy, advocating for vulnerable communities and driving systemic change; and craft an innovative strategy for an NGO to enhance its agility and social impact.

This case study outlines the transformative journey of the Food Bank of Morocco (FBM), an NGO established in 2002, focusing on eradicating hunger, extending aid during natural disasters and improving education quality in impoverished, remote areas. Under the leadership of executive director Sanae Bennesser Alaoui, who joined in 2014, FBM doubled its outreach, addressing both hunger and the broader needs of communities in crisis. The narrative captures the organization’s rapid mobilization and impactful response to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and the September 8, 2023, Al Haouz earthquake in Morocco, reflecting its agility and the trust it garnered from the community and diaspora. Highlighting its evolution, the case study details the FBM’s strategic partnerships, innovative aid distribution and commitment to Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing gender equality and education quality. It also underlines how FBM gained trust from the community and the global diaspora, setting a foundation for future expansion and enhanced support mechanisms for those in need. FBM’s successes include its designation as a public utility organization in 2022, which opened the door to larger contributions and greater visibility. However, the organization faced ongoing challenges in securing sustainable funding and expanding its volunteer base to maintain its growing impact. As FBM navigated these hurdles, it continued to innovate and build partnerships to support its mission of fostering sustainable growth while responding to an emerging market most pressing humanitarian needs.

This case study is suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate levels.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS7: Management Science.

Upon completion of the case study discussions, successful students will be able to: discuss the challenges of green financing and provide solutions on how to address such challenges. Explore the different dimensions for structuring a green financing fund. Analyse the risks and suggest a mechanism for de-risking an investment fund.

Kenya Climate Venture was established in 2016 as an independent subsidiary of Kenya Climate Innovation Centre, with a seed capital of $5m from European development financing institutions Danida and UKAid and the fund raised another $5m in new capital in early 2020. Its remit was to invest in commercially viable enterprises in agribusiness, water, commercial forestry, renewable energy and waste management, largely targeting small and medium-sized enterprises. The case is exploring three themes; Theme1: Challenges of climate financing, Theme 2: Structuring a climate financing fund Theme 3: De-risking an investment fund.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.